By Shelby Stewart-Soldan
Staff Writer
Brandon Twp. — During the regular meeting on Sept. 12, the Brandon Township board of trustees voted 7-0 to purchase cellphones for the township supervisor, clerk, treasurer and parks and recreation director.
“This has come up several times in the past and I’ve been exploring this and we discussed it many times,” said Supervisor Jayson Rumball. “I spoke to the township attorney, the auditor, and MTA about doing so and they all agreed not only should we do it but it is legal to do.”
The phones will be purchased through FirstNet, which is part of AT&T. The phones range in price from $800 to $1,500 per phone, and the bill would be around $47 per phone per month.
“Almost every township in Oakland County has two cell phones,” said Rumball. “And it’s been recommended by MTA and our attorney to do so.”
One of the issues brought up was the Freedom of Information Act. Should someone FOIA a township official’s cellphone, they would need to give up their personal cell phone if it was used for township business. By having a work cell phone, it would allow township business to stay on township devices.