Council introduces ordinance to raise mayor and council salaries; asks staff for more data

The Minnetonka City Council on Sept. 29 introduced an ordinance that would set the mayor's annual salary at $25,850 and councilmembers' salaries at $19,800 effective Jan. 1, 2026; the introduction directs staff to provide additional comparative data and explore using the city levy as a benchmark before final adoption.

Finance staff advised the ordinance has been incorporated into the proposed 2026 budget and that state law and the city charter require salaries for elected officials to be established by ordinance. "The mayor salary would increase to $25,850 annually. The current is 23,500," staff said. The proposed council salary increase reflects cost-of-living adjustments the council previously discussed and would be effective after the next municipal election, as required by charter rules.

Council discussion ranged from support for periodic cost-of-living adjustments to proposals to limit increases to cost-of-living only or to target an increase in line with the preliminary levy. Councilmember Schack suggested narrowing the change to cost-of-living adjustments only, while others supported introducing the ordinance now with direction that staff return with updated comparative rankings. Councilmember Calvert moved to introduce the ordinance and direct staff to provide more data and consider the levy as a benchmark; the motion passed unanimously.

Next steps: staff will provide updated salary-comparison data and the ordinance will return for final consideration (four votes required for final adoption).