TRAVERSE CITY — The Grand Traverse County Commission approved a 50-percent salary increase for all regular board members at Wednesday’s meeting in the Governmental Center.
Starting Jan. 1, 2025, the base salary will increase from $12,000 to $18,000 per year. The board chair will receive $20,000 annually and the vice chair $19,000.
However, the new plan also eliminates all per diem compensation for attending additional meetings, community events and training seminars.
Those per diem payments, which range from $65 for short meetings to $110 for longer meetings, can add up to thousands of dollars in extra pay per year. Such payments have been the subject of intense scrutiny and debate in recent years, with some people saying they are subject to abuse.
Under the new plan, commissioners will still be eligible for health insurance benefits equivalent to a county employee who works 40 hours per week. The county pays 80 percent of those premiums, while recipients pay 20 percent.
Voting in favor of the new board salary plan were Commissioners Scott Sieffert, Ashlea Walter, T.J. Andrews, Lauren Flynn and Brian McAllister.
Board Chair Rob Hentschel and Vice Chair Brad Jewett voted against the plan, along with Commissioners Penny Morris and Darryl Nelson.
An earlier proposal to raise commissioners’ base salary to $24,000 was rejected in a 5-4 vote. A second motion to retain the current compensation plan also failed in a 5-4 vote.
KEY POINTS OF DEBATE
Timing, deadlines and transparency were at the heart of the debate Wednesday morning.
The commissioners who opposed the new salary plan said it came far too late in the year, and reduces transparency. The original plan was to complete new salary recommendations by April 1, 2024, so that people considering a run for public office could know about compensation well before the April 23 deadline for candidate filings.
That didn’t happen. Due to scheduling conflicts and other problems, the ad hoc committee on salaries didn’t actually meet until Oct 15.
“This board said we would complete a salary review before April 1,” said Nelson. “We failed to meet that deadline and we failed to get it done before the (Nov. 5) election.
“I can’t accept that,” he added. “We need to be very transparent as a board, especially during an election period.”
On the issue of per diem payments, Nelson said the current per diem policy is “a great way (for citizens) to see what their commissioners are doing” because it provides a record of the extra meetings they attend throughout the year.
Currently, each per diem request must be documented and posted on the county’s website.
Penny Morris, who represents District 9, said that many members of the public “perceive us as being in a position of power, but that isn’t true. We have a heavy responsibility to the people who depend on us, including calls in the middle of the night.”
“Just because our time isn’t valued, that doesn’t mean it isn’t valuable,” she added.
In addition to her regular county board duties, Morris serves on the Department of Health and Human Services board, the Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority board and the NMRE Substance Use Disorder Policy Oversight Board.
For his part, Nelson also serves on the county’s Board of Public Works, Community Correction board and Northwest Regional Airport Authority board which oversees Cherry Capital Airport.
Board Chair Hentschel also said he favors retaining per diems: “I really feel that behavior that is rewarded is enhanced, and behavior that isn’t rewarded is diminished.”
“Serving on this board is a lot of effort,” he added. “There are plenty of times when I come home exhausted, say goodbye to family, and then head out the door to an evening meeting.”
A DIFFERENT VIEW
Commissioner T.J. Andrews, who served on the ad hoc committee, spoke out in favor of the new salary plan, while admitting that the timing is “unfortunate.”
The new salary plan increases fairness and reduces the possibility of per diem abuse, while increasing pay for those board members who typically go to extra meetings but don’t request per diem payments, she said.
“This isn’t a perfect time to talk about it, but this is the only time we have,” Andrews said.
By state law, all county ad hoc committees must be dissolved by years’ end. Furthermore, starting Jan. 1 board members will serve four-year terms instead of just two. That means the new salary plan will be in effect from 2025-2029, unless further changes are instituted at the state or local level.
Andrews said the new salary plan “is a leap of faith, an investment on the part of commission and an acknowledgment that this is a full-time job.”
In addition to the salary increases, the new plan calls for cost of living adjustments for all commissioners in the following amounts: 2025 (none); 2026, 4 percent; 2027, 3 percent; 2028, 3 percent.
Also on Wednesday, the board voted 7-2 to recommend that next year’s county commission establish a standing committee to review county employee wages and benefits.
The next regular meeting of the Grand Traverse County Board is scheduled for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 18, in the Governmental Center, 400 Boardman Ave., in downtown Traverse City.
A special board meeting is slated for 9 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11.