Sumpter Townshp solves treasury problem by Friday deadline

Last Friday at 4 p.m. was the absolute deadline for problems to be solved in the Sumpter Township Treasurer’s department and the finances were in such good shape by then, the Financial Director could head off to a convention on Monday without a worry.
There were checks totaling some $700,000 in escrowed mortgage money sent to the township from a bank to pay property taxes for hundreds of residents and this needed to be credited to their accounts.
It was found in a FedEx envelope on the desk of former Deputy Treasurer Janet Hoffman and she had signed for it on the last day of her employment.
When Hoffman left with four days notice and a brand-new deputy was appointed and then fired, the department was turned upside down with lots of work to do.
If the taxes weren’t marked paid for homeowners by Friday at 4 p.m., there would be penalties applied to the taxes.
At the Sept. 11 work/study session of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees, Trustee Don LaPorte noted that a new deputy was on the agenda to be appointed by Treasurer Peggy Morgan.
“What happened to the last one?” Trustee LaPorte asked and Morgan said she had a personal conversation with her on Tuesday after Labor Day and, “On Wednesday morning I decided to terminate her.”
“We asked for a criminal check,” said Trustee Matthew Oddy, piling on to his political enemy Morgan. “Did we ever get it?”
Supervisor John Morgan said the deputy refused to cooperate for a background check.
It was later learned the paperwork was presented to the new deputy while she was in the middle of a vital project and when she went to the clerk’s office to get assistance from the deputy clerk and sign the paper, the office was closed. The next day she was fired.
Police Chief Eric Luke said a background check cannot be done without signing for a release and police never received a signed release.
Clerk Esther Hurst said they sent the release over to her on a Monday.
“LEIN is very strict,” said Chief Luke referring to the Law Enforcement Information Network. “There are certain rules to be followed.”
Township attorney Rob Young said he wanted to get the situation straight, noting that Timolin Pozon, PhD, was appointed deputy treasurer on Aug. 28.
“And, on Sept. 5, she was terminated by action of the township treasurer,” Treasurer Morgan said.
The minutes of the Aug. 28 board meeting show Pozon was hired to start Aug. 24, was to have a police background check, and was to be paid $25.08 per hour.
LaPorte pushed on, asking to know who staffed the Treasurer’s office during the transition.
Treasurer Morgan reported that the Friday before Labor Day Polzin took off and then didn’t come in until noon the day after Labor Day. The next day she was fired.
Treasurer Morgan said after her former deputy Janet Hoffman left, other departments pitched in to help her and she gave a special thanks to Anna Winter, a clerk in the water department whose desk is in the treasurer’s office, who stepped in to help. She said there was no training.
“Anna is not bonded,” said LaPorte. “And, she should not touch township money.”
[Winter has since been bonded.] LaPorte said he called the State Treasurer’s office about the situation and he said he was told Sumpter was not meeting its statutory duties and he should seek legal counsel.
Attorney Young said whoever is treasurer has a $50,000 bond and the deputy treasurer has a bond of $150,000.
“It’s the position that’s bonded, not the person,” Young said.
Young said, “We can’t have the treasurer’s office open without a treasurer or deputy treasurer.” He said someone from the clerk’s office helping in the treasurer’s office is not appropriate.
Clerk Hurst said she had her Deputy Clerk Dawn Hadyniak call the township’s insurance company and she was told there was an insurance to cover them temporarily.
Young said the exception for coverage is theft and there is no coverage for missing money.
Township Finance Director Scott Holtz said he took an internal audit and found that payments, daily balance, and reconciliations have not been done in a timely manner.
He said his plan is that Cari Ford, from the township auditor’s office, will take on the bank receipts and he will do the training and daily balance.
“Friday is the tax due date and everything will be done by then,” Holtz said. “Cari will have to do a stringent audit. She did the bank receipts before I came.”
Holtz said he will do the bank reconciliation. The last balance was Aug. 30, he said.
Treasurer Morgan said her new deputy is Vernon Morse, who worked at Van Buren Township for 20 years, and, “He is honest. Today he balanced a couple more days.”
She said because Morse is new to Sumpter, he will be trained. She said they had four days before Janet was gone.
“I did the best I could with what I had and It didn’t work out,” Treasurer Morgan said.
Attorney Young said he’s been asked to look and see if there is an overage, received money and credit not made, daily balancing, stubs matched with receipts, and payments processed in a timely manner.
Trustee Oddy said banks for mortgage companies sent checks and on Aug. 27, $732,000 in checks were received for 942 residents and not credited.
“That’s in the process of being taken care of,” Treasurer Morgan repeated.
“If they are not marked paid, interest and penalty will be charged,” Young said.
Holtz said that is the law and the township can do nothing about it.
“This is not a resident’s problem. It’s our problem,” Holtz stated.
“Are you confident this will be done by Friday?” Young asked auditor Ford.
“I believe Scott and I can handle this,” Ford said.
“I sent an email to the entire board,” LaPorte said.
Attorney Young said he just got the information from LaPorte the previous day and was busy with other matters and didn’t have time to check it out.
“I have all the confidence in Cari and Scott to get this handled by 4 p.m. Friday,” Young said.
Trustee Oddy asked Treasurer Morgan if she would accept the help of Deputy Supervisor Karen Armatis, who used to serve as deputy treasurer, and Treasurer Morgan replied, “They are handling it.”
Young asked if Treasurer Morgan will be in the office when this is being handled and she said she would be.
Trustee Oddy needled Treasurer Morgan again: “Are you going to pay out of your pocket” if there are penalties? Treasurer Morgan did not respond.
At the end of the meeting, Treasurer Morgan made a statement: “I want to apologize for Janet and Mrs. Polzin. The money is there. It’s not missing. It was a mess. I apologize to the public. I guarantee you it will be OK at the end.”
Treasurer Morgan, who was appointed treasurer after the death of Alan Bates, had served as a longtime trustee. In the August primary election, Morgan was running to be the Democratic candidate for treasurer and was beaten by newcomer Ken Bednark. She has filed as a write-in candidate for treasurer in the Nov 6 election.
In other business at the Sept. 11 meeting, the board:
• Approved the appointment of Vernon Morse to the position of deputy treasurer, contingent on a criminal background check. He will be paid $25.08 per hour;
• Approved the water contract with the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA). Holtz said there has been a reduction in township water usage since 2014 and so there will be a 3.27% reduction in cost. He said they will use the extra money to go into the infrastructure since the pipes are getting old;
• Approved the hiring of Sean Michael Hudson, 30, as a full-time police officer, replacing Officer Michael Lezotte who resigned in July. This is contingent upon Hudson’s successful completion of the State of Michigan Recognition of Prior Training and Experience program, along with the normal required physical and psychological examinations and drug screening. Hudson has been with the city of Roswell, NM, police department for two and a half years and worked for the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office in Roswell for two years before that. He grew up in Taylor, has an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Schoolcraft College, and graduated from the Wayne County Regional Police Academy. He left the state to find work during the recession. This is the second Roswell Police Officer hired by Sumpter. Chief Luke said Van Buren Township has a few new hires from Roswell;
• Heard Chief Luke announce two new signs have been put up at his police department. One is the main sign out front and the other is a smaller sign in the parking lot so people who sell things on line can have a safe place to meet. He said it is under constant video surveillance and they already have had people using it;
• Heard Supervisor Morgan report Sherwood Pond is still closed due to pollution;
• Heard Trustee Sheena Barnes question Clerk Hurst about why it took so long for the primary election ballots to get in to the county and they were unofficial for quite a long time. Hurst said there was no problem and, “There were no hiccups at all.” Trustee Barnes said she saw the ballots all over the place in the back room at 9:45 a.m. Friday. Hurst said her deputy was moving them out of the container and into another bag and resealing. “It’s the proper procedure and we’ve done it for years,” Hurst said;
• Heard Trustee Barnes remind them that on June 19 she stated she wanted her mail put into her box and now she found her Michigan Township Association material with stains and mud on it. She addressed Deputy Supervisor Karen Armatis: “It was cruddy. I have problems with that. I know I’m dark, is this sending me a message that I’m dirty? It was soiled. Now I put gloves on to get my mail. I didn’t appreciate the dirt, filth, stains on my mail.” There was no explanation offered; and
• Heard resident Mary Ban thank the fire department for helping her when she had a “belly flop on the cement floor” at the fire department’s chicken broil. She said there was a five inch difference in elevation in the floor, marked by a big yellow stripe. She said she didn’t break anything and she enjoyed the chicken dinner from a wheelchair provided. Then her son took her to the emergency room for a check up.