Belleville Clerk/Treas. Chapman gives report on her department

Belleville Clerk / Treasurer Verna Chapman gave a 43-minute report on her department during a special study session held via Zoom before Monday’s regular council meeting.
This report was before the council’s annual budget sessions were set to begin.
In preparation for the report, she said she asked department heads to tell “the good, bad, and ugly” about her department.
She said when she came to the position she set goals for herself for 30, 60, and 90 days. She said the first 30 days concentrated on the election. The second 30 days was focused on who does what, the processes they have, and having a notary.
The next 30 days was to implement the process, fine tune her process with the city manager and council, and work on a plan for a positive customer experience.
Chapman said she is the only one in the clerk’s office and the treasurer’s side has Plante Moran, an assessor, and two clerks, who receive payments, pay bills, and do payroll.
She said she wants to increase accountability. She said the BS&A software being used can do much more than they are using it for and can help them automate just about everything.
Chapman said she also would like to improve security for those entering the building and those inside the building, making sure everyone’s accountable.
She said a lot of keys are being used in every section.
As far as the finance department goes, she doesn’t want to add human resources, but she’d like to improve the training.
There is one full-time employee for water billing and she recommends training to improve the billing and customer service and make sure it is accurate on the first pass.
Chapman suggested a part-time, shared person to assist with clerical tasks and just getting the bill out the door.
“I want to train our staff as water professionals,” she said.
Elections
Chapman said the next key service is elections and they need to identify space for voters. She said in the future there will be more in-person voting with the law changes. She said she would like to have a place for them to vote, around city hall. And, she would like tabulators in a future budget.
Chapman said an additional employee to support the clerk and city manager should be hired. She said now the two support each other and the city manager can’t perform her real work if she is performing this clerical work.
She said this full-time employee could be developed into an election official.
Councilman Tom Fielder said Chapman was referring to voting prior to election day. He said he’s seen voters sitting around tables at city hall, several at once with nothing blocking their ballots.
“We made it work. It served its purpose,” Chapman said. “But there is a better way to do it.” She said there are lightweight, portable voting booths that can be used, if they have the space – somewhere to set them up.
Councilman Fielder said they had a blind person come into the polls at the last election and, “We were caught a little short.” He said they used a special machine and they made it work, but more training is needed.
FOIA
In another area, Chapman said there is software to help trail Freedom of Information Act requests to make sure they are answered in the time allotted. She said she had identified cloud-based software that allows other people who want that information to get it from the cloud. Mayor Conley asked how many FOIAs they get and Chapman said a couple a month, but it fluctuates quite a bit.
Marijuana Industry
Chapman then got to the new marijuana industry in the city and noted the operating structure is not there. She said they have to develop how they handle it on an ongoing basis. The industry is projected to make a lot of revenue for the city, she said. Security is needed because they are inviting a lot of people into the city.
She said there will have to be so much more planning for future budgets and there may be someone in Belleville who can help – a specific person from the community who can help with the fine lines. She said Councilman Fielder had suggested someone.
Fielder said he doesn’t remember suggesting a person, and he thought it was Growth Works he suggested.
Chapman said it was a while back and Fielder said he would talk to her about it later.
“We have three weeks to determine the best fit,” she said of the marijuana industry applications. “All applications came in differently. There were a lot of nuances. A part-time temporary person could help us zip through everything. And, also in the future would be helpful.”
Fielder said the responsibility of day-to-day reporting to businesses and the state, “That’s a full-time job for someone.”
City Manager Tracey Schultz Kobylarz said while she and Chapman are doing the paperwork, after businesses are selected there will be a huge impact on the building department, with new buildings going up. It will be a big impact on Rick Rutherford, building official, and his DPW department.
This will take a lot of attention for the first full year, she said. She said they are trying to do everything to the best of their ability to avoid litigation. And there will be business licenses for all businesses.
“We’re being very, very cautious to take baby steps,” City Manager Kobylarz said, referring to the marijuana rules.
Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Marcotte said he would suggested basic training for the planning commission and the board of zoning appeals to make sure everything is consistent.
“Very good. Consistency is the key,” Clerk Chapman agreed. She said in Michigan this is unchartered territory as to what works and what does not and they have to find as much information as possible.
Hillside Cemetery
Chapman then went on to Hillside Cemetery issues. She said municipal cemeteries usually are pretty manageable with not a lot of activity.
But, in light of COVID and the natural circle of life, activity at Hillside has picked up and there are one or two burials a week. She said everyone is looking for space and it takes a lot of time.
She said currently the cemetery does not sustain itself and she would like to propose price changes at a later date.
In closing, she said her goal is to improve technology, improve safety in the workplace, and improve customer service, so people have a positive customer experience at city hall.