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Salary reporting exception vetoed

Published (5/13/2010)
By Kris Berggren
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In the interest of transparency about how taxpayers’ money is spent, cities and counties must report the salaries of their three highest paid employees and post the salaries on the city website, in certain print publications or in the annual notice of proposed property taxes.

Rep. Lyle Koenen (DFL-Clara City) and Sen. Gary Kubly (DFL-Granite Falls) sponsored a bill that would have exempted communities with a population of more than 15,000 from reporting hospital employees’ salaries. Koenen said the measure was intended to help some communities compete to recruit and hire personnel such as hospital administrators and key physicians.

However, Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed the bill May 11 because all Minnesota government salary information is public data. “(The law) was enacted to provide greater transparency by requiring affirmative publication of salary data for certain highly compensated employees. This legislation would provide a carve-out exemption for some hospitals, thereby decreasing accountability and transparency,” he wrote in a veto message.

HF3327*/ SF2594/CH312

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