Sumpter Manager Anthony Burdick retires as of Jan. 31

The retirement of Sumpter Township Manager Anthony Burdick at the end of the day on Jan. 31 was unanimously accepted by the township board at its Jan. 14 meeting. Supervisor Tim Bowman was absent and excused from the meeting.
The board immediately approved posting for the job of township manager to fill the position.
Treasurer Bart Patterson conducted the meeting in the supervisor’s absence.
In other business at the 39-minute, Jan. 14 meeting, the board:
• Heard Stephanie Richards of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department introduce herself as the department’s liaison officer for Western Wayne County communities. She said the sheriff wants to know the needs of the communities and so she is available for people to tell her what is needed. Trustee Matt Oddy said years ago, they would see Sheriff’s cars just cruising through the township and that would make people take note. He said he would like to see that again;
• Heard their new Wayne County Commissioner Allen R. Wilson introduce himself and say he would stay until the end of the meeting to talk to officials and residents;
• Appointed Helen Teall, Sandi Armstrong, Maria Beaudrie, and Karen Woodington (alternate) to the Board of Review with a term to expire in January 2027;
• Approved a posting to hire a full-time Clerk’s office employee, a union position per the AFSCME contract;
• Approved terminating the employment of probational fire fighter Andrew Sherwood-Landskroener, effective immediately;
• Approved extending the temporary part-time status of the Clerk assistant Gabreilla Massel, ending March 23;
• Approved directing all employment applications, resumes, and related documents to the Clerk’s office, particularly to Deputy Clerk Samantha Herman, for the foreseeable future until the role of Human Resources Specialist is fulfilled;
• Approved the interview committee’s recommendation to hire Debbie Nogle, effective Jan. 15, as Human Resource Specialist at a base salary of $83,500 per year, with standard benefits and DC pension pending accepted completion of pre-hire background and drug screening. The township manager and attorney will draft standard employment agreement and terms;
• Approved sending Sgt. Sean Hudson to the Eastern Michigan University School of Police Staff and Command at a cost of $3,500, with 75% of the cost covered by a MTPP grant and the rest by state training funds;
• Approved four police personnel to attend the 2025 Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police Winter Professional Development Conference from Feb. 4-7 in Grand Rapids at a total cost of $2,160;
• Approved list of 2025 regular meeting dates for the Parks and Recreation Committee;
• Heard Clerk Don LaPorte announce that the fire vehicle sold at auction brought $15,420. It was replaced by a vehicle purchased with an ARPA grant. Trustee Tim Rush said he will be setting up Sky Watch training for this spring and Huron Township has an interest in participating; and
• Also heard Clerk LaPorte report that Priority Waste had a truck in the ditch so it is not picking up trash on a number of roads he listed, saying they are waiting for the county to come out and put sand on those roads.
The video of the Jan. 14 meeting was not posted on the township’s website until Jan. 24. It contained a message: “Due to equipment malfunction beyond our control, this meeting has poor audio and video quality.” The Independent report of this meeting is based on this video.