At the Dec. 3 meeting of the Van Buren Township Board of Trustees, Trustee Paul White complained about the $3,000 expenditure for speaker Paula Tutman for a one-and-a-half-hour meeting Dec. 18 at township hall.
Trustee White said board members first learned about the meeting with a notice in their boxes and would have liked to be consulted. White said Supervisor Kevin McNamara said there were donations for the speaker, but on Tuesday McNamara said there are no donations. The township is paying for this motivational speaker for all employees.
“I do that every year,” McNamara said, pointing to a session on diversity one year and active shooters another. “This is a little higher than usual,” he said of the cost. But, he said, everybody is involved and the board is also invited to attend.
“I have a serious problem with how money is being spent in this township,” White said. McNamara agreed the fee is $1,000 more than he spent last year, but “this is a proven, corporate training expert and … We’re making it mandatory. With that much money, we’ll make it mandatory.”
He recalled that Mike Kole was paid $4,000 for an all-day session with the board. White said a 40-hour week at that pay would be $80,000 for the Tutman, the Channel 4 celebrity. Employees should be super-motivated by the time they head off for Christmas vacation.
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5 Comments
Weather
As a retired educator and VBT resident I am deeply offended at the Township’s payment of 3000.00 to a News Reporter for a 1.5 hour motivational speech. In comparison to the amount paid in the past for the all day session it appears as though no one has taken the time to cost analyze the tax payers monies being spent. I am interested in the past effectiveness of Ms. Tutman’s prior motivational sessions in terms of expected employee outcomes. What are the intended outcomes of employees who will be mandated to attend this session? Are we targeting specific goals for improvement in employee performance? Will their be follow up support for employees implementing her motivational strategies, or is this a one time session. She grabs 3000.00 of tax payer money and moves on to the next “Motivational Session”? My money is a terrible thing to waste.
NBCT, Thank You for your response to the Independent Editorial. VBT Expenditures are one of the most important issues and responsibilities of Trustees. We were not made aware of this expenditure until the notice came out. This may be a great experience for all employees of VBT, but is very very expensive. I am very concerned about how monies are being expensed and then the Trustees are expected to just vote YES for the money. Again, Thank You for your response to the Editorial.
Trustee Paul White
I agree with above from NBCT, a good way to waste taxpayer money. Also, where is the follow-up to find out if the speech actually accomplished something. Just exactly what is the goal, what do you hope to gain? The motivational speaker is laughing all the way to the bank!
Ms Cedillia,
Thank You for your response to the Independent Editorial. VBT Expenditures are very important to our residents. All monies collected by VBT belongs to our residents and should be expensed to the benefit of our residents. Training is important for our VBT Employees, but all costs should be scrutinized for our residents benefit.
VBT Trustee Paul White
Why would anybody believe McNamara would have done anything different. He has been pillaging VBT funds years, for no other gain but his own. Just another example of not caring for the taxpayers. If she’s so good, why not open it up to the public, so we can all be motivated, since we are all paying for it anyways?