Dorr Township Treasurer Jim Martin Thursday night presented a proposal for a pay raise for township officials hoped his proposal would “cut down on the rancor that has accompanied such decisions in the past.”

No dice.

Board members and an audience squabbled over the issue for almost an hour and it was finally decided to have it tabled and a special three-person committee come up with alternative to

Martin’s plan, which was to raise the salaries of the supervisor, clerk and treasurer from $26,400 to $32,000 and each of the four trustees from $3,500 to $4,000.

Trustee Terry Rios objected, insisting it would be a 24% increase for the three, but a calculator showed it to be a boost of just over 21%.

Martin said the raise would cover the years from 2004 to 2018, during which township officials received only very small raise, two years ago. He said the treasurer, clerk and supervisor in 2004 were making only $24,800 apiece, to the increase to $32,000 actually was just a little higher than inflation.

Rios maintained all township officials didn’t run for their positions because of the money.

“It’s called public service… because we are willing to help our community,” she said. “You knew what you were going to get when you came into the office.”

Martin said he was paid more per hour back in 1975 when he was an intern at Grand Valley State University. Supervisor Jeff Miling said the township pays a lot more per hour for an assessor than for supervisor, clerk or treasurer.

Rios responded to Miling by saying, “You were elected, you weren’t hired.”

Clerk Debbie Sewers said, “I’m very happy with my position at Dorr Township,” indicating the pay level isn’t all that important.

Rios said the township had set aside a surplus of $65,000 from the previous budget and is using more than half of it ($33,000) for pay increases.

“More than half is going for raises for a select few,” she asserted, adding, “This is not about people, it’s about the position.”

Trustees John Tuinstra and Dan Weber said they were perfectly happy with their $3,500 annual salaries. Weber suggested approving the raises much closer to the date of the next election and have them implemented after that election is over, thereby giving the public a chance to voice its opinion.

When asked how many hours he, the treasurer and clerk are in the office, Miling said he does most of his work outside the office.

The three officers made $24,800 each until getting a raise to $26,400 in 2016.

“I think we’ve been underpaid over the last four years,” he said. “Things are getting more and more time consuming.”

He added that because Dorr continues to grow, it may not be long before it’ll be just as populous as Byron Center, where Supervisor Tom Hooker makes $79,000 a year.

Citizen Michelle Edsall said, “I don’t think I’d be the only person flabbergasted over a 24% raise.”

Citizen Bernie Schumaker asked, “Why don’t you move to create a Compensation Board?”

Tuinstra said he’d be opposed to passing along a difficult question to someone else.

It was finally agreed to have Weber, Tuinstra and citizen Chandler Stanton, who was in the audience, to meet as a special committee to recommend an alternative proposal and decide at the boards