The Mesabi Daily News published a story Sunday, Jan. 18, comparing city councilor and county commissioner compensation on the Iron Range as part of a series detailing the financial woes facing government units in 2009. It’s interesting to see the differences between the towns. Most interesting is the $55,000 and full medical benefits enjoyed by St. Louis County Commissioners. That’s better than state legislators, excluding per diem (but county officials are reimbursed for expenses as well).
The office of county commissioner is considered full time in St. Louis County, but most other counties treat commissioners much like city councilors — part time public servants. St. Louis County is so big and features so many tenuous political alliances (North vs. South, Range vs. Duluth, etc.) that this issue has just sailed along unimpeded for many years.
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