Seven from Macomb County among Duggan's highly paid Detroit appointees

Among Mayor Mike Duggan’s long list of highly paid political appointees are seven administrators who live in Macomb County, not the city of Detroit.
According to a report published by the feisty Motor City Muckraker website, Duggan has 94 appointees, many of whom are paid well above $100,000 a year. The city does not have a residency rule for its top officials and less than half of those in the six-figure salary range live in Detroit, Muckraker founder Steve Neavling reported. Neavling secured the data under the Freedom Of Information Act.

The seven from Macomb County are:

* Eric Jones of Shelby Township, $140,500, director of Buildings, Safety, Engineering and Environmental
* Dan Dirks of Macomb Township, $140,000, director of Department of Transportation (DDOT)
* John Berlin of Warren, $118,831, deputy Fire Commissioner
* Jose Abraham of Sterling Heights, $117,084, deputy director of the Department of Public Works (DPW)
* Richard Doherty of Warren, $115,000, city engineer, DPW
* Ursula Holland of Clinton Township, $110,623, deputy director of Human Resources
* Lawrence Meyer of Macomb Township, $106,001, director of Homeland Security

It should be noted that Dirks is a longtime Macomb County resident who previously served as director of the SMART suburban bus system. In addition, Doherty has lived in Warren for many years and in the past held the same position, city engineer, in Warren.

But the Muckraker found that some of Duggan’s top people were recruited from outside of the tri-county area and they chose to settle outside of the city.
At the same time, the mayor continues to cut city workers and the remaining employees faced concessions during the Motor City’s bankruptcy process.

Neavling, an independent journalist, noted that the appointees are “a mix of city hall insiders, experienced administrators, political veterans and newcomers.”

Four appointees receive more than $200,000 a year and the combined payroll price tag of the 94 appointees is $10.3 million in salaries, plus health insurance and other benefits.
Former mayor Dave Bing had 118 appointees when he took office in 2009 but that number was whittled down to fewer than 75 in the months leading up to the state’s emergency manager taking over city operations in early 2012.