The Independence Township Board of Trustees has started the process of changing the face of local government.
At March 6’s trustees meeting, Clerk Shelagh Vanderveen presented information about hiring a superintendent and making elected officials part-time workers.
The vote was split 5-2. Trustee Charles Dunn joined Supervisor David Wagner in opposition.
‘I am 100 percent against the idea ? this form of government has been in place for quite a long time,” Dunn said. “The board does not have the moral authority to change our form of government. An initiative like this cannot come from the board. This needs to be a grassroots effort. Nobody on this board told anyone about this when they were being elected. During the next election, those running need to tell the people ‘this is what I want to do’ and see if they get elected or not. This is something that should come from the people.”
Vanderveen proposed hiring a superintendent to carry out policy, enforce township laws, prepare the annual budget, manage township departments, and act as a director to all township employees.
Vanderveen said growth in population and businesses is a cause for increasing workloads for township employees, creating a need for a professional superintendent.
“Elected officials will then have more time to carry out everyday business,” she said.
The addition of a superintendent would cut the supervisor, clerk and treasurer positions to part time. The superintendent would serve as a contracted employee.
Those newly part-time elected officials would be paid about one-third less than their current salaries. The decrease in pay would not take effect until 2008 because it is against the law to change an elected official’s pay mid-term.
The position of deputy supervisor could also be eliminated, according to Vanderveen, which may provide funding for the superintendent position. The decrease in pay, and the elimination of the deputy supervisor position would save the township nearly $125,000, she said.
Vanderveen also said the hiring process for a township superintendent would be lengthy, in order to hire the best possible person for the job ? possibly someone with a background in accounting or business management.
Her proposal Tuesday asked the board to look into the possibility of inviting guest speakers on the topic.
Trustees Daniel Travis, Daniel Kelly, Larry Rosso, Treasurer Jim Wenger and Clerk Vanderveen voted ‘yes? on the proposal. Wagner and Dunn voted ‘no.?
“Townships have traditionally been run by part-time officials and out of homes, not offices,” said Rosso. “I need several months to think about this. I’m not sure about it, and there are a lot of pros and cons, but I think I owe it to myself and we owe it to our community to look into it.”
Kelly agreed with Rosso saying, “If we can put in place a better form of government, I’m open-minded. I think that, one, we need to get expert information and, two, we need a substantial amount of public input.”
According to state law, a change in governmental structuring can be made by a majority vote of the board.
Attorney Neil Wallace said restructuring the township government is needed due to the ineffectiveness of the current supervisor.
“It’s not about getting rid of Wagner, but about his poor performance in regards to the budget,” he said. “This demonstrates the need for professional management. We shouldn’t be relying on just the person who gets the most votes because that doesn’t mean we’re getting the most qualified person.”
Wallace is a part of a group of citizens who have been discussing this issue, among others, which may appear on the 2008 ballot.
Kelly, however, disagrees with Wallace’s line of thinking.
“If it were about our current supervisor, he would have been recalled,” he said. “This is not about our supervisor, it’s can we get a better government for a lower price tag?”
Wagner agreed, saying the proposal may be an attempt to undercut his authority.
“There is at least one person on the board (Dan Travis) that is aiming this toward me and it was quite evident that night. He should come talk to me if he has that big a problem with me,” he said. “I’m completely opposed to (the proposal). I don’t think it’s needed here. You cannot find one person who can do all of these jobs. It’s a waste of township money.”
Wagner also cited stats from the Michigan Township Association. Out of the 1,242 townships in the organization, 44 have managers. Out of those, three are townships that are the same size as Independence, said Wagner.
“When you get into those, they are part time,” he said. “But with a township of our size, it’s near impossible to do that.”