The Leelanau County Road Commission authorized a 3% cost-of-living wage adjustment for salaried employees at their Jan. 21 meeting. The motion was approved narrowly by a 2-1 vote, with two commissioners absent.
Reasons given for increasing wages included keeping up with the costs of inflation and that the Leelanau County board of commissioners approved a similar increase for government employees. But the counterargument was that the costs of a 3% increase would add up quickly, especially for the more highly paid positions, and it could cause controversy with union employees.
The raise was approved with Vice Chairman Garth Greenan and Commissioner Jim Calhoun voting in favor, and Chairman Bob Joyce voting against it. Joyce added that he was opposed for the reasons listed above, but he still felt that all employees deserved a raise. Commissioners Mel Black and Greg Mikowski were absent.