Sumpter Township hires Julie Campbell as new finance director

Julie Campbell was hired as Sumpter Township’s new finance director at the April 8 regular meeting of the township board. She took over her position on April 14.
She will have a base salary of $92,000 per year, with standard staff benefits and pension upon successful completion of the background and drug screen. Compensation and performance reviews will come after 60 days.
Campbell takes over the vacant position left by Scott Holtz when he resigned almost six months ago. Holtz had been township’s finance director previously until a April 30, 2019 resignation. He returned as finance director on Jan. 11, 2022, and then resigned on Oct. 29, 2024. When he left his salary was $94,500.
In other business at the April 8 meeting, the board:
• Discussed improvements to Judd Road in cooperation with Wayne County’s funding options. The estimated cost to hard-surface the gravel part of Judd is $5.3 million. Also, the board discussed funding options for the Willow Road water main project between Sumpter and Martinsville roads. The board is expected to have estimated costs for this, a proposed time line, and preliminary details on a proposed revenue bond issue;
• Heard township manager Tony Burdick say EGLE (the Michigan Department of Energy, Great Lakes, and the Environment) will meet in Sumpter on April 16 to give information to officials on the wetland process under way in Sumpter Township;
• Approved the planning commission meeting minutes from Nov. 14, 2024;
• Approved selling two 2017 Ford Interceptors formerly used by the ordinance officers through Insurance Auto Auction. One car had an odometer reading of 145,869 and the other was 152,867;
• Approved the Michigan Association of Fire Fighters/Sumpter Fire Fighters pancake breakfast from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 3, at the fire hall at 20550 Sumpter Rd. Breakfasts are $5 each at the fund raiser;
• Approved trading in five ICP 1 tabulators and purchasing five ICP 2 tabulators for elections with a trade-in credit of $5,000 for a total cost of $28,165. The county’s contracted vendor is Dominion Voting Systems. Clerk Don LaPorte reminded the board that during the last general election the township had power issues at the polls that damaged the tabulators. He said they bought two new ones prior to this;
• Approved having volunteers Karen Armatis and Scott Holtz install the VA headstones at Martinsville Cemeter, weather permitting, before Memorial Day at no cost to the township other than gravel and Quikrete supplies. Armatis and Holtz were the cemetery committee before they both left township employment;
• Approved having MotorCity Land Development perform a second-phase park cleanup of small trees and shrubs at Banotai Park in specified areas at a cost not to exceed $2,500;
• Approved DPW worker Rachel Scott’s personal request for unpaid leaving from May 19 to June 2;
• Heard Trustee Tim Rush report the Skywarn meeting on April 5 had a good turnout; and
• Went into a 42-minute closed-door session to hear an attorney’s opinion pertaining to Carleton Farms Landfill/Republic Services pending audit.
Absent from the April meeting were Treasurer Bart Patterson and Trustee Matt Oddy.