Some Springfield Township employees will receive higher than recommended pay increases in 2005, while some will settle for less.
All will receive pay hikes of some kind, except for the elected trustees, who again voted against a recommended increase.
Supervisor Collin Walls presented his annual list of recommendations at the township board’s Dec. 5 meeting. The annual exercise is based in part on a 1998 wage and salary study and in part on recommendations from department heads.
The full board (with four part-time trustees able to form a majority against the three full-time elected officials) traditionally makes some changes to Walls? list, and this year was no exception.
The elected supervisor, clerk and treasurer will each receive 3 percent salary increases in 2005.
With all members present, the board voted to pay Walls $63,800, up from his current $62,000 and more than Walls? own recommendation of $63,400.
Clerk Nancy Strole and Treasurer Jamie Dubre, each with a 2004 salary of $53,100, will earn $54,700 next year, with trustees voting to increase the salaries above Walls? recommendation of $54,300.
The part-time trustees, who have earned $1,200 a year plus $100 per meeting for the past four years, rejected Walls proposal to increase the per meeting stipend to $120 per meeting.
Strole said the trustees? current pay was instituted in 2000. At that time, the action was an increase from $1,040 per year plus $80 per meeting.
Strole, who was a trustee prior to becoming clerk, said she understood the action.
‘It was the same thing when I was a trustee. We pretty much voted to keep it the same. We outvoted the three full-time officials,? she said later. ‘All board members here in Springfield are doing it out of a sense of public service. The difference is, when your a trustee, you’re not trying to pay the bills or put bread on the table. The hourly [for trustees] probably works out to 99 cents an hour.?
Notable increases for township employees came to the two full-time firefighters, whose positions were new in 2004. Walls? recommendation was to increase their salary from $24,040 to $32,000 in 2005. The board voted for a $33,000 salary.
Walls? report included figures from the Michigan Townships Association concerning other area full-time firefighter salaries, including $43,5473 in Brandon Township, $37,094 in Groveland Township and $43,362 in Independence Township.
‘With all that’s involved, we all agreed they were way underpaid,? Strole said.
Walls praised new building and planning director Leon Genre, recommending an increase from $50,000 to $55,000. Genre received no salary increase after his orientation period, and in his report Walls said Genre ‘has been an asset to the township and a merit increase beyond mere inflation is absolutely warranted.?
Trustee Dennis Vallad disagreed, and made the successful motion to establish Genre’s new salary at $54,000 (an 8 percent increase).