Politicians Irked By Double-Digit Raises for DIA Chiefs

Two local politicians are fuming over what they called excessive double-digit pay raises approved for leaders of the taxpayer-supported Detroit Institute of the Arts, and one of them says it’s a sign the Oakland County Arts Authority should be dissolved.

Oakland County Commission Dave Woodward of Royal Oak is drafting a resolution that would dissolve the Oakland County Arts Authority, which collects millions of dollars a year in voter-approved taxes to support the cultural attraction, the Detroit Free Press reports.

“The DIA must act now to acknowledge the mistake, apologize and fix it,” Woodward said in a statement. “Otherwise, I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to see that no further Oakland County monies go to it.”

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State Rep. Eileen Kowall, R-White Lake Township, also said the DIA should reconsider the pay raises, which included a 13 percent pay hike that raises DIA Director Graham Beal’s salary to $514,000 annual. His chief lieutenant, Annmarie Erickson, got a 36 percent increase that brings her pay to $369,000. Each of their raises included a $50,000 bonus.

The raises are particularly troubling, Kowall said, because the DIA’s priceless art collection was spared in Detroit’s bankruptcy negotiations while pensioners sacrificed in what is called “the grand bargain.” Now, Kowall told The Detroit News, she feels taxpayers were blindsided.

In 2012, voters in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties supported a $23 million annually to support operations at the museum, the fifth-largest fine arts institute in the country with holdings of more than 60,000 works. Oakland County alone provides $11 million a year in funding.

“Given the DIA’s very public part in Detroit’s recent bankruptcy case, I was shocked to see such drastic raises being given out on our taxpayers’ dime,” Kowall said. “I have worked hard to protect local taxpayers, and this is money that should have gone toward protecting the city’s art, not lining the pockets of top officials at the DIA.”

DIA board chairman Gene Gargaro defended the raises.

“When we were in dire straits, many times we gave Beal and Erickson credit for the work they’ve done to get us through these unique financial times,” Gargaro told the newspaper. “Yes, it’s a significant amount of money. That’s what it takes to attract and retain top talent in our community.”

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Photo via Wikimedia Commons