(This editorial has been updated since it was learned the VBT police chief moved to VBT.)
We received a telephone call over the week end from a reader who owns property in Van Buren Township. He was concerned that Dan Selman was named deputy supervisor to Supervisor Kevin McNamara and that, he said, Selman showed no interest in moving into the township.
Public Act 212 of 1999, the Residency Act, became effective on March 10, 2000. The Act restricts public employers from requiring that certain employees reside within certain geographical boundaries as a condition of employment or promotion
The Act doesn’t apply to paid-per-call fire fighters who need to live a reasonable distance to be of any use in fighting fires.
VBT has a lot of employees who live outside of the township, including the deputy treasurer, and directors of public service, community service, planning, and recreation.
The city of Belleville has a city manager / police chief who lives in Monroe, a city clerk/treasurer who lives elsewhere, and the DPW director who lives in Romulus.
Sumpter Township has a deputy supervisor/finance director who lives in Ann Arbor and a police chief who lives in the city of Belleville. All this is legal.
We agree with the law. The quality of the employees should be the top priority, not where they hang their hats. What do you think?