Ann Arbor taxpayers paid six-figure salaries to 267 city government employees in 2025, a 57% increase from the 170 who earned that much six years earlier, according to payroll records obtained by MLive/The Ann Arbor News through a Freedom of Information Act request.

City Administrator Milton Dohoney Jr. topped the list at $286,487 in total 2025 pay. His 2026 base salary has since climbed to $300,000 after City Council approved a retroactive raise in January 2026. Mayor Christopher Taylor said in January 2026 when council approved the raise, "We are just so incredibly fortunate."

The next-highest 2026 base salaries are the city attorney at $246,300, the deputy city administrator at $192,456, the police chief at $187,514 and the new Sustainable Energy Utility director at $185,000.

Total compensation topped $77 million

The city paid roughly $77 million in total compensation to nearly 1,500 regular full-time, part-time and seasonal workers in 2025, including overtime and bonuses. As of April 2026, base salaries for about 1,000 current employees totaled more than $72 million, with 175 of those workers earning base pay above $100,000. The figures do not include hundreds of temporary workers such as election staff.

For comparison, Mayor Taylor earns $54,233 and council members earn $32,540. Neither is counted among the 267 six-figure earners.

Budget adds 30 positions

The salary data lands as the city ramps up hiring. Council approved the FY2027 budget on Monday, May 18, setting total expenditures at approximately $650 million and authorizing 894 full-time equivalent positions, an increase of 30 over the prior year. New hires include three firefighters, one police officer and four permanent staff for the SPROUT crisis response program. Council also authorized temporarily exceeding the 894-position cap by up to 10 additional FTEs for workforce planning.

Union workers push back

Not everyone in city government is sharing in the pay growth. At the same Monday, May 18 budget meeting, AFSCME Union President David Kastner told council that union employees had not received a contractual raise in more than 24 months, while the city administrator received raises and bonuses. AFSCME member Logan Stolly, a Forestry Department employee, told council during public comment that current wages make it difficult to recruit new workers in his department. The contract remained unresolved as of a May 19 appeal Local 369 members made directly to council, according to WEMU.

With 30 new positions to fill and recruitment challenges in departments like Forestry, how the city balances executive compensation against front-line wages will shape its ability to staff up under the FY2027 budget. The dispute is expected to resurface when council holds its next regular meeting, expected Monday, Aug. 17, based on its recurring first-and-third-Monday schedule.