U.S. Water News Online
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Good salaries attract good people, according to Sioux Falls city officials -- some of whom make more than the mayor and even the governor.
"The community expects a lot from public officials and public employees, and to provide that service, we have to have adequate compensation to attract qualified people," Human Resources Director Jennifer Holsen said.
Gerald Beninga, city council chairman, said the council should talk about a salary study at its annual goal-setting retreat.
"It's supposedly based on competitive market value, but it hasn't been reviewed for some time," Beninga said.
Pay should attract top-quality employees to city jobs, he said, adding that he doesn't know if the salaries are at or above that level now.
"Compared to the comparable position at the county, the city pays better," he said. "I don't know if that means the county is low or we're high."
All 12 city department heads make more than the county's highest-paid employee, State's Attorney Dave Nelson, whose salary is $87,075.
Lyle Johnson, the city's public works director, makes $137,280. Next are Holsen and Steve Metli, the planning director, $108,700; Mike Cooper, parks and recreation director, $107,598; and Eugene Rowenhorst, finance director, $105,000.
Mayor Dave Munson makes $96,173.
Gov. Mike Rounds' salary is $103,221, his press secretary, Mark Johnston, said.
The city of Sioux Falls keeps track of private-sector salaries to it can compete for workers who might not consider a government job, Holsen said.
Greg Johnson, administrator of the South Dakota Career Center in Sioux Falls, said the city has a good reputation with workers, and jobs are normally easy to fill.
"City jobs are highly sought after. We receive many inquiries and applications for any city job that appears," he said.
Johnson said the city has a reputation for good benefits and job stability and respecting its employees.
"When you take a city job, it's going to be a full-time job with full benefits that's going to last," he said. "Money is a distant third or fourth place when people talk about city jobs."
Sioux Falls department heads make more than those in similar jobs in both Fargo, N.D., and Sioux City, Iowa. People in the same five positions as the highest-paid Sioux Falls departments make $82,000 to $95,000 in Fargo; in Sioux City, they are paid $59,200 to $93,083.
Comparing salaries solely by job title can be misleading because expertise and requirements differ among cities, Holsen said.
In Sioux Falls, the public works director oversees 400 employees in departments including water, wastewater, lights, engineering and streets. In another city, the same job title might be responsible for just utilities, Holsen said.
Munson, who has hired several new department heads, said he needed those salaries to attract the people he wanted.
But the mayor has made a change so salaries don't automatically increase each year. Department heads used to get the same percentage increase other city workers had negotiated. Now, department heads are evaluated and get increases based on performance.
City employee salaries are public record. Before the city adopted a home-rule charter, the salaries were printed in the legal notices in the newspaper each year. Since the home-rule charter was enacted, those salaries no are longer printed.
The charter regulates what elected officials make but does not decide how much department heads receive. That decision is left to the administration.
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