Ottawa Impact support proposes commissioners 60% pay hike

Had enough yet of Ottawa Impact commissioners? No? How about helping themselves to a 60% pay raise? Would that do it?

Compensation Committee Resolution

If pushed through, and what isn’t if promoted by the Ottawa Impact commissioners, Ottawa County commissioners will have the highest salaries throughout West Michigan even beating out Kent and Kalamazoo counties.

• Chairperson current part time salary of $27,127 will be boosted to $43,403.20 plus $1,000 monthly healthcare stipend or an additional $12,000 per year.
• Vice-Chairperson current salary of $21,523 is raised to $34,436.80 plus $12,000.
• All other commissioners current salary of $20,844 goes to $33,350.40 plus $12,000.

The seven member compensation board has recommended the pay raise and the commissioners are highly likely to vote to accept it. Board Chair Larry Jackson explained his initial idea of a pay raise at six percent, about the same as other county employees got. So how did we get from six percent to sixty percent?

The Ottawa Impact dominated board appointed four new members to the seven member Compensation Committee in December: Mark Brouwer, Craig Dunlap, Angela Loreth and Lynn Janson. Loreth, Brouwer, and Janson voted yes to the commissioner raises. As reported by the Holland Sentinel, three of the four either donated to OI campaigns or voiced support for them in interviews. We have seen a concerted effort to replace current county employees with OI supporters.

The compensation board approved a much larger 60% increase with a three-to-one vote, Board Chair Jackson being the one vote in opposition. When asked why he voted no, Jackson said, “Because that’s outlandish. That’s the biggest reason I voted no because it didn’t fit with the survey we saw.”

So why only four votes from a seven member board? If there were only four members present, it is barely a quorum. Convenient that only the three newly appointed OI supporters show up along with the chairman. Is this another pre-decided OI move like the one at the commissioner’s first meeting where they fired the county administrator and just happened to have the next one sitting in the audience ready to take over. Some of the OI commissioners seem quick to defend the move. In whose kitchen was this thing cooked up in? Something smells.

The excuse for the raise is that the commissioner position has become a full time job. Jackson explained. “We got a survey, submitted by a commissioner that has been serving for a while, that says this is not a full-time-position.” Jackson also said, “I don’t think what the county commissioners have done is any different…the job didn’t change.”

So lets recap. Who among us has been able to decide without supporting evidence that our job magically went from part time to full time and then change our compensation to match a full time position without actually taking on any additional responsibilities or work?

As shown in the comparison data of other Michigan counties, the commissioners are already well compensated for their part time work. Their efforts to expand the commissioner role into areas they have no business meddling in should not be rewarded. The useless Christian nationalist ideology and religiously biased resolutions and the war on the county health department to keep them from doing their jobs for example.

Conservatism used to mean less governmental interference. Ottawa Impact commissioners are not conservatives, they are extremists. We need to be sure they never receive in 2025 the compensation they have so arrogantly allocated for themselves.

Think on that, Joe…

Update – As of May 4th, 60% increase for commissioners is off the table

If brought to a vote, there is no doubt the Ottawa Impact commissioners would have awarded themselves a huge pay increase, but they were not given the chance. OI commissioners came out publicly before the meeting, supporting the increase.

I personally do not wish for Ottawa County to lose quality commissioners due to lack of pay, nor do I want excellent leaders in our community to be unable to run due to a need to provide for their families.

Commission Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea

At the last moment, Commission Chair Joe Moss declared the compensation committee resolution invalid.

The vote on April 11 that supposedly approved the 60 percent raise was 3-1 at that meeting. The law requires in MCL 45.474 that there be a minimum of four yes votes. So to be clear, Larry Johnson signed and submitted an invalid resolution in violation of MCL 45.474.

Commission Chair Joe Moss

Three commissioners planned to vote no on the proposed raise. Among them was Doug Zylstra, a Democrat from Holland.

We’ve seen a lot of actions around Administrative Health Officer Adeline Hambley that I don’t think are intrinsic to our role as commissioners. I think they’ve been a diversion. Definitely, they’ve taken a lot of time. I would hope in the future we don’t undertake those actions so we don’t force ourselves to be working 30, 40 hours a week – going to Muskegon County court, for example, to testify.

Commissioner Doug Zylstra

Commissioner Bonnema, a Republican from Zeeland also disagreed with the proposal, calling it an abuse of our tax dollars.

Commissioner Bergman, Republican representing the tri-cities said the proposal would cost county taxpayers an additional $300,000 per year.

While Rhodea said the proposal was independently approved by the compensation commission, Bonnema said it was brought forward by member Angela Loreth, an Ottawa Impact donor. According to the Holland Sentinel, the proposal was seconded by Mark Brouwer, whose wife donated to OI three years ago.

While we can only guess at the sudden change in political strategy, it certainly looks like the spotlight of the local media and attention from the residents of Ottawa County can make a difference after all.

Update – Yet another legal controversy

As of May 25th the issue of 60% raises for county board commissioners is back in the spotlight. Moss accuses Jackson, the chairman of the compensation commission and a Democrat, of sabotaging the recent pay rate evaluation process for countywide elected officials.

Moss claims Jackson colluded with local media outlets to interfere with a May 7th special recall election where Lucy Ebel was defeated by Democrat Chris Kleinjans.

You’ve been played. The raise was a phantom increase. Larry Jackson has a vested interest in Republicans to lose elections.

Commissioner Joe Moss

The accusation doesn’t make a lot sense as it was Ottawa Impact loyalists that OI commissioners appointed who proposed the 60% pay increase, not Jackson, who voted against it. Isn’t it more likely the recall election is a public vote of no confidence in the bumbling acts of revenge and political gamesmanship the OI dominated board has consistently promoted?

State statute requires that compensation commissions must:

• Have seven members.
• Have members appointed before October 1st of the year of appointment.
• Meet in even-numbered years for not more than 15 session days.
• Have a majority of the members serving on the commission be in concurrence with any determinations made.
• Comply with the Michigan’s Open Meetings Act.

The compensation commission first met March 11th, setting the 45-day deadline to be April 25th. The commission met five times. The prosecutor, sheriff, treasurer, clerk/register of deeds and water resources commissioner to have an 8% increase starting 2025 and a 6% increase in 2026. Approved 4-0.

Chairperson of the County Road Commission salary set at $15,500 starting 2025 and 0% increase in 2026. All other road commissioners $12,500 starting 2025 and 0% increase in 2026. Approved 4-0.

County board of commissioners to receive 60% increase and $1,000 monthly stipend per month for health benefits. Approved 3-1. (Legal approval requires 4.)

Final meeting May 2nd (outside the 45 day window) to unanimously increase salaries for treasurer and water resources commissioner to make their compensation match the clerk/register of deeds starting 2025 and provide a 6% increase in 2026.

It might be easy to blame the compensation commission for not following the rules but the board of commissioners also incorrectly appointed four members to the board in December not before October 1st. In addition the April 11th meeting was never properly noticed in accordance with the Open Meetings Act. Finally, it is not clear if the commission had the authority to authorize raises for the county road commissioners who are appointed, not elected.

Let the finger pointing begin…

Moss requested a revision at the compensation board’s next meeting on May 28th, except legally the commission is expired and cannot reconvene until 2026.

State law says a board of commissioners has the following options:

• Reject the determinations by a two-thirds majority.
• Accept the determinations.
• Do nothing – in which case, the determinations by the compensation commission will go into effect in 2025

Moss blames Jackson for not following state law. Others say, it is the county administrator’s job to make sure the meetings are conducted properly with the proper public notifications. Of course, the board of commissioners also contributed to the mess by not appointing the members at the proper time. The county has a Deputy Administrator Ben Wetmore and an Administrative Aide Jordan Epperson but a temporary administrator – Jon Anderson. The board fired Administrator John Shay at their first OI majority meeting and appointed John Gibbs, then later fired him.

And the clown car just keeps rolling along from one fiasco to another…