The Eden Prairie City Council has awarded its city manager a 4.3% pay increase for 2025 after giving him high marks for his and the city’s performance over the past year.
Rick Getschow’s base salary was increased to $240,000 and he was awarded another $20,000 in employee health insurance premiums and deferred compensation.
The council approved the changes at its March 4 meeting after conducting Getschow’s performance review on Feb. 18 in a meeting closed to the public, as the council is allowed to do on personnel matters.
Eden Prairie operates under the council-manager system, where the City Council oversees just one employee – the city manager, who manages the rest of the staff.
“We think he’s doing an amazing job,” Mayor Ron Case said about Getschow this week. “But we also want to be fair and responsible to our residents as we set the one salary we control.”
The council not only considered Getschow’s performance in setting 2025 pay, but looked at recent salary adjustments for city managers beyond Eden Prairie, said the mayor.
Case said the city manager, as part of the review, provided a list of accomplishments from 2024, including:
- adoption of a budget with one of the lowest tax levy increases in the metro area;
- continuation of the city’s high bond ratings – AAA with S&P Global and Aaa with Moody’s Investor Service;
- progress on department work plans, major infrastructure, and development projects;
- completion of a fire staffing study;
- progress on the Police Department remodeling project;
- sustainability efforts;
- a new long-term lease for Flying Cloud Fields;
- community engagement efforts, and
- collaboration with other city managers and mentorship activities.
In addition, the council praised Getschow’s communication and leadership skills, saying it gave “overwhelmingly positive reviews” of the city manager’s performance.
They also cited his reputation among other city leaders. Last year, Getschow received the Dr. Robert A. Barrett Award for Management Excellence from the Minnesota City/County Management Association (MCMA). The annual award recognizes outstanding city leadership.
The council hired Getschow as Eden Prairie city manager in 2011. He was Hopkins’ city manager at the time.
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