Sumpter ups board member salaries by 5% on 5-2 vote

Members of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees received a 5% raise in pay as of April 3 after a 5-2 vote at their regular meeting March 28.
Voting no were Trustees Peggy Morgan and Don LaPorte.
Earlier in the meeting, resident Mary Ban asked about how much the pay raise would add to the elected officials’ pay and Trustee Matt Oddy explained.
He said the trustees currently made $22,001 and that would go up to $23,001. The treasurer and clerk make $30,000 and that would go up to $31,500 and the supervisor makes $38,000 and that goes up to $39,900, he said.
An early agenda for the March 14 meeting had an item put on by Supervisor Tim Bowman calling for $7,000 raises for all the board members and also included raises for deputies, but that agenda was revised before the meeting and the raises were no longer on the agenda. Supervisor Bowman did not attend the March 14 meeting.
The approval of the 2023-24 budget was pulled from the March 14 agenda to be modified and ready for the March 28 meeting. Sumpter’s fiscal year ends March 31.
The 5% raise then was added to the March 28 agenda by Supervisor Bowman and the expense reviewed by Financial Director Scott Holtz who on the paperwork indicated it was not in the new budget for 2023-24 that was to be approved that evening. The unbudgeted status of the raises was not mentioned at the meeting.
In other business at the 38-minute, March 28 meeting where all board members were present, the board:
• Approved the 2022-23 fourth-quarter budget amendments;
• Approved the 2023/24 budget, with Township Manager Tony Burdick noting public copies of the budget were on the table at the back of the room. He said the updated budget reflects the integrity of the general fund and sets up a capital project fund that allows the township to respond to emergencies and strategically plan;
• Approved the purchase agreement for the sale of parcel #81-102-99-0006-000 on Martinsville Road, without discussion. The sale of 69.36 acres to the Alan and Diane Laing Family Trust of Phoenix, AZ was approved for $270,000;
• Approved the annual contract for Par Plan liability insurance with Burnham & Flower Insurance Group effective April 1, 2023 through March 31, 2004 in the amount of $130,820.88;
• Approved the Axon Enterprise 75-month services quote and agreement in the amount of $99,993.60 to be paid from the police forefeiture fund. This is for new body cameras and supporting equipment. Public Safety Director/Police Chief Eric Luke said the new cameras have better resolution and the agreement features license plate recognition units in all six patrol cars. He said when the patrol cars drive through the trailer parks they can read every license they pass. He said in court “they won’t even touch” cases without videos. He said the new equipment is expected to arrive in a year;
• Approved reinvesting the water/sewer Certificate of Deposit maturing on April 6. The $400,000 invested on April 6, 2009 at .26% interest, now is worth $455,097.64. It will automatically renew for 12 months at .26% interest if not reinvested. Finance Director Holtz said he got CD rates from three local banks and the best CD rate is from Flagstar for 270-364 days for 4.65%. The board followed his advice to reinvest the $455,097.64 for 270 days. This would give the township flexibility to use those funds in the 2023-24 fiscal year and give it the best interest rate in the current market;
• Approved the contract with Bureau Veritas of Maryland for facilities assessments on eight township buildings for the amount of $25,350, with Trustee Morgan voting no;
• Approved putting a new item on the agenda as requested by Township Attorney Rob Young. He said a blight ordinance change needs to be approved by the board. He said the final ordinance change is not ready, but he’d have it to board members the next day and wanted them to approve it now. During the rest of the meeting he rewrote what he wanted changed and then read it aloud and the board approved it. It has to do with seeking injunctive, equitable relief from district court for blighted buildings that need to be torn down and the owners resist. He said the ordinance change is needed before the police department can proceed with this most recent change in handling blight problems;
• Heard Manager Burdick report that the Parks and Recreation Committee’s Easter Egg Hunt is at noon, April 1 [later postponed to April 2 because of a forecast of bad weather]; an April 22 Earth Day cleanup of Banotai Park; and a cleanup of Graham Park on an unspecified date in May;
• After a three-minute report by Burdick during the workshop agenda, went into regular session. Resident Ban asked if they aren’t having workshops any more and Supervisor Tim Bowman said they weren’t. Trustee Oddy explained that there has been no decision by the board and no action taken, but there were no reports this time and so there was no workshop;
• Heard Ban also ask if the new confidentially agreement passed for employees is in conflict with the Open Meeting Act. She asked if employees don’t have the opportunity to question things. Attorney Young said there are things you are not entitled to have under the Freedom of Information Act, like a social security number, banking information, and health matters. He said the agreement doesn’t deal with policy. He said he has to define the confidential information better and he has been asked about it by those at the board table. “It doesn’t come under FOIA and it just deals with employees with sensitive information,” Young said. Ban agreed that the wording does need clarification. “I did not draft that,” Young said of the the agreement. Later Trustee Morgan asked if all the employees had signed it since it was enacted at the last meeting and Young said two have signed it and they both deal with sensitive information;
• Heard resident LeRoy Paige thank Sumpter Township officials for taking part in the tribute to Vietnam Veterans on March 24 at Belleville High School. He thanked Trustee Tim Rush and Manager Burdick for participating. He said it will probably happen next year and invited everyone to come and honor the veterans. He said it celebrates Vietnam Veterans Day on March 29. Trustee Morgan agreed that the Vietnam Veterans “really were treated awful” when they returned home from war; and
• Approved receiving and filing the following reports without hearing the reports: Water & Sewer, Treasurer, Planning & Zoning, and Seniors.