Ramsey County’s board on Tuesday gave themselves a 2.5 percent raise, boosting the board chair’s compensation into six figures for the first time.

In recent years, the county board of commissioners has voted to give themselves the same raise that county employees received. County employees received a general wage increase of 2.5 percent this year.

The board’s pay raise, which they approved Tuesday and will go into effect Jan. 1, lifts commissioners’ salaries from $94,734 to $97,102. The board chair’s salary will increase from $97,696 to $100,138. The positions are considered full time by the county.

No board members voiced any objections to an ordinance authorizing the raises Tuesday, and approval was unanimous.

Prior to losing her seat last year, former board member Janice Rettman was often the lone dissenting vote to the practice.

The only objector at Tuesday’s meeting was activist Greg Copeland, who suggested commissioners ask their charter commission to consider adding a formula to the charter for board raises, rather than requiring board members to vote for it.

The county charter requires that commissioners may determine their salaries through a salary ordinance, which they must pass by July 1.

The salary issue has sparked controversy time and again since at least the early 1990s.

The practice of voting for raises annually is an attempt to avoid a repeat of the controversial “catch-up” votes of 1996, 2002 and 2007 — where commissioners approved double-digit increases after years of none. In 2007, for example, the board approved a 25 percent pay hike after years without any raise.

Hennepin County commissioners — including the chair — all make $113,566 annually. Their salary will remain the same for 2020, a Hennepin County spokeswoman said.