Sumpter gives Fire chief Richard Brown raise in pay to $63,500

A $4,900 raise in pay was approved by the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees at its Feb. 22 regular meeting on a 5-1 vote.
The contract amendment for Fire Chief Richard P. Brown is effective March 7 and expires Aug. 1, 2024 for a salary amount of $63,500 annually.
Trustee Peggy Morgan voted no and Trustee Don LaPorte was absent. Brown was hired as chief on Oct. 7, 2021 at a salary of $58,600.
Public Safety Director/Police Chief Eric Luke, who made the recommendation for the raise, provided a list of ten townships with populations about 10,000 each that had an average fire chief pay of $67,675;
In other business at the 40-minute, Feb. 22 meeting, the board:
• Approved the supervisor’s recommendation to appoint Bart Patterson as Board of Review alternate member with a term to expire Jan. 1, 2024;
• Approved a proposal to host a Conference of Western Wayne (CWW) monthly meeting at Sumpter Township with a meeting date to be determined by CWW;
• Approved a $5,000 contract with All Tree Service to remove large cottonwood trees growing near township fire hydrants and grind down their stumps on land near 46901 Harris, 44000 Willow, and 28903 Sherwood. Trustee Oddy said the bill should be sent to Wayne County because it’s their right of way;
• Directed the township attorney to prepare language for the upcoming millage renewals for the police department, which had millage of two mills and one mill that both expired in 2021. The one mill for fire expires in 2023;
• Discussed demolishing a township building at 24985 Sumpter Rd. They had trouble getting bids and had recent proposals for $9,500 and $9,800. Public Safety Director Luke said later in the meeting that there are three properties to be torn down in the 24000 block of Sumpter. The township got no bids for demolishing the bleachers and other things at the festival grounds, but Karen Woodington said they got one bid that day and two more are coming;
• Reviewed the February ordinance report, with Trustees Oddy and Morgan pointing out a number of cases had been closed;
• Heard Trustee Morgan say she wants to change her vote on Item E in the Feb. 8 minutes to “no.” She said the committee approval was for three board members plus one more, which she doesn’t agree with because that makes a board quorum. Young said she can’t change her vote because it’s what happened. She said she would like to have it reflected in the minutes of the present meeting that she changed her mind, for the record;
• Heard resident Mary Ban say she respects the fact that the board has preserved and displayed the 1912 American flag, now in a shadowbox at the back of the meeting room. She said history is very important and she brought a couple of items from the Ypsilanti Museum which is open and, “not closed like Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara has closed the Belleville Museum” and
• Went into closed-door session to review a union grievance and get an update on negotiations with the police union. The board came back into open session only to adjourn.