LANSING | Now that municipal government is set to be run on a full-time basis by a village administrator, Lansing Village President Norm Abbott said he thinks the salaries provided for himself and the trustees should be cut since they won’t have as many responsibilities for the daily operation of government.
Abbott used the tail end of a recent Village Board meeting to say he and his municipal colleagues will discuss the issue when they have their next Committee of the Whole session Sept. 11.
Abbott, whose position receives a salary of $110,000, said he thinks it should be cut to $15,000 per year, along with an extra $5,000 stipend for his duties as village Liquor Control commissioner.
That cut would go a long way toward covering the salary of the newly created village administrator position, who was hired this week at a salary of $130,000 per year.
Also likely to be cut is the trustee compensation, a little more than $13,600. Vivian Payne, an administrative assistant to Abbott, said he would like to see their salaries reduced to an even $13,000.
Abbott also wants the Village Board to consider a change in the cost of living adjustments to salaries in place since 2004. He would like to see them eliminated for his position, and that of the village clerk.
If the Village Board gives its recommendation at the committee session, it could get final approval when the Village Board has a regularly scheduled meeting Sept. 18, or in October.
Any change to compensation for municipal officials would not take effect until after the April 9 municipal elections. Such changes would have to be approved at least 180 days prior to the end of the current term that runs through April 2013.
In other business, trustees voted unanimously in favor of a three-year contract with Omega Media for $110,000 to operate the Lansing Neighborhood Network, the cable access channel that features programming about the village on Channel 4 in Lansing.
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