Township trustee compensation increase okayed

By Dana Casadei

Meeting compensation increases for trustees were approved at the Bloomfield Township Board of Trustees meeting on Monday, Aug. 11.

As of September 1, 2025 trustees will receive $325 per meeting and then their stipend will increase again to $400 per meeting on April 1, 2026. The compensation increases are being rolled out this way so there won’t be a need for a budget amendment, officials said.

When compared to other local townships, such as West Bloomfield and Northville, the new stipends are still lower than those received by the West Bloomfield trustees, who receive $11,500 per year, only meet once a month, and do not have to attend to receive the stipend, unlike Bloomfield Township trustees who must be in attendance. In 2012, West Bloomfield trustees were adjusted from $6,000 to $9,000, and in 2016, they were adjusted to $11,000 per year

“I look at these boards that I compare us to – West Bloomfield, Northville Township – and see what they’re getting paid and want to put us more in line,” said trustee Chris Kolinski. “This $325 does not create a budget amendment, which is important; it also starts to put us more in line with what other communities are paying, and what they expect out of these seats.”

Not all the trustees agreed on the compensation increase though, including trustees Valerie Murray and Mark Antakli, who both voted no on the increase.

“I was ok with staff raises, but sitting in this seat is an honor… I just have an issue with raising for electeds,” Murray said. “I’m not comfortable with this and voting on the increase.”

The last time stipend increases were approved for Bloomfield Township trustees was in 2020, when the stipend went to $250 per meeting. Prior to that it was raised from $150 to $200 in 2012.

Antakli noted West Bloomfield and Northville, two cities that were used in comparison to come up with the amount for the pay increases, require their townships to follow best practices by the Department of Treasury while Bloomfield Township does not.

This did not sit well with treasurer Michael Schostak, who was taken aback at Antakli’s statement that the township does not follow best practices, which he said they do.

“That’s ludicrous that we don’t follow best practices compared to the Department of Treasury. We are a AAA rated community, which was just reaffirmed three weeks ago. You’re just lobbing out molotov cocktails,” Schostak said. “You’re not providing any basis of fact that make that statement true… that’s really insulting to us, especially those who work in the financial department because we have the highest rated audits we could possibly have.”

The compensation increase was approved 5-2 by the board.