SAINT PAUL, MN— On Tuesday, a report emerged revealing that Governor Mark Dayton paid nearly $80,000 in severance pay to three top appointees who resigned their positions. Not only are these taxpayer-funded payments potentially unauthorized under state law, but also come after the governor authorized sizeable, double-digit pay increases to his commissioners in 2015.
Representative Sarah Anderson (R-Plymouth), who chairs the House State Government Finance Committee, released the following statement regarding the severance payouts:
We see a pattern emerging with Governor Dayton as he continues to use taxpayer funds to reward his top political appointees. Minnesotans expect us to be good stewards of their hard-earned money and instead, taxpayer dollars were used to quietly pay out high ranking officials who already earn significantly more than the average Minnesotan.
With this $80,000 payout, we must also ask what program went unfunded? That money could fund ten early childhood education scholarships for at-risk kids or much-needed job training for people.
When State Auditor Dayton objected to city severance payouts of similar amounts in the 1990s, he stated these were cases of “public officials lining their pockets at taxpayers’ expense” and called on government officials to rescind severance agreements. Today, I call on Governor Dayton to follow his own recommendation and rescind these egregious payouts. Next session, I will advocate for new legislation to end severance packages for political appointees so something like this does not happen again at the expense of Minnesotans.
“State Auditor/Dayton Playing Role As Watchdog Well” St. Paul Pioneer Press, Editorial, August 24, 1992