Minneapolis committee advances directive requiring mayoral delivery of Guidehouse compensation study

The Minneapolis City Council Committee of the Whole voted unanimously Oct. 21 to advance a legislative directive asking the Mayor to provide the full Guidehouse Enterprise Wide Salary and Compensation Study to the Council for review.

Council Member Koski introduced the directive, saying staff had provided only a summary and that the full $650,000 study — funded in part with American Rescue Plan dollars — is necessary for councilors to perform charter‑mandated budget and oversight duties. "This study helps cities determine whether their compensation practices are fair, competitive and fiscally balanced," Koski said, arguing the report should be made available to the Council even if access must be handled confidentially.

Council President Michael Payne, other members and Koski all described repeated informal requests to the Administration that went unanswered and said the Council’s charter authority requires the Mayor to provide information needed for legislative and budget decisions. Several members framed the measure as a corrective step to longstanding information‑sharing problems rather than a partisan move.

City Attorney Abelson advised the committee that the report contains nonpublic labor relations data covered by Minnesota Statutes §13.37, which protects information used to prepare management negotiation positions. Abelson said the Council may access not‑public data when it has a business reason, but the access must be arranged in a nonpublic manner such as secure briefings or confidential distribution. "The City Council does not have the authority to make not‑public data public," Abelson said.

After discussion about whether any final language implied public posting to the City’s Legislative Information Management System (LIMS), members agreed the directive’s text would be revised to clarify that confidential data would not be posted publicly and that updated language would be brought forward for a legal vote Thursday. The clerk called the roll; the committee recorded 10 ayes and no nays and the motion carried.

The committee also asked the City Attorney to provide a memo clarifying how a November 2023 Guidehouse salary analysis previously made public differs from the current study’s data classification.

What’s next: The author will update the directive’s language to reflect confidentiality protections and return it for final action on Thursday.