New undersheriff greeted with pushback regarding pay
ALPENA, MICH — The new Alpena County Undersheriff officially stepped into his new position this week. Unfortunately, he was greeted with pushback regarding pay.
Undersheriff Erik Smith was sworn into his new role by Sheriff Steven Kieliszewsi this Monday. Smith has served Alpena county for nearly 13 years, but that hasn’t stopped board members from attempting to deny him a pay increase.
“The first vote was to not give the undersheriff his pay raise, that vote ended up in a four to four tie. There was another motion to give him a pay raise and that motion ended up in a four to four tie.”
Some commissioners fear raising his pay would negatively impact the county budget, but Sheriff Kieliszewski says smith should at least make the same amount as before his promotion.
“I went to the personnel committee and informed them that in my opinion the pay rate for the undersheriff is too low. The rate was going to be lower than what the sergeants are currently making.”
Smith says for now, he’s just happy to serve his community through his new role.
“Obviously we don’t go into law enforcement for the money, and yeah, it might have been a little bit of a hot topic today, but I’m not concerned. I feel that things will work out.”
The topic is still up for discussion and will be addressed between the sheriff and board members in the future.
Lauren Mixon, WBKB News.
