Showdown Coming Between DIA, Oakland County Over Exec Pay

Unless the Detroit Institute of Art’s two top executive return bonuses to taxpayers, a bipartisan coalition of Oakland County Commissioners is poised to take action to dissolve the Oakland County Arts Authority that collects $11 million in taxes to support the museum’s operations.

Both DIA director Graham Beal and chief operating officer Annmarie Erickson received $50,000 bonuses in 2012. Commissioner John Scott, R-Waterford said commissioners are “getting heat from taxpayers,” The Detroit News reports.

“Is the money coming back or not?” he said. “I need a yes or no answer. Is it going to happen or not?”

DIA chair Gene Gargaro said he couldn’t commit without first getting a consensus from the museum board and executive committee, but said was “optimistic” he could get agreement to return the bonuses.

Related:

• Politicians Fuming Over DIA Chiefs’ Double-Digit Pay Hikes

After the two top executives received the bonuses and double-digit pay increases, Oakland County Commissioner Dave Woodward, D-Royal Oak, said he was prepared to draft legislation that would dissolve the Oakland County Arts Authority, formed after a historic 2012 vote in which residents of Macomb and Wayne counties also agreed to kick in tax money to support the internationally respected museum.

Commissioner Gary McGillivray, D-Madison Heights, said he’s been inundated by angry taxpayers. “You need to get a reality check. A large bonus at taxpayer expense?” he told Gargaro. “$50,000 bonuses aren’t happening in the real world.”

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• Do you think the bonuses should be returned?

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Photo via Wikimedia Commons