Bednark resigns as deputy supervisor in Sumpter Township

Kenneth Bednark has resigned as deputy supervisor, a position he was sworn in to fill on Nov. 20. Finance Director Michelle Cole was immediately sworn in to fill the position.
Bednark, who has served as elected treasurer for two years, did not run for reelection in 2020 and, instead, was appointed as deputy by newly elected Supervisor Tim Bowman.
After a special, closed-door session of the board with township attorney Rob Young on Feb. 2, an undisclosed offer was approved to settle the wage dispute and have Bednark sign off on suing the township for anything.
Bednark said he rejected the $5,500 offer proposed by Young and on Monday returned the $1,300 laptop which was also to be part of the settlement. He said since Monday was a federal holiday and township hall was closed, he returned the laptop to Public Safety Director Eric Luke at the police department.
He said he also returned a box of stuff from the township, including a cell phone and other items. He said Cole wanted his badge back, but he has been told in the past by Human Resources Director Michelle Bellingham that they never require the badge back. Former Deputy Supervisor Karen Armatis did not turn in her badge when she left in November, Bednark said. Bednark kept his badge.
He said last Thursday he received a letter from the Michigan Department of Labor with a claim number and an investigator assigned on his wage complaint. A copy of the letter was sent to the township and then to the board of trustees.
Bednark said the letter advised the township to pay him or to give an explanation of why not.
The township hired labor attorney Stacy Belisle of McGraw Morris at $165 an hour to handle the case, according to reports.
Bednark said he told his attorney that the state will do the heavy lifting now.
He said Young didn’t want him suing anyone for anything.
“This is like a pizza, with one topping on top of another,” Bednark said. He said this wage issue does not include hostile work environment or retaliation or other complaints.
Bednark said he called his state investigator and the investigator told him they have to determine the proper venue and whether this is a state case or a federal case, with the federal case having harsher consequences.
“The township has spent more money so far to keep me from getting the amount owed to me,” Bednark said.
When Bednark was sworn in as deputy in November, Supervisor Bowman requested the same pay for him as previous deputy Karen Armatis was paid, $31.44 per hour, because the Michigan Township Association told him that was proper. Bednark also got medical coverage as Armatis had.
All township meetings were canceled through the end of the year because of the coronavirus and state regulations.
But, at a specially called township board meeting on Dec. 15, the board voted 5-2 (with Trustee Peggy Morgan and Supervisor Bowman voting no) to reduce Bednark’s pay to $8,406 per year ($8.08 per hour), cut his full-time status to half time (20 hours) and take away all benefits.
The township then started deducting what it had originally paid him from his paycheck, which left him with no paycheck at all.