Are you a Dexter Township resident and interested in being Township Supervisor?

With a change in the direction, Dexter Township has set May 7, as a special meeting to consider candidates and interview for the Township Supervisor vacancy.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. on that Sunday at township hall, 6880 Dexter-Pinckney Road.

The agenda for the meeting states: The Dexter Township Board of Trustees will consider candidates and interview for an appointment to fill a vacancy in the position of Township Supervisor to fulfill the remainder of a four-year elected term of office ending November 19, 2024.

This comes after a change was made at the April 18 township board meeting, where the board considered and rescinded the policy that was approved at the April 3 meeting. That policy was put in place to fill the vacancy of the supervisor, Diane Ratkovich, who has chosen to resign her position that was elected in 2020.

The April 18 meeting also saw the board officially accept supervisor Ratkovich’s resignation, which is effective May 12.

The board members in favor of rescinding the April 3 policy did cite time as being an issue, but they also said it’s important to have a process to replace that’s open to the entire township community.

Concerns cited by the board members against rescinding, included going back on what they had just agreed upon at a previous meeting; shifting the process which alters the planned timeline and causing a time crunch; filling a vacancy that is an executive, elected position of leadership on the board and doing it in a way that to them felt “on the fly.”

The previous policy set on April 3 said: "The policy of the Dexter Township Board of Trustees is that if at any time an executive office is vacated the Board will seek candidates from the current Board of Trustees for a period of 5 days. If at the end of that 5 day period no candidates have been identified, a competitive public search will be initiated. If an internal candidate is identified but fails to secure a majority vote of the Board at their next public meeting a competitive public search will be initiated.

If at any time a Trustee position is vacated a competitive public search will be initiated."

After some thought and consideration by some board members, a new motion was brought to the April 18 meeting to rescind it. Township Treasurer Maris Metz put forward the motion to rescind and move in another direction that would open up the process to the community and give them the opportunity to apply for the role.

The vote to rescind was approved by 5 to 2.

The Sun Times News reached out to Metz by email on April 19, to ask her about the meeting, supervisor replacement process and keeping the community updated.

She said, “First and foremost, I want to express how much I've enjoyed working with Diane and how much I'll miss her absence. I wholeheartedly appreciate her compassion and leadership.”

“Last night, I made a motion to rescind the policy the board put into effect at our previous meeting. I had some time to think about the process, the longevity of the policy and how I feel we should handle vacancies going forward. While I do believe there is merit to appointing a sitting board member, I also think it is equally important to involve our community in our processes as much as possible. I feel that anyone with interest should be privy to this opportunity to serve. I feel that it is in the best interest of the board to have options when determining the right candidate for this position.”

“When the board experienced a trustee vacancy earlier in our term, we publicly interviewed several interested community members. I thought it was a thoughtful and valuable process.”

And the majority of the township board seemed to agree.

The township says to qualify for the appointment, candidates must be United States citizens at least 18 years of age who have lived in Dexter Township for at least 30 days and are registered to vote in the Township. The duties and responsibilities of the office include moderating board and annual meetings, voting on township legislation and developing the township budget.

Additional information can be found by calling the township at 734-426-3767.

Interested residents may apply for consideration by submitting a letter of interest and resume to the attention of Abbie Norsworthy, Executive Administrator, 6880 Dexter-Pinckney Road, Dexter, MI 48130 or by email to officemanager@dextertownship.org.

Applications will be accepted until May 3, 2023 at 4:30 PM.

Metz said at the regularly scheduled board meeting (May 16th at 6 p.m.), they hope to appoint a new supervisor.