By Meg Peters
Review Co-Editor
Many township employees will receive two percent pay increases in 2016, and some will even get another bonus before the holidays are over.
The Orion Township Board of Trustees approved the two percent pay increases for non-union employees and elected officials, except for three positions, at the previous board meeting.
The three positions have been modified as recommended by a job study. The Planning and Zoning director, parks director and operations director will all receive several thousand dollars more, the study recommended, to accommodate for new responsibilities.
The 17 full time fire fighters all receive a two percent increase as well.
Two two-year teamster local 214 contracts were also approved for the Technical Unit and DPW, subject to final review. Both groups accepted the negotiations/contracts Dec. 2, including a one time $800 bonus for members, and a two percent raise for Technical Union employees.
Trustees also authorized an $800 bonus for some non-union employees to match union bonuses.
‘This [$800 bonus for union members] in part is due to the performance of all the departments finishing the year under the proposed budget. We should not only award union members but the other employees who played equal roles who are not in the unions,? Supervisor Chris Barnett said.
The final motion approved an $800 bonus for all non-union employees and for all full time salaried non-department head employees, excluding department heads and officials.
This includes the administrative assistant to the supervisor, the water department assistant and DPW assistant, the planning and zoning coordinator and parks director, a fire marshal, EMS coordinator, training coordinator, and 17 full-time firefighters. Or, in other terms, everybody who isn’t a department head or a full time elected official.
At first, elected officials were included in the motion, but it did not pass.
‘I just always struggle with ‘across the board? regardless of performance. If you could go through each individual person and personally say you deserve a bonus, you don’t, I would always feel more comfortable with that coming from a business perspective,? Trustee Donni Steele said.
‘We’ve always given the nonunion hourly employees the same benefits the union gets, and there are benefits for doing that in the long term,? Trustee Mike Flood said. ‘I’m not in favor of giving the elected or the salary department heads a bonus on that, but I’m all in favor of giving it to the hourly employees and the full paid time firefighters that are not the salary positions.?
The amended motion removed the department heads and elected officials from the bonus list.
The bonuses for all non-union members and all full time salaried non-department heads came from different line items on the budget. For example, one will be extracted from the water and sewer fund, at $800, the general fund, also $800, and $13,600 from the fire fund.
The motion passed, 6-0, with Trustee John Steimel dissenting.
‘I don’t have a clear picture of what we’re doing, and that bothers me. Those kind of actions always get us in trouble down the road,? Steimel said.
Salary adjustments including two percent increases
Supervisor Chris Barnett: $83,232.00
Clerk Penny Shults: $70,513.11
Treasurer Mark Thurber: $70,513.11
Building Official Randy McClure: $77,509.80
PC/ZBA Director Tammy Girling: $64,900.00 (an 8,585.00 increase)
DPW Director Charles Ireland: $79,971.39
Fire Chief Bob Smith: $77,677.30
Director of Community Programs Lisa Sokol: $67,956.85
Operations Director/Asst. Fire Chief/ Deputy Sup. Jeff Stout: $64,900 (a 6,319.06 increase)/ $12,804.20/$3,173.22
Aaron Whatley Parks Director: $62,500 (an $9,460.00 increase)
Asst. DPW director William Basigkow: $63,977.32
Deputy Clerk Susan Paula: $3,173.22
Deputy Treasurer Michael Luna: $3,173.22
Admin. Assist Julianna Savard: $25.03
Trustees: $132.60 per board meeting and $469.20 quarterly