OI supporters recommend 60% raise in commissioner pay
OTTAWA COUNTY — Has being an Ottawa County commissioner become a full-time job? A special board tasked with making raise recommendations says yes.
The Ottawa County Compensation Committee, comprised of seven members — including Chair Larry Jackson — voted in April to recommend a 60% increase in commissioner pay, plus a $1,000 monthly stipend for healthcare costs. Jackson, the dissenting vote, told media he'd recommended a more conservative 6% increase at the beginning of the year.
Jackson told FOX-17 he'd dissented "because that's outlandish."
If approved by commissioners, sitting officials in 2025 would have the highest salaries in the region, including Kent County and Kalamazoo County. Right now, commissioners make $20,844 annually, while the vice chair makes $21,523 and the chair makes $27,127.
Next year, those numbers would bump to $33,350.40, $34,436.90 and $43,403.20, respectively.
On Thursday, May 2, the committee made additional recommendations for the county prosecutor, sheriff, treasurer, clerk and water resources commissioner —all of whom would see an 8% raise in 2025 and a 6% raise in 2026.
All other elected officials would receive $40 per approved meeting, with the exception of road commissioners, who would receive $50. The salary for the chairperson of the Ottawa County Road Commission would rise from $9,500 to $15,500. Other road commissioners would see $12,500, an increase from $9,000.
The Ottawa Impact-led board appointed four new members to the Compensation Committee in December: Mark Brouwer, Craig Dunlap, Angela Loreth and Lynn Janson. Loreth, Brouwer and Janson voted yes on commissioner raises.
Brouwer's wife donated $100 to OI's political action committee in 2021. Loreth donated $104.10 to Vice Chair Sylvia Rhodea's campaign in 2022, and $104.10 each to two OI-endorsed candidates for the Allendale Public Schools Board of Education.
Janson applied for the District 6 commission seat after Kyle Terpstra resigned in November. He expressed support for the OI majority during his interview.
The board is likely to consider the raises during its next regular meeting May 14.
Gretchen Cosby, an OI-backed official, claimed she didn't become a commissioner for the money, but she wasn't opposed to the raise.
"Please check on the going wage rate or salary for a masters-prepared nurse with 31 years of experience," she told FOX-17. "I promise whatever the [Compensation Committee] raised our salaries to, it's not comparable. We are providing a service to the community."
Non-OI commissioners, however, were opposed.
“One of the easiest ‘NO’ votes of the year,” Jacob Bonnema wrote on Facebook. “District 4 will be voting against this abuse of our tax dollars.”
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Doug Zylstra, the board’s sole Democrat, agreed.
“The recent decision by the Compensation Committee to approve 60% increases plus a $1,000 monthly stipend for county commissioners is far outside neighboring counties’ compensation standards, and constitutes a major disservice to county taxpayers,” Zylstra wrote on social media. “If this recommendation is presented as is, I will be voting no.”
— Cassandra Lybrink is the local editor of The Holland Sentinel. Contact her at clybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Twitter @CassLybrink.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: OI supporters recommend 60% raise in commissioner pay
