Sumpter Township cancels meeting when 4 board members don’t show

Four members of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees were absent from the scheduled work/study session and regular board meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 13.
Deputy Supervisor Karen Armatis announced that all four had called in to say they weren’t coming.
Absent were Clerk Esther Hurst, who reportedly was on vacation, and Trustees Don LaPorte, Matthew Oddy, and Donald Swinson. There was no announcement of why the trustees were absent.
Present were Supervisor John Morgan, Treasurer Peggy Morgan, and Trustee Sheena Barnes. It was the last meeting for Treasurer Morgan and Trustee Barnes since they had not been elected to positions in the Nov. 6 election. Morgan had served the township in elected positions and finally this final appointed position for a total of 16 years.
Since the seven-member township board needs a quorum of four to conduct business, no business was conducted. After the audience waited patiently through the 30 minutes of the scheduled 6 p.m. work/study session and a few minutes into the 6:30 p.m. regular session in case another board member showed up, Supervisor Morgan announced there weren’t enough present to hold a meeting and the meeting was cancelled.
Deputy Supervisor Armatis sat in the seat of the deputy clerk, who also was absent. Deputy Dawn Hadyniak generally takes the minutes of regular meetings.
Before the scheduled work/study session, the Independent questioned why there wasn’t a press packet for the meeting and Armatis said there wouldn’t be a meeting because four board members called in to say they weren’t coming.
But, when township attorney Rob Young was consulted, he recommended waiting until the regular meeting time arrived to cancel the meeting to see if any more members show up.
Supervisor Morgan asked if they couldn’t just hold the work/study session with the three present and Young said they couldn’t.
The audience, most of whom had gathered for the scheduled 6 p.m. meeting, talked among themselves and shortly after 6:30 p.m. were told there would be no meeting.
On the agenda for the Nov. 13 meeting were the monthly departmental reports, approval to pay $232,035.96 in warrants, approval of the second quarter budget adjustments, approval of putting a Detroit Edison LED light in the rear parking lot of township hall at a cost of $1,074.82, approval of two storm water maintenance permits, and approval to the hire Austin James Sloan as a full-time police officer.
Reportedly, the newly elected officials – Clerk Esther Hurst, Treasurer Ken Bednark, and Trustee Tim Rush – and the deputy clerk and deputy treasurer, were to be sworn into office during a Nov. 19 holiday luncheon at township hall. 34th District Court Judge Tina Brooks Green had been asked to preside at the swearing in, with Bednark opting to be sworn in by a circuit court judge.