LAKETOWN TWP. — Elected officials in Laketown Township will be making more across the board in the upcoming fiscal year.
Board members voted in favor of raising each of their salaries by 3% during a meeting Wednesday, Jan. 10, plus an additional raise for the clerk in recognition of added election duties.
Wednesday’s salary resolution initially called for Clerk Amber Davis to receive bonus pay of $5,000 per election, but Trustee Patrick Dietrich, citing information from the Michigan Townships Association, said he felt that was illegal.
A post on the MTA website states “the salary of the office of clerk as stated in the salary resolution … is the only compensation that a township clerk can receive for performing the statutory duties of the office of clerk.”
Dietrich suggested removing the per election pay and instead raising the base salary by $10,000. A 3% raise, before factoring in the $10,000, was added as well.
Township Manager Al Meshkin said he was “stunned” that Dietrich, who’s been on the board since September, was questioning the resolution, which he indicated was reviewed by the township attorney.
“I’m stunned that a board member, a new board member, has more of a legal opinion than our attorney (Ron Bultje) with 40 years of experience,” Meshkin said.
“I think Ron is wrong,” Dietrich said.
Davis’ salary for the fiscal year starting April 1 will be $26,995, up from $16,500.
Clerks in Michigan will have expanded election duties starting this year after voters approved Proposal 2 in November 2022. The ballot initiative mandates nine days of in-person early voting for any election on a state or federal office. The first election under the new rules will be the February presidential primary.
Trustees Dietrich and Jim Delaney will make $5,150 per year, up from an even $5,000. Supervisor Linda Howell and Treasurer Jim Johnson had their salaries raised from $16,500 to $16,995.
This is the second straight year salaries have been increased for officer positions, following a 12-year stretch of unchanged pay, according to data provided by the township. Officers were paid $15,000 from 2011-2022 before getting a $1,500 increase in 2023 and this year’s $495 increase, plus the additional clerk pay.
The trustees’ pay has changed more often recently. After sitting at $3,500 from 2007-2016, it increased to $4,000 in 2017, $4,500 in 2021 and $5,000 in 2023 prior to Wednesday’s bump.
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Resident Steven Ringelberg encouraged the board to increase their salaries during a public comment session before the votes. He said not giving annual increases can lead to a pattern of frozen wages that future boards may be unwilling to break. He applauded the board in a second public comment.
“I want to congratulate you for voting yourselves the smallest raise ever voted on. Don’t forget to do it again next year,” he said.
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Laketown clerk will see significant pay bump in 2024
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