News photo by Kayla Wikaryasz Alpena County Commissioners attended the board’s monthly personnel committee meeting on Tuesday.

KAYLA WIKARYASZ

News Staff Writer

ALPENA — The Alpena County Board of Commissioners Personnel Committee reviewed changes made to County Administrator Jesse Osmer’s proposed contract on Tuesday. Osmer’s contract. Which will extend another three years, will go before the full board to be approved.

According to Osmer, the contract discussion on Tuesday covered “housekeeping” changes to align itself with state statute which requires county administrators to have three-year contracts. Osmer said if the contract was not renewed by Aug. 1, the contract would only be valid for one year.

“Basic housekeeping to bring it into a schedule that makes more sense,” he said.

Osmer’s contract renewal also includes a salary increase of 3% starting on July 17, based on his current salary of $87,870. Below is how Osmer’s salary will increase in the next three years:

Jan. 1, 2027: $100,000

Jan. 1, 2028: $103,000

Jan. 1, 2029: $106,090

Compared to other administrators in counties similar to Alpena County, Osmer’s pay raise for 2026 is inline with the average.

County administrator for Chippewa County, Kelly Church, said that her salary starts at $86,688 and “tops off” after five years at $103, 979. For comparison, Chippewa

County runs off of a general fund balance of $16.8 million while Alpena County runs off of a general fund balance of $13.3 million.

Church said that she’s been employed by Chippewa County for “over 30 years” and officially became administrator in 2001.

Osmer provided The News with comparisons from other county administrator salaries from six other counties in Michigan, and included factors such as time served and taxable value of the county. For example, Alpena has a population of 28,903. Its taxable value is $1,327,327,558 87,870, and Osmer has served as administrator for a little over two years. In comparison, Clare County has a population of 31,678. Its taxable value is $1,625,911,594, and its administrator has been employed for over three years. Clare’s county administrator receives $112,600 a year.

The average for all six county administrators, including Osmer, was $113,741 a year.

Negotiations for Osmer’s initial hiring began in April 2024. Osmer took over as county administrator replacing Interim Administrator Jennifer Mathis after the previous county administrator Mary Catherine Hannah left to pursue an administrator position in Saginaw County.

Osmer’s starting salary was about $20,000 less than what the county was offering other candidates at the time.

During the hiring process in 2024, commissioners made adjustments to the qualifications they preferred for a candidate. A candidate with a bachelor’s degree was preferable and a master’s degree was ideal, but candidates who had on-the-job experience in government administration were considered.

Prior to his role as current administrator, Osmer worked as the legislative aid to Sue Allor, was an Alpena County Commissioner, and briefly sat on the Alpena Municipal Council.

During his tenure as administrator, Osmer has balanced the county’s budget for 2025 and 2026. Previously, the county had been running a budget deficit of $1.6 million, forcing the county to dip into its savings to make ends meet.

When he took the administrator job, Osmer told The News that he was able to solidify the budget for the administrator’s department by working for a lower salary, declining the $13,000 in hospitalization he was entitled to, and reducing overall spending. As a result, the department’s budget showed a surplus for the end of the year, warranting a one-time raise of $4,100 for Osmer at the end of the year in 2024.

County Commissioner Travis Konarzewski and then-Commissioner Brenda Fournier, supported Osmer’s raise, citing his work on balancing the budget.

Regarding Osmer’s renewal contract, Board Chairman John Kozlowski said that the items he wanted changed or added to Osmer’s contract were included in the final version. However, he said that a stipulation for continuing education for Osmer was not added.

“I did want some items changed,” Kozlowski said. “I’m happy with this specific contract.”

Kozlowski said that in previous committee meetings he had voted “no” in giving Osmer a raise and said he wanted the county to “look at more gradual increases.”

“I’m not against him getting a pay raise,” Kozlowski added. “All in all, it really doesn’t matter what I think. If the full board is happy with it, I’m happy with it.”

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.