By: Gary Winkelman | Sterling Heights Sentry | Published January 14, 2026
STERLING HEIGHTS — A suggestion to raise the training budget for City Council members ignited a discussion about how — and where — elected officials should direct money toward professional development.
The request to add $30,000 to council’s education and training budget came at the behest of Councilman Mike Radtke but was ultimately rejected on a 4-3 vote on Jan. 6.
Council members who opposed the budget amendment said there wasn’t a compelling case for an increase, even if the amount was relatively small compared to overall city spending.
“This increases the cost of government a little bit,” said Councilman Robert Mijac, who was elected in November. “I met a lot of residents over the summer who are dealing with higher costs in their daily lives. Being a new council member, I’m very uncomfortable voting … on increasing the budget of our council by $30,000.”
“This is something that doesn't have to be done,” added Councilwoman Barbara Ziarko. “You just don't blanket say we’re going to add $30,000. It's got to have a reason. And right now, I don't see one.”
The council’s current training budget is $50,250. According to background material provided by city administration, the budget includes funds for conferences such as the Michigan Municipal League's annual conference and capital conference, the National League of Cities City Summit, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting.
Radtke said he sought additional funding so all of the city’s elected officials could have opportunities to access new ideas and strategies that could in turn benefit the city as a whole. He cited the city’s new ordinance regulating cryptocurrency machines as an example, noting action by Sterling Heights was influenced by rules enacted in another community.
“The best ideas are stolen,” Radtke said. “We just take the best from around the state, and this amendment is to give all of us the opportunity to go to these conferences, and to go to these meetings, and to go to these sessions and learn more about the best ideas in the state, and to make it fair so everybody can go.”
Mayor Pro Tem Liz Sierawski backed Radtke’s push for more training funds and the “edge” it can provide for the city.
“This gives us some more tools to help provide good services to the city,” she said.
Councilman Henry Yanez, who voted against the budget increase, said he acknowledges the need for legislators to be educated, but pointed to alternatives that can be done without spending additional money. He said if the council wants to emphasize training, the money should be used for city employees rather than elected officials.
Mayor Michael Taylor said he supported the suggested hike in the training budget and disagreed that a sufficient case had not been made for the motion.
“I think that the $30,000 is fairly well explained,” he said. “It would cover registration for four council members to go to the Mackinac Policy Conference, and then another $8,000 for other professional development.”
Taylor added that earmarking more money for training doesn’t absolutely mean it would all be spent, but rather just be available for officials to use according to their availability and interests.
“I think it's a benefit to the city and it’s worth the expense,” he said, adding that if the city council is “operating at our highest capacity,” it’s positive for the city government overall.
Ultimately, the training budget increase fell short by one vote, with Taylor, Radtke and Sierawski in favor and Mijac, Yanez, Ziarko and Councilwoman Maria Schmidt opposed.
Call Staff Writer Gary Winkelman at (586) 498-1070.