Questions rise about redactions of records by Sumpter employee

The Sumpter Township Board of Trustees heard Treasurer Kenneth Bednark voice concerns about redactions – blacking out — of township records, at the board’s regular meeting April 9.
Treasurer Bednark reported he has been doing internal auditing to make sure resources go where they should. He found some invoices in the files were heavily redacted.
He said he called the McGraw Morris law firm about its redacted invoices and they told him to ask township attorney Rob Young because they didn’t do it.
So, he asked Young and Young investigated and reported it was Finance Director Scott Holtz.
Bednark said if something is to be put in the file redacted, the decision should be made by the township board, not an employee.
Young said Holtz said there were a couple of matters relating to litigation that he redacted, but Treasurer Bednark should be able to see un-redacted bills.
Holtz still had un-redacted copies so Bednark was able to see them, but the redacted versions were in the township files.
“I don’t know who told him to do that,” Supervisor John Morgan said of Holtz.
“The board should be able to see all these records…” Young said.
“Somebody gave the order to Scott and he works for the supervisor’s office,” Bednark said.
“I didn’t,” said Supervisor Morgan. “And, not my deputy.”
Bednark said if the documents are being held in an insecure place, the board needs to provide a secure place.
In other business at the April 9 meeting, the board:
• Approved a letter of understanding regarding retiree life insurance and pension plan for the Fraternal Order of Police;
• Approved a letter of understanding regarding medical benefits maximum out of pocket reimbursement for Fraternal Order of Police, Command Officers Association, and Michigan Council of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees;
• Approved, on a 6-1 vote, a management negotiating committee for AFSCME of Scott Holtz, Michelle Bellingham, John Morgan, and attorney Rob Young, with Treasurer Bednark voting no;
• Approved a resolution describing a policy prohibiting harassment, discrimination and retaliation;
• Approved the new National Electric Code 2017 as a new standard for electrical inspections for the building department. This new standard was effective Jan. 4, 2019;
• Approved requiring the vendor for the sound/video system to come before the board before payment is approved;
• Heard Rush announce the Skyward training will be held at the fire hall and NOAA radios will be delivered the following Thursday to assess for major buildings;
• Heard Adrian Slaughter ask about the policy to prohibit harassment, discrimination and retaliation and was told it mirrors federal law 99% and Michigan law and you have to have a local policy to enforce locally. She also told of how the water department shut off her water by mistake and if she hadn’t called at once, it would have been off all weekend. She also asked Trustee Don Swinson what a trustee does and he explained, especially his work with Parks & Recreation. She asked what the township does for the kids besides an Easter egg hunt. “We don’t really have a program for the youth, such as ball, cadets for police or fire, anything to give local youths an advantage to put on a resume.” Swinson said the parks and Recreation members are all volunteers;
• Heard Trustee Matthew Oddy ask if the Missoula Children’s Theater is still coming to Sumpter and Clerk Esther Hurst said, according to a story in the Independent, it is going to be held at McBride school. She said she sent a letter to Barbara Rogalle Miller and never got a response;
• Heard former Treasurer Peggy Morgan ask about the status of the pension fund that she told the board about earlier. Young had said he was getting in touch with the Nationwide attorney. Young said he was in contact with the township’s attorney on the matter. He said two weeks ago he said he was taking it over to work out and needed to talk to their attorney. Morgan said Young had looked at the contract and said it was OK. Young said, “It was OK,” but there was a problem with the second addendum which said the township would pay $27,000 or pay it over a period of time to switch to MERS. Young said he wants to see if the township can go back to where it was with Nationwide. Morgan said she found out about not being able to get her pension funds out last November, “and, this is April”;
• Heard Peggy Morgan also ask about how much Sheldon Futernick owes in water bills. Young said he didn’t know, but whatever he owes is always put on his tax. He always writes on his check, “paid under protest,” Young said. Morgan said others get their water shut off when they don’t pay. Young said Futernick owns mobile home parks with a number of people in there. If they shut off the water, it would be punishing the residents, not him, he said. Young said Futernick is very litigious and has filed up to 14 law suits against the township since 1994;
• Also heard Peggy Morgan ask why Treasurer Bednark’s report to the people was on the last page of the recent township newsletter instead of where it belonged, right behind the Supervisor and Clerk reports at the beginning of the newsletter. Deputy Supervisor Karen Armatis angrily explained it was last because it was the last column submitted for the publication. Supervisor Morgan said he’ll make sure in the future the Supervisor, Clerk, and Treasurer reports are at the front. Peggy Morgan also asked Clerk Esther Hurst about a rumor going around that Hurst is going to resign and the township will put Maria Beaudrie in her place. Hurst replied that was not true and it definitely is a rumor. Beaudrie is mother of the current Deputy Clerk Dawn Hadyniak;
• Heard Mary Ban ask about NOAA weather radios mentioned by Trustee Tim Rush. Rush said the township is getting those through the National Weather Service and wouldn’t be available to the public. Bednark said he got two radios on Amazon and for $45 to $70 you can get a radio programmable to the 48111 zip code. Ban also said she was shocked to learn Sumpter was paying $25,000 a month for the pension shortfall. Young explained how the pensions work. Bednark said 42% of the township budget is in salaries and with the declining revenue from the landfill and the escalating costs, in the next administration or the one after that, the township may have to bond to pay for pensions; and
• Heard Jay Bardell ask if the township gets court money back from Romulus would it go to the general fund or the police department’s forfeiture fund and Young said it would go to the general fund.