Hillsdale Officer's Compensation Committee Recommends Council Pay Raise
The council will discuss the potential raise at its 21 April meeting.
Hillsdale City Hall—At a Thursday morning meeting, the City of Hillsdale’s Officer’s Compensation Committee recommended to council a proposal to raise the mayor’s annual pay to $25,000 and the city council members’ annual pay to $10,000 each.
Currently, mayor and council members are paid approximately $3,700 and $1,430, respectively—numbers which have not been adjusted since 2015.
For comparison, City Manager and BPU Director David Mackie makes $200,000 per year, Jacob Hammel, the Director of Electric, makes $110,000 per year.
City Police Chief Scott Hephner and City Engineer Kristin Bauer each make $100,000 per year. According to an Open Government Pay report, in total, as many as two dozen city and BPU employees make over $70,000 per year. The median household income in the City of Hillsdale is approximately $48,000 per year.
Officer’s Compensation Committee Chair Russell Richardson said during the meeting that he was “shocked” when he heard how little council members make.
“We want the councilmen to be more involved,” he told the committee, noting that he hoped a pay raise would make the council more willing and able to exercise oversight over city spending.
According to Richardson, it is an “insult” to the citizens of Hillsdale, “the way government has been run the last few years.” He cited high property taxes, special assessments, and increasing petty fees as examples, suggesting that these policies are in part due to the fact that the structure favors the “retired or financially independent,” making it difficult for ordinary people to participate.
Richardson’s arguments were echoed by fellow committee member Timothy Green, who told the committee that “the more we offer, the more we can expect.”
Another member of the committee, Penny Swan, said there would be “holy hell” to pay for such a recommendation. “I spend 60 hours a week on this job and don’t make a dime,” she added, alluding to her attendance and analysis of political meetings.
Committee member Bill Mullaly took particular issue with the increased pay for the mayor, saying that the mayor is a “figurehead” whose job is to “cut the ribbon, hug and kiss the babies.”
The fifth and final member of the committee, CJ Toncray, replied to Mullaly, arguing that “we don’t want a figurehead, and we don’t want a rubber stamp anymore.”
Mullaly also claimed that it would be an “insult” to former Mayor Adam Stockford, the latter of whom told the Hillsdalian that he would have “considered” staying had the pay been better.
“Expectations should be higher for what council members do,” Stockford added, though he expressed reservations about the popularity of the proposed mayoral raise in particular.
The committee concluded that it would write and pass a recommendation on to council, with Richardson, Green, and Toncray in favor, and Swan and Mullaly in opposition.
Any recommendation would be brought to the Hillsdale City Council at its regular meeting on 21 April. It would require the vote of 2/3 of the council to reject it, or six out of the current eight members. If council does not reject the salary changes, they would go into effect 30 days after its filing with the city clerk, according to MCL 117.5c(b).
Jacob Bruns
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One thing I neglected to compliment you on, that this article got publish so quickly after the meeting ended, what was it, 2 hours?
Considering the depth of research on city administration salaries, the links and how polished it was, that's just amazing. You even scooped Corey Murry, a professional journalist. I'm told a article likes this, with the writing, proofing and research, would have taken at least 4-6 hours, and that's not even considering how you took time off work in the middle of the workday to do it.
Amazing. It's almost as if you had most of the story already written ahead of time.
So, you didn't see an issue with you attending this meeting, and chiming in with clarifications at all?
I mean, it's not illegal, but it's highly untoward and perhaps unethical, being it's your compensation being discussed? And that it might constrain those talking, being your were the only member of "the public" in attendance?
And then your reporting on this, seems pretty self serving and leaving key facts out.
Like the group hadn't done any salary survey's at all, and where going to check Coldwater and Marshall and table any votes until the next meeting. Yet didn't do that and voted anyways? FYI, it took me 60 seconds to find that out, $500 a year each.
Or that you were comparing apples to oranges in your article and have full knowledge that Hillsdale is a council/manger form of goverment... just like Coldwater/Marshall. With the kind of money they wanted to raise things to, you need to be talking a strong mayor form of goverment... which none of them were.
Jacob, I like your votes and input on council, but this really is a low point for you. $10K is chump change for someone of your education, and regardless, it will make Hillsdale one of the, if not the, highest paid council/manager form of goverment in the state.
And I didn't even touch on the optics. If you aren't doing this for the love of community or giving back, you shouldn't be doing it at all.
Respectfully,
Jeff King
P.S.
Here is the raw video of the meeting for anyone wanting an unfiltered view.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxQ5eOH9Kp8