The county Road Commission approved pay increases and bonuses for salaried staff during its brief, final meeting of 2007.

The commission unanimously approved a 1.5 percent increase for salaried staff, which goes into effect for the first pay period of January. The new salary levels are manager/superintendent Herb Cradduck, $55,574.48 to $56.408.10; engineer James C. Johnson, $57,288.60 to $58,147.93; Maple City foreman Robert Atkinson, $46,150 to $46,842.25; clerk Joe Nedow, $41,056.83 to $41,672.68; and deputy clerk Lynn Hansen, $30,264 to $30,717.96.

The commission also approved bonuses for each position based on how much extra time an employee works on the job above their paid time. Cradduck will receive a one-time payment of $1,500, while Johnson, Atkinson, Nedow and Herman will each receive $500. The bonuses will be paid before 2007 ends.

Chairman Lee A. Bowen proposed a pay raise of 1.5 percent for salaried staff, saying it was in keeping with the increase given to the hourly unionized work force. Member Glen M. Noonan, however, said he would rather see a 2 percent increase, which would have been more than that given to the union workers. In the end, the 1.5 percent hike was approved.

Bowen also originally offered for discussion giving Cradduck a $2,000 bonus, based on the amount of “overtime” hours Cradduck puts in during the week, especially during the winter. Cradduck said Atkinson and Johnson also put in extra hours, and he preferred to see any bonus distributed equally among salary staff.

In other business during its 75-minute meeting, the commission rescheduled its first January meeting to Wednesday, Jan. 2, at 1 p.m. The county Board of Public Works will also hold its first meeting of 2008 on Jan. 2, at 10 a.m. at the commission office in Suttons Bay.