News Photo by Steve Schulwitz From left to right, Alpena County Commissioners Bill LaHaie, Dan Ludlow, and Lucille Bray discuss business at Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting.

ALPENA — The Alpena County Board of Commissioners held the first of a pair of public hearings regarding a proposed increase in Alpena County Road Commission Board members.

The county is considering bumping the number of appointments from three to five, claiming it will improve transparency, offer better communication, and increase representation for residents.

The county says an increase in members on the road board would not cost the county any more money, as the road commission would work under the same budget it does now, but would likely have to tweak the road commissioner’s pay and per diem amounts.

Currently, the road commissioners make $300 a meeting, plus an annual salary of $4,500. They also receive a per diem of $30 for any meeting under four hours long. That equates to a total of about $8,460 a year.

Some members of the road commission are against adding to the road board because they believe things are running smoothly, complaints are addressed, and projects are being completed.

Commissioner Bill LaHaie said he attends road commission meetings regularly and that he believes the board and road commission staff are doing a good job and that a change isn’t needed, in his opinion.

LaHaie added that it is also not uncommon for counties to have three-member boards, as about 50% of the 83 counties only have three road commissioners to make decisions and represent the residents.

“It is run very smoothly over there, and I have observed very few complaints at the meetings, and the ones they receive are handled very well,” LaHaie said. “They have a superintendent and finance director who do their jobs well, they have a good maintenance program and good equipment, and everything just runs smooth over there.”

Earlier this year, County Administrator Jesse Osmer told The News that having more members on the board could make conducting business easier. Because it’s only three members, little can be discussed outside of an open meeting when urgent matters arise, because if two road commissioners were to discuss an issue, it would be considered a quorum and be a violation of the Open Meetings Act.

“Not being able to talk at all about projects or simple operations is not helpful, and being able to have simple conversations could help resolve things more quickly, instead of having to wait for a meeting,” he said.

During the public comment section of the public hearing, two people made public comments, and another sent a letter to the county with a comment. Two people were against the proposed change to the road commission board, and one person was for the change.

A second public hearing is slated for June 23 at 5:30 p.m. during the commissioner’s regular meeting, where people will have another chance to submit comments, and the board of commissioners could vote on the matter at its July 22 meeting, which begins at 1 p.m.

Both meetings will be held in the Howard Male Conference Room in the county’s annex building.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.