Election watch

Rochester officials more than double their own salaries.

When was the last time you or anyone you know received double the pay out of the blue, for doing the same work? That’s how much of a raise the Rochester City Council recently voted to award themselves and Mayor Kim Norton.

The maneuver means Mayor Norton will see her salary increase 109 percent from $37,657 to $78,840 essentially overnight, starting in January. Six city council members will pocket a pay hike of 142 percent from $21,712 to $52,560. Christmas also came early for Rochester City Council President Randy Staver, whose annual compensation from taxpayers also rises 140 percent overnight from $27,743 to $66,565.

It is not even clear whether serving on the city council is officially considered a part-time or full-time job. There is no official job description detailing what is expected of council members or how much time they are expected to put in, according to the Post-Bulletin.

Only one of seven city councilors opposed giving themselves the wildly disproportionate wage hike.

Rochester residents will soon have the opportunity to decide who attends all of those meetings when they go to the polls and vote on four city council seats up for election in 2020.