Mayor Jacob Frey found one more piece of legislation to veto before year's end: The City Council's denial of raises for some of the city's highest-paid employees.

The council voted 7-6 Thursday to deny 4% cost-of-living raises to about 160 appointed city employees who make six-figure salaries, beginning at about $109,000 and topping out at $348,000, according to the Frey administration. The decision saves the city about $1.1 million. The mayor's office said the group of employees denied raises by the council includes department heads, deputy department directors, some division heads, cabinet members, police inspectors and commanders, senior staff in the city attorney's office and some staff in the city clerk's office.

That's a narrow vote margin and not enough to override a veto. However, the council doesn't meet again until January, the tax levy has been set, and the money for raises has been reallocated in the council-approved budget — which Frey vetoed but the council overrode.

In his veto letter, Frey urged the council to come to the table and work with him on a solution that gives all staff "the raises they deserve." It's not clear what can be done at this point, however.

"It is wrong to pick and choose which employees get a cost-of-living adjustment when the cost of living has increased for all employees," he wrote. "I cannot endorse a council action that willfully disrespects and undermines the work of 163 dedicated public servants."

He called the council's action "unprecedented," and said it "intractably impacted staff morale, and goes against good governorernance."

While debating the raises during budgeting, Council Vice President and Budget Chair Aisha Chughtai said with the median Minneapolis household income at $81,000, in a year when property taxes are going up and people are cutting their own budgets, "we owe it to them to make cuts anywhere we can."

Chughtai said she told the mayor the night before he sent the veto letter that she's "one phone call away," but "he hasn't called."

Council budget materials said all but three of the employees were budgeted to be paid a higher rate than the governor's salary, with the highest paid position budgeted for $426,073. (Chief Operations Officer Margaret Anderson Kelliher disputed that, saying the highest paid city employee, public safety commissioner Todd Barnette, makes $348,000, so the council's figure apparently includes benefits.)

Council Member Linea Palmisano on Thursday questioned the real cost of the move.

"What is the cost of demoralized employees?" she said. "What will be the cost of replacing some of these dedicated workers who bring an incredible amount of un-transferrable historical knowledge, who don't feel valued and choose to find other employment where they are valued?"

Council Member Michael Rainville also voted "no," saying, "It sends a strong signal that they're not valued. We gave this to our own [council] employees — for our own aides. We should give it to everybody else."

How they voted

Voting to deny the raises were Council Members Robin Wonsley, Jamal Osman, Katie Cashman, Jason Chavez, Aurin Chowdhury, as well as Council Chair Elliott Payne and Chughtai.

Voting against the denial (and for raises) were Council Members Michael Rainville, LaTrisha Vetaw, Jeremiah Ellison, Andrea Jenkins, Emily Koski and Palmisano.