The weather kept residents away from the Empire Village Council public hearing with only one community member in attendance.
Village resident Karen Baja took her chance to voice some pointed concerns saying, “I am disturbed that the zoning administrator doesn’t enforce anything,” she said, questioning the nearly $10,000 annual salary. “If we aren’t going to have the ordinance be enforced, and he’s just writing land use permits, it’s nothing against that person personally, but I really don’t think they’re doing almost $10,000 worth of work, and it could go elsewhere in the village.”
Baja suggested reallocating some of those funds to the Department of Public Works (DPW), in order to improve hiring potential and help handle operations. She also asked the council to publish meeting notices in the Leelanau Enterprise instead of the Record Eagle.
