Kalamazoo County Board Raises Salaries by 80% – Here’s How It Compares

KALAMAZOO, MI — Kalamazoo County commissioners will get a significant raise in 2025, nearly 80 percent.

The Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners voted in October to increase the commissioners’ base salary from $18,431.11 to $33,155. It passed 6-3, with Dale Deleeuw, Wendy Mazer and Jeff Heppler voting no.

How does their new salary compare to similarly sized counties in Michigan?

Michigan has five counties with populations between 170,000 and 310,000, with Kalamazoo in the middle with 262,215 residents. The Kalamazoo County commissioner’s salary will be the highest of the five.

In some cases, it’s double or triple the salary of other similarly sized counties.

MLive gathered the data from a combination of sources, including Freedom of Information Act requests and recent media reports.

Here’s each county’s salary, along with the number of commissioners serving on the board and the county’s population.

• Saginaw County – $10,874, 11 commissioners, population 187,782
• Livingston County – $16,000, nine commissioners, population 196,757
• Kalamazoo County – $33,155, nine commissioners, population 262,215
• Ingham County – $20,400, 15 commissioners, population 284,637
• Ottawa County – $20,844, 11 commissioners, population 303,372

In Ingham County, commissioners voted this year to increase their salaries in 2025 from $12,360 to $20,400, a 65% increase.

Ottawa County also considered a substantial increase – to $33,250 – but council did not act on the proposed increase.

The total salary for Ingham County county commissioners is the highest of the five counties, at $306,000, due to the higher number of commissioners (15). Kalamazoo County’s total base salary is $298,395 for its nine commissioners.

Several counties, including Kalamazoo County, pay additional money to board leaders.

Even Kent County, which has twice as many residents, will pay its commissioners less than Kalamazoo County. Kent County is increasing its commissioner’s salary to $29,593 in 2025.

Some communities, like the city of Kalamazoo, have an outside board that helps set salaries for elected officials. For example, the city’s Local Agents’ Remuneration Commission meets every two years to set the salaries of elected officials. This takes some pressure off the city commission, although it still has to approve the LOCC’s recommendations.

Kalamazoo County has no such board. Remuneration is determined by civil servants themselves.

A county board may establish a county officer compensation board, although this is not required by law.

“Help your employees before yourself”

Kalamazoo County’s new increases have not come without controversy.

Protesters, including county employees, held signs outside Kalamazoo County meeting halls in October criticizing the proposed increase.

Inside, county commissioners approved raising wages by 80 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2025.

The increase was approved before the November election, but all nine incumbents were re-elected.

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RELATED: Proposed 60% pay raise for Ottawa County commissioners not an option, county lawyers say

Jason Mikkelborg was one of the candidates who ran unsuccessfully for County Council in November.

“This self-voted increase is what is wrong with our government today,” Mikkelborg said. “This increase should have been on the ballot so the people could vote. »

In addition to the $33,155, the acting vice president receives an additional $1,000, the vice president receives an additional $1,500, and the president receives an additional $2,000.

Some Kalamazoo County commissioners argued that the increase was long overdue and that there were benefits to paying elected officials more: It gives people of all income levels a chance to serve.

Republican John Gisler, who voted for the increase, said he felt comfortable supporting it because the new salary is equal to that of the county’s lowest-paid full-time employee. During discussions, the board reduced Commissioner Monteze Morales’ initial $40,000 salary proposal to $33,155.20, so it was no higher than that of any full-time employee of the county.

“If the county board had increased their salaries incrementally over the course of two, maybe three decades, they wouldn’t (necessarily) have such a large increase,” Gisler said.

Gisler isn’t sure how much time he devotes to his work as commissioner. “I don’t count the hours,” he said. Critics say it’s not a full-time job.

The job includes reading hundreds of pages of agendas, two county council meetings a month and answering calls from constituents, he said.

“I’m retired from the pharmaceutical industry and I can’t imagine how someone who works full time can do an adequate job as a county commissioner,” Gisler said.

Criticism also came from former county commissioners.

The 80 percent pay increase “borders on the ridiculous,” said former longtime commissioner David Maturen.

“How many of your constituents who appointed you to the (board) received a pay increase close to that? Maturen said in an email to officials. “The idea that you are worth it contains a heavy dose of pride.”

Another former commissioner, David Buskirk, said in an email to county officials that it is a part-time position and that part of their time should be considered a contribution to the community.

The increase was set after a review of pay levels across Michigan and an assessment of the responsibilities associated with the role, the county said in a statement.

“The salary increase reflects the evolving nature of commissioners’ responsibilities, which now often require schedules close to full-time work,” the release said. “These adjustments recognize the increasing complexity of governance, the increased workload due to fewer commissioners and the need to ensure the role is accessible to qualified candidates from diverse backgrounds, regardless of their personal financial means. .

Some county board members make more money, with Washtenaw County, for example, increasing commissioners’ salaries to $36,315 in 2025. Washtenaw County, however, has 100,000 more residents than the Kalamazoo County.

There are differences in the structures and jurisdictions of county boards, Kalamazoo County said in its release. “This makes direct comparisons difficult. »

State law won’t allow counties to raise salaries again until 2029, another reason for change. Starting in 2025, Michigan county commissioners’ terms will be four years instead of two. The law states that the increases cannot be implemented until the start of the next term.

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