STATE OF MINNESOTA Office of Governor Mark Dayton 116 Veterans Service Building • 20 West 12th Street • Saint Paul, MN 55155 July 1, 2015 The Honorable Tom Bakk Senate Majority Leader Room 232, State Capitol St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 The Honorable David Hann Senate Minority Leader Room 147, State Office Building St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 The Honorable Kurt Daudt Speaker of the House Room 463, State Office Building St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 The Honorable Paul Thissen House Minority Leader Room 267, State Office Building St. Paul, Minnesota 55155 Dear Legislative Leaders: Today I have set agency head salaries pursuant to M.S. 15A.0815 and 2015 Minnesota Chapter Laws, Chapter 3, as approved by the Legislature on February 26, 2015. The attached schedule lists the annualized salaries of those employees. The schedule will be posted today on the Minnesota Management and Budget website. The salaries of high-level public officials are convenient targets for anti-government partisans, who don't understand the sophisticated administrative skills required to provide quality government services and care even less. But competitive salaries are essential to attract and retain the best public executives, whose successes, in turn, provide taxpayers with improved services, greater efficiencies, and new innovations, which are worth many times the cost of their salaries. Minnesota is now being recognized nationally for its many successes in both the private and public sectors. These top administrators have played key roles in achieving them. All Minnesotans depend upon their skills to organize and deliver needed public services, while also creating efficiencies and saving taxpayers money. They deserve salaries that are commensurate with their responsibilities and more comparable to the compensations paid to their counterparts in other states and elsewhere in Minnesota. These salaries are well below the limits established by the legislature earlier this year. They will help ensure that Minnesotans continue to receive the best possible public services from the best possible public leaders. Sincerely, Mark Dayton Governor Enclosure: Compensation Council letter, dated March 11, 2013 Voice: (651) 201-3400 or (800) 657-3717 Website: http://mn.gov/governor/ Fax: (651) 797-1850 MN Relay (800) 627-3529 An Equal Opportunity Employer Printed on recycled paper containing 15% post consumer material and state government printed Agency Head Salaries Established Pursuant To M.S. 15A.0815 and Laws of Minnesota 2015, Chapter 3 July 1, 2015 Group I Effective January 1, 2015, the salary for each of the following positions shall Actual Salary Effective July 1, 2015 not exceed $164,803. Commissioner of Administration $144,991 Commissioner of Agriculture $144,991 Commissioner of Commerce $144,991 Commissioner of Corrections $150,002 Commissioner of Education $150,002 Commissioner of Employment and Economic Development $150,002 Commissioner of Health $150,002 Commissioner, Housing Finance Agency $144,991 Commissioner of Human Rights $144,991 Commissioner of Human Services $154,992 Commissioner of Labor and Industry $144,991 Commissioner of Management and Budget $154,992 Commissioner of Natural Resources $154,992 Commissioner, Office of Higher Education $144,991 Commissioner, Pollution Control Agency $150,002 Commissioner of Public Safety $154,992 Commissioner of Revenue $154,992 Commissioner of Transportation $154,992 Commissioner of Veterans Affairs $144,991 Group II Effective January 1, 2015, the salary for each of the following positions shall not exceed $148,694. Commissioner, Bureau of Mediation Services Executive Director, Gambling Control Board Commissioner, Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board Chair, Metropolitan Council School Trust Lands Director Ombudsman for Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities Commissioner, Public Utilities Commission Executive Director of Pari-mutuel Racing Actual Salary Effective July 1, 2015 $140,000 $119,997 $140,000 $144,991 $125,009 $119,997 $140,000 $115,988 Group III Effective January 1, 2015, the salary for the following position shall not exceed $30,978. Chair, Metropolitan Airports Commission Actual Salary Effective July 1, 2015 $30,000