BY TREVOR KEISER
Clarkston News Staff Writer
Salaries for Independence Township’s supervisor, clerk and treasurer will increase to $82,200 beginning Jan. 1, 2017, following a 4-0 vote at the April 5 board meeting.
However, the raises apply only after four years experience in one of those three positions. Supervisor Pat Kittle, Clerk Barb Pallotta and Treasurer Paul Brown, who are all running for their second terms, would qualify if re-elected.
“We thought it would be a good idea to tier the compensation so new people coming in would be at $75,000, and then after four years would move up to $82,000, so it isn’t all or nothing,” Kittle said. “It’s kind of a longevity sort of incentive to try and retain experienced individuals and let the residents decide in the election booth if the person has warranted, has done a good job, should get reelected again and should be rewarded at a higher level of compensation.”
The new wages will bring the three elected into the 45 percentile range of the top 20 townships in the Michigan Township Association, according to a study by Walby & Associate LLC.
If the compensations are within the 45 percentile range, it will draw candidates from the private sector, Brown said.
“When I looked at running for office, if the wage for treasurer had been $60,000 instead of $69,000 I wouldn’t be sitting here today. I just wouldn’t have been able to manage at that level,” he said. “Compensation being raised up to this level, I think will have more folks not just now, but in the future who might be willing to say, you know what, I might be willing to give to my community and it won’t cost me a ton of money in pay to come in and do my share to contribute. That’s my two cents.”
Pallotta agreed.
“I think it’s a good move in the right direction.We’ll definitely see how it works out in the next four years, whether we get elected or not,” she said. “We’ll see if it attracts other people to want to run for these positions.”
Trustee Ron Ritchie said the current and previous board cut many of the benefits for the elected full-time positions.
“There used to be car allowances and other payments for different things that got eliminated during the recessionary period and some of them rightly so,” Ritchie said “I’m just saying there were cutbacks for a number of years before these increases were even thought about on top of that.”
They also make up for some of the things taken away as well, he added.
“It allows (elected officials) to put more money away for retirement and different things that were cut back over periods of time,” he said.
Trustee Jose Aliaga felt the wage increases were justified for the hard work they put in.
“The three elected officials do a great job. Clerk Pallotta has the award of the ‘Clerk of the Year’ for the state of Michigan. That right there tells our community of her hard work and dedication. Treasurer Brown and Supervisor Kittle, you guys have done many reforms so we save money and are more efficient than before. So many great things we’ve done the past four years,” Aliaga said. “Thank you for your service and your work to the three full-time elected officials.”
Kittle asked Township Attorney Steve Joppich if there were any issues with the system they were going to put in place. Joppich said he didn’t see any.
“The statute just simply says the salaries of the officials are to be set by the township board. It’s open-ended and leaves it to your discretion to figure out the best means of doing that,” Joppich said. “You’ve deliberated over it clearly and extensively. There seems to be a good rational and reason behind it. I can’t see any issues arising out of it – I am comfortable with it.”
Trustees David Lohmeier and Andrea Schroeder were absent.

  Independence Township, pay