Township boards get compensation increases

By Dana Casadei

Members who serve on the Bloomfield Township Planning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) and Wetlands Board will soon see an increase in their compensation.

On Monday, March 23, township board members voted to increase the pay each group receives per meeting. Those on the wetlands board were increased to $200 per meeting, and the planning commission and ZBA will now receive $250 per meeting. 

The current stipend rates have been unchanged since 2017, during which time they were set at $125 per ZBA meeting, and $75 per meeting for those on the planning commission and wetlands board. 

“I support it. The amount of effort, hours and as its become more influential in our community… it is the gatekeeper of a lot of our developments and has a ton of influence on how we continue to move forward, so I think we should compensate those board members appropriately," said trustee Chris Kolinski.

Originally, the compensation changes were part of the evening’s consent agenda – where the board has the ability to vote on multiple meeting agenda items at one time – but trustee Neal Barnett asked for it to be taken off so they could discuss further.

In particular, he wanted to discuss the compensations for the ZBA and planning commission, which were not the same in the original proposal.

“I certainly do not believe there’s a $50 difference in what they do; and whether the ZBA meetings are longer or not is irrelevant,” Barnett said. “That’s like saying some of our meetings here are half an hour, some are four hours; we get paid the same no matter what. I think it’s what you bring to the meeting and the issues and your job responsibilities that are important in these different boards.”

“They have different responsibilities but they both come with a great deal of expertise, a great deal of commitment and I certainly believe both boards deserve the same compensation,” Barnett continued.

Barnett knows first-hand the amount of work needed for those on each committee; he was a member and vice-chair of the ZBA for four years before becoming a trustee, and is currently a member of the planning commission, a position he’s held for almost 20 years.

The final vote was in favor 6-1. Trustee Mark Antakli voted “no” on the proposal.