When Independence Township Trustee Neil Wallace took issue with how meeting minutes are written, his words were more than enough for Marguerite Anderson.
In an e-mail, April 22, to Clerk Shelagh VanderVeen and Deputy Clerk Paula Heenan, Anderson, who has been the minute recorder for the township for the past eight months, resigned her post.
“I try not to take things personally but last night’s attack on me from Trustee Wallace was embarrassing, particularly as he’made it very clear it was me and my work he took issue with, and’to do it publicly I’think was uncalled for,? Anderson said.?’I have tried to do my best to present a summary of comments made but I am not a mind reader as to’what others may perceive as important.? It seems’with each’meeting’it gets’worse and I do not appreciate being ridiculed in public.?
Wallace commented on minutes at prior meetings as well.
‘I have often said here that I think we need to have a lot of detail in our minutes, so someone looking back can determine the basis for the township board’s decisions. ” he said, April 21. ‘Typically that section of the minutes has been done in summary fashion. I think it’s a dangerous precedent to get as specific to what the comments are.?
Wallace recommended the April 7 meeting minutes be approved, but public comments altered ‘merely to identify those individuals who are making a presentation.?
VanderVeen said Anderson was a court reporter for the Oakland County Circuit Court and does a fabulous job.
‘I don’t have to be concerned about errors. She puts everything in a concise manner and it was delight having her. I was so disappointed because it’s hard to find someone who knows how to do minutes properly,? she said. ‘Now I don’t know what I am going to do because we have meeting on Tuesday and I don’t have a recording secretary and I know nobody’s going to like my minutes either if I end up doing them.?
Wallace who was sent a copy of the e-mail replied that ‘everyone reading the e-mail should be genuinely surprised at this reaction.? He also suggested a review of the audio should ‘reveal to any unbiased observer that this as not an attack of the scribner or anyone else.?
‘It is unfortunate that my request to change the minutes as taken as a personal attack’it certainly was not meant to be. ‘Actually Shelagh it was you I had in mind when I suggest this change. ‘Last summer you came under repeated attack during the public comment section and appropriately the minutes did not go into detail,? he said. ‘My comments were that the level of detail in the public comments section set a dangerous precedent?’meaning there could well be future criticism’that the minutes of similar attacks are launched again.?
Wallace said he was told by board members that VanderVeen had reviewed the minutes, but Wallace said it was ‘not likely? because the clerk had left for Pennsylvania the day after the last meeting because of personal matters.
‘From this information I presume you routinely review and edit the note taker’s rough draft. ‘I presume those edits are not taken as criticism,? he said.
‘Although I continue to believe that it is important for township operations and the public that the minutes be detailed enough to provide an understanding of the rationale for Board decisions that is not necessary for public comment.?
VanderVeen said she had thought they had reached a ‘good compromise? between board members concerning how the minutes are written.
‘What I’ve been told in training as a clerk is you only put in there who attended, the motion in verbatim language and if it passed or didn’t pass. All this other stuff is not required, but Marguerite did a good job at paraphrasing what was said and I thought that was a perfect solution,? she said. ‘Now, it’s like they want a court transcript. They want verbatim language and that’s not what the minutes are supposed to be. I’m just shaking my head. You can’t make these people happy.?