The Van Buren Township Board of Trustees voted 6-1 at its Jan. 10 meeting to pull from its agenda a contract with McKenna Associates to take over electrical inspection duties.
McKenna has been the township’s planning consultant since 1998 and the recommendation by Planning and Building Director Terry Carroll was to amend the present contract to use McKenna for the inspections.
Carroll was supplied by McKenna a year ago as an interim director to fill the position left vacant by the departure of Dan Swallow. Before long, Carroll became permanent director.
Carroll’s plan was to pay McKenna 75% of the township electrical inspection fee and keep 25% for VBT’s administration and paperwork, a proposal backed by Supervisor Paul White, who was the only board member voting against pulling it from the agenda.
The amendment to the contract was signed Dec. 16 on behalf of McKenna by Sara J. Hodges, senior vice president. McKenna president Phil McKenna sat in the audience at the Jan. 10 meeting and did not address the board.
The VBT electrical inspector’s job became open when Tom Buczkowski resigned to take a full-time position at another municipality. Because of the downturn in building projects, Buczkowski’s job had morphed into just Tuesday and Thursday inspections, with the other three days spent working in the water department at his inspector’s salary.
Supervisor White said this allowed Buczkowski to keep his full-time job and remain a member of the AFSCME union.
But, with his resignation, the job could be filled by contracted inspectors who wouldn’t require benefits. Supervisor White said the fee for inspections did not cover the cost of employing the inspector full time.
Carroll told the board, both at the work/study session and the regular meeting that there were 92 open electrical inspections. He nodded when Trustee Phil Hart asked if the township was in a “really precarious situation.”
Carroll said he had to scramble to get a substitute for Buczkowski and his recommendation was hiring McKenna.
AFSCME representatives said the township did not follow the proper procedures in getting rid of a union position. Jennifer Price, union steward for Local 236, warned the board that if they approved the contract with McKenna, the union would be filing a grievance and an unfair labor practice charge.
Trustee Al Ostrowski said at both the work/study session and the regular meeting that he would like to see the township try to get local inspectors to do the work before turning it over to McKenna.
He said he understood it was “only a temporary gig with McKenna” but he wanted to give local residents a share of the pie, instead of giving the work to McKenna, “someone who already has three-quarters of the pie.”
It turned out, after lengthy discussion, that Carroll reportedly told Treasurer Sharry Budd that “30 inspections needed to just be gone and 20 needed to be looked at.”
Price noted that there is a list of substitute electrical inspectors in the building department and Carroll could use that list the next day.
Hart said it didn’t add up that the inspectors weren’t as busy these days and the township had 92 inspections to do since mid December when Buczkowski left.
Price had said the township hadn’t held the required conference on the issue, but Budd said she was at the Dec. 14 meeting with the union when the township told them they were not going to fill that position because there was not a need for a full-time employee.
Budd then said she would make a motion to pull the item from the agenda, use the person used when the inspector was on vacation, and work out the issue with the union. Trustee Jeff Jahr seconded the motion.
“I did not ask for a motion and it will not be recognized,” Supervisor White said, citing his interpretation of Robert’s Rules of Order.
The board sat astounded and then everyone started talking at once. Jahr wanted to take the vote. White said it wasn’t in order. Jahr challenged the ruling of the chair (a challenge allowed under Robert’s Rules) and wanted to vote on the challenge. White wouldn’t allow the vote.
“I did not ask for a motion,” White insisted, as he continued to page through his Robert’s Rules of Order book for a passage to prove his contention, while discussion continued.
“You did not ask for a challenge, either,” Jahr charged.
Trustee Hart urged White to move forward with the people’s business. He said Jahr was challenging because White wasn’t moving forward.
Budd restated her motion and Jahr again seconded.
Jahr said the problem was that the board was not involved in discussion on the issue and it was sprung on them by having it on the agenda. He said McKenna may be the best decision, but he was under the impression it was OK with the union. He said he thought the administration had taken care of the details.
“If it’s the wishes of the board, we will attempt to get somebody else,” Carroll said.
“We need to take care of the people’s business and cut out this political agenda…” White said.
Trustee Denise Partridge said when she retired from VBT as an AFSCME employee, there were 36 union members. Price advised her that now that has fallen to 27.
Budd emphasized that this is not a political movement or discussion, by any means. She said the inspections need to be taken care of and the township has to make it right with its union, who serve the people, and make a better relationship.
“You’re getting some pushback from this board because of a lack of communication,” Jahr said to White. “That’s been a problem right along … It’s almost your way or the highway…”
“What happens if this is not approved tonight?” Trustee Ostrowski asked Carroll.
“I don’t have one for this Thursday,” he said referring to an electrical inspector.
Ostrowski encouraged Carroll to seek local people and added, “It would be prudent on our part to pull it [the proposed contract] … There’s too much animosity here … Let’s think on it…”
Eventually the vote was taken and the motion to pull it from the agenda passed 6-1.
In other business at the Jan. 10 meeting, the board:
• Approved seeking a declaratory judgment in Wayne County Circuit Court to have more than 125 lots now scheduled to go on tax sale in February instead combined into one large lot. The Planned Residential Development agreement for the uncompleted Victoria Park subdivision, at the corner of Ecorse and Morton Taylor roads, expired last May and under the PRD agreement that reverts it back to the one lot. The township gave “great concessions” on minimum lot widths and VBT was supposed to get paving of Morton Taylor Road and a water line on the road, which it didn’t get;
• Removed from the agenda the $145,600 intergovernmental agreement between VBT and the City of Belleville for emergency dispatch and lockup services because of some typographical errors in the paperwork;
• Approved the supervisor’s re-appointment of Margaret Thompson and Stephanie Soja to the September Days Senior Center Endowment Committee with terms to expire Jan. 15, 2014;
• Approved the 2012 rate schedule for Wade Trim Engineering Services at the rate that hasn’t changed since 2009;
• Approved the Board of Review Poverty Exemption Guidelines, which are less restrictive than the recommended federal poverty standards. An asset level test is included, as required by state law; and
• Conducted a public hearing on suggestions for use of the expected $100,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant Funds that will be coming in to VBT. Suggestions included $35,000 work on the Beck Road Ball Diamonds and continued work on sidewalks. Residents can suggest other uses by calling 699-8913. About $30,000 is spent on housing rehabilitation annually.
The board went into closed-door session on Monday, Jan. 9, after the work/study meeting to discuss contract negotiations with AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees), MAFF (Michigan Association of Fire Fighters), and POLC (Police Officers Labor Council) Command and Patrol Units.