Grand Traverse County commissioners will consider a proposal Wednesday that would double a commissioner’s base salary from $12,000 to $24,000 annually – but also eliminate a controversial per diem policy that allows commissioners to collect thousands of dollars in meeting reimbursements each year, a system that has put some in the proposed new salary range already.

An ad hoc committee of commissioners – including TJ Andrews, Lauren Flynn, and Scott Sieffert – was tasked with reviewing the salaries of full-time county elected officials (including commissioners), department heads, managers, the county administrator, and administrative staff. However, the ad hoc quickly realized the most time-sensitive order of business was addressing commission salaries, as any changes must be made by December 31 to take effect in the new term, which starts January 1. County commission terms are also expanding from two years to four years in Michigan starting in 2025, putting additional urgency on reviewing rates before the lengthier new term begins.

Commissioners previously voted in 2021 to increase commission compensation from $7,000 to $12,000 annually, with the board vice chair’s salary increasing from $7,500 to $12,500 and the chair’s salary from $8,000 to $13,000. The raise marked the first time in two decades commission compensation increased above the $7,000 level. When looking at a possible wage increase this time around, the ad hoc compared the salary rates of surrounding counties in northern Michigan as well as counties with a population similar to Grand Traverse’s – 83,000 to 120,000 – throughout Michigan.

Grand Traverse is already on the high end salary-wise for northern Michigan, with only one other county – Crawford – at a $12,000 commission rate. Other rates range from just over $4,000 annually in Missaukee and Antrim counties to $9,600 in Wexford and Otsego counties. However, Grand Traverse has by far the largest population in northern Michigan – making it potentially the most complex and time-consuming county to represent as a commissioner – with a population over 94,000. The second-biggest county, Wexford, has just 33,552 residents.

For counties with a similar population size, Grand Traverse is in the middle of the pack salary-wise. Eaton ($7,740), Lenawee ($8,000) and Midland ($10,500) are slightly less, while Bay ($12,419) and Lapeer ($22,317) are higher. Other counties of varying population sizes looked at to provide a range included Allegan ($24,780), Livingston ($16,000), and Ottawa ($20,884). Oakland County comes in much higher at $45,000, but also has a population of over 1.2 million people.

In addition to varying approaches to health benefits (some counties provide them, others don’t), another major factor ultimately impacts how much money county commissioners take home annually in Michigan: per diem rates. Commissioners in many counties can collect additional fees for attending meetings, trainings, and other types of events connected to their position. Each county varies in whether it allows commissioners to collect per diem at all, and if so, for what activities.

Grand Traverse County’s per diem policy has generated controversy in recent years over rising costs for payments, public transparency around reimbursement, and whether commissioners are following the rules of the per diem policy. Records pulled through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request last year showed some commissioners were collecting thousands of dollars annually – sometimes $10,000-$12,000 or more – in per diem payments on top of their salaries. Some of those payments appeared to be for activities expressly prohibited for reimbursement, such as attending ribbon cuttings or meeting with constituents.

Commissioners voted last December to adopt a new per diem policy, which tightened up reimbursement eligibility, filing requirements, and transparency standards. Per diem rates are set at $65 for meetings under four hours or $110 for meetings over four hours. Still, the revised policy left the door open for some controversial claims to continue, such as commissioners collecting per diem for meeting with the county administrator or with each other. Andrews, who chaired the salary review committee, says the ad hoc weighed the benefits of keeping the per diem system versus eliminating it and going to a uniform higher base salary.

“The pros of per diem include the opportunity for more flexing up and down,” Andrews says. “Commissioners who presumably work more, and are assigned to more committees, get compensated for those (meetings). Commissioners who for various reasons don’t participate don’t get the compensation. So it has the potential to reflect investment and work levels and the time commitments of commissioners.”

On the other hand, Andrews says, a lack of transparency still appears to loom over the per diem system. “There’s minimal detail (in per diem claims), and there’s a lot of variation in how people interpret what is eligible or not,” she says. “There’s no effective oversight. Staff were very clear they don’t appreciate seeing things that appear to be violations and it’s nobody’s job to police it. It puts them in an awkward position, and it leads to the potential for abuse.”

On balance, Andrews concludes, the ad hoc found it to be a more “fair and consistent approach” to treat all commissioners the same and move to a higher uniform salary while eliminating per diem payments. Such a system will also be easier for staff to budget and administer, Andrews says. Noting that per diem payments are “all over the map,” Andrews says the proposal won’t even constitute a raise – or much of one – for some commissioners already collecting high levels of per diem.

The ad hoc’s recommendation is to raise the base commission salary to $24,000, the vice chair salary to $25,000, and the chair’s salary to $26,000. The committee also recommends implementing the same cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) increases as the county’s last negotiated labor terms: 0 percent for 2025, 4 percent for 2026, 3 percent for 2027, and 3 percent for 2028. Commissioners will be eligible for benefits equivalent to those of a 30 hour-per-week employee.

Because a new slate of commissioners will be sworn in January 1, the current salary ad hoc committee will dissolve at the end of the year. The committee is therefore recommending that the incoming board establish a new committee in the new year, which will continue the work of reviewing salaries for the rest of county elected officials and employees in 2025.