BY STACY SOBOTKA
Despite objections from residents, the Romeo Village Board of Trustees approved an ordinance that gave Village President Christine Malzahn a pay raise at their meeting Oct. 18.
The ordinance that handles the wages of the president and trustees is known as the President’s Ordinance.
A resolution at the Sept. 20 meeting instructed Village Attorney Mark Clark to draft an amendment to the elected official’s salary ordinance:
- Malzahn’s salary would nearly double from $30,000 a year to $58,240 a year,
- Clerk Katharine Trapp’s salary would increase by 20 percent from $40,000 to $48,000 a year
- and Treasurer Sherri Maddox’s salary would increase by 20 percent from $30,000 to $36,400 a year.
Under Michigan law, salaries of elected officials in general law villages must be written into an ordinance.
During public comment, residents objected to the pay raise as the president’s position is part-time.
Flyers were distributed throughout the village notifying residents of the issue.
“You have to be doing an awful lot for us to warrant a 94 percent pay increase. Just because the national study says this is what it is across municipalities doesn’t mean you deserve it,” said Carl Blanchard. “I would like for you to think hard and long before you give yourself or anybody else for that matter that substantial amount of raise.”
Shelley Rosso said the pay raise was only appropriate if Malzahn was working full-time at the village hall.
“For that type of pay scale I would expect my representatives to be there five days a week,” she said.
Trustee Meagan Poznanski said she asked for a copy of the original amendment approved in 2018.
She said she never got a reply, then asked for an affidavit when it went into effect. She did not get that as well.
“Nobody besides this council has ever seen this,” she said.
Poznanski also looked up the ordinance codes online via Municode, but found they were not up to date.
“We’re voting on something our people … have never even seen the original amendment to it unless they asked for it. If they want to look it up online, it’s still not correct. That’s a major concern to me,” she said.
Malzahn said Trapp had submitted updated amendments to Municode, but said they had not yet been codified.
Malzahn also made a statement regarding the pay increase.
“For all of you here tonight, I encourage all of you to come and spend a day or a few hours in our village hall. Come and witness our amazing staff, the hard work that they do. We continue to put the needs of our residents first and help them solve issues with professionalism and courtesy, and we look forward to your feedback,” she said. “Romeo Village President is a humbling job, to say the least. I took it on. I put myself out there, with the goal to preserve what Romeo holds dear and improve things for future generations.”
Malzahn said that past presidents appointed officials, giving them less responsibility.
She and Trapp agreed to split the $70,000 salary earned by former clerk administrators.
“We realigned the roles and responsibilities back to what the general village law states, having the clerk’s salary remain at $40,000 and the president at $30,000,” she said.
When it came to voting on the salary increase, it passed by a vote of four to three.
Trustees Poznanski, Zach Fowler, and Justin Parker voted against the motion.
Malzahn voted in favor, which Parker felt was unethical.
“She shouldn’t be voting on this,” he said.
Wastewater treatment plant supervisor Al La Peer also stated his case for a wage increase.
“I feel like I’m going against the current, but I’m doing this anyways. I feel like I got left behind my peers,” he said, referring to a wage increase for the DPW Director.
La Peer asked for a wage of $37 an hour. He also explained that Romeo’s wastewater treatment plant is the largest in the area with 2.2 million gallons.
Trustee Matt Edwards made a motion to approve the wage increase, and it was unanimously approved.
