Despite a half hour delay to the start of the meeting due to a law enforcement matter, the Worth Township Board of Trustees met for another special meeting yesterday.
While Supervisor Walt Badgerow was unable to comment on the pre-meeting incident, he did lead the limited board during their special meeting on Wednesday, February 25, appointing Karen Ellis as the meeting’s recording secretary in light of Clerk Jennifer Marshall’s absence.
Her absence, as well as the continued absence of township treasurer Jennifer Woodruff, is noticeable following last Wednesday’s meeting, when several members of the board and the public demanded for the two’s resignation in light of a recent audit’s findings. According to the township board, the audit findings revealed “gross negligence” by the township’s clerk and the treasurer, with the alleged negligence of duties and unauthorized compensation leading to significant financial losses for the township.
Yesterday’s meeting included several motions to recover the lost funds, with the board authorizing the township attorney to seek to recover expenses incurred by the township as they seek to secure public funds and ensure duties are being performed appropriately. To date, expenses incurred by the township for the process is estimated at $60,000. The township attorney was also authorized to file a claim against the deputy clerk’s bond for $992.76 of unauthorized funds received by collecting the township’s short-term rental permit fees.
To address the penalties and interest incurred due to payroll deductions being filed late since March 31, 2015, the board also approved splitting the penalties and interest of $92,935.70 between the clerk and treasurer’s bonds, with each responsible for $46,467.85. Whatever is unable to be recovered via their bonds can possibly be recovered via civil action, according to the township.
In addition to the financial details, the board looked to add further safeguards to the township’s money-handling. The board moved to have Supervisor Badgerow look into the price of additional security cameras to cover the treasurer’s counter, workspace and office, as well as having him ask the Sanilac County Sheriff’s Office to provide a police escort to the treasurer when making bank deposits.
While it was reported that the treasurer’s deputy resigned yesterday, it is unclear if either the treasurer or clerk are looking to formally resign, despite the board’s repeated call for it. Also calling for the resignation are Worth Township citizens, with one public comment revealing that recall petitions were filed with the county clerk’s office against Woodruff and Marshall on Tuesday, February 24, and another sharing that a citizen’s committee is gathering information on the situation to take to the state police.
Should Woodruff and Marshall vacate their positions, the township board would have 45 days from their resignation dates to fill the positions by appointment. The Michigan Townships Association notes that no one can write or issue checks if either a clerk or treasurer resigns. Further, the MTA states that “if a clerk or a treasurer resigns, the deputy’s appointment also ends [and] until a new clerk or treasurer is appointed, no checks, payments or disbursements can be issued. In other words, no checks can be written, and no paychecks or bill payments can be made.”
The township board is scheduled to meet again on Wednesday, March 18.
