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Absentee Voter (AV) Ballots are now in the hands of those Township voters who have requested an AV Ballot. I am asking you to vote NO on Scio Township’s Conservation Millage, either by AV Ballot or in person on November 8th. Here are the reasons why:
In November of 2004, Scio’s voters overwhelmingly approved “Prop J”, a 0.5 mill tax now known as the “Farmland and Open Space Preservation Millage” (Millage), to be in effect from December of 2004 through December of 2013. In 2012 voters approved a renewal of the Millage, reduced to 0.4942 mills by “Headlee”, to run from 2014 – 2023. This year, we are being asked to decide on the Millage again, this time at the original rate of 0.5 mills, to begin collection with the Winter 2024 tax bills. If approved, over the 10-year life of the millage the Township will collect over $7,000,000.00.
I am a staunch supporter of land preservation and conservation. My wife Alisande and I own 28 acres in Scio Township, 22 of which are protected by a Conservation Easement held by Legacy Land Conservancy. Over the years, the invasives have been removed and replaced with native grasses and flowers on all 22 acres. I served on the Township’s Board of Trustees from 2010 - 2020 and for much of that time I was on the Township’s Land Preservation Commission. I supported and voted for the Millage both times. But that was then, when the Township had proper financial controls and procedures in place. Not so today.
The Township is responsible for the billing and collection of taxes for not only itself, but other jurisdictions as well (County, WISD, School districts, etc). Over the past year, there have been several errors in the collection and depositing of our tax money.
As per Clerk Flintoft’s sworn affidavit (Civil Action No. 22-000414-CZ, ¶11 & 12), in the fall of 2021, retired assessor Jim Merte volunteered to assist Treasurer Palmer and newly appointed Deputy Treasurer Egeler in the preparation of the 2021 Winter tax bills. Even though no longer employed by Scio Township and having no official access to the Township’s financial software, Mr. Merte was allowed to access to the software and enter the Winter tax bill data at the direction of the Treasurer Palmer and the Deputy Treasurer Egeler. This tax bill contained multiple errors.
Not until 4 months after the bills were sent out was the first error publicly disclosed, long after the bills had been paid by the residents and the Township had closed its fiscal year. This error was discovered and brought to the Treasurer Palmer’s attention by the County Treasurer. The 2021 Winter tax bill did not include two of the County’s millages. As a result, the Township’s disbursement to the County was approximately $750,000 short. This problem was resolved by adding the two missed millages to the 2022 Summer tax bill.
Additionally, it was discovered that the billing for the annual payment of three neighborhood SADs totaling approximately $30,000 was left off the 2021 Winter tax bill. This problem was resolved by spreading the missed payment over the remaining number of payments.
One wonders how these two changes to our tax bills might affect the budgets of those on fixed incomes. This callous disregard for the financial well-being of the Township’s residents is stunning.
Shortly thereafter, Mr. Merte was hired as Interim Township Administrator and Ms. Egeler was appointed Deputy Supervisor.
In a statement from Treasurer Palmer which she presented to the Board on May 24, 2022 it was revealed that a procedural error was discovered while reconciling a portion of the 2021 Winter tax receipts. It was found that a bank deposit of checks totaling approximately $150,000 made on February 25th was reversed on the same day by an unidentified person for an unknown reason. The Treasurer fully admits that she is the only one who has the authority to reverse a deposit but she has no recollection doing so. During the time it took to discover this error, the checks were lost and have yet to be found. The affected residents were contacted and asked to issue new checks and the taxes have been paid. Treasurer Palmer said “This has never happened before and will never happen again!” However, to my knowledge, no procedures or safeguards to prevent a reoccurrence of this problem, such as requiring a written request signed by both the Treasurer and the Clerk for any such bank procedures, have been put in place.
In December 2021, Scio hired Township Administrator David S. Rowley with over 30 years of experience in local government and finances. After analyzing the Township’s personnel and financial situation, he made several recommendations to the Township Board. Among them were to conduct a 3- to 5-year administrative audit and to hire a qualified Finance Director. All of Mr. Rowley’s recommendations and suggestions were ignored by the Board – specifically by the Supervisor. After 5 months of being ignored and disrespected, Mr. Rowley resigned. I believe one of his main reasons for resigning was to save the Township the cost of his salary since all of his advice was being ignored. His resignation letter included an 11-page memo spelling out in detail what the Township should do to correct the many issues it faces. To date, none of Mr. Rowley’s suggestions have been acted upon.
Scio Township is alone in Washtenaw County in its lack of qualified financial staffing. Over the last 18 months, there has been an erosion in the checks and balances with respect to the Township finances. One of the statutory duties of a Township Clerk is to ensure the integrity of the Township’s journals and ledgers. The Clerk is the chief accountant, providing a check on the Treasurer who keeps the money and the Board who spends it. That control was taken away from her recently by Interim Township Administrator Merte on orders from the Township Supervisor Hathaway. Regardless of multiple requests to have that control restored, it has not been done. This has forced Clerk Flintoft to sue the Township in order to restore her control of the accounting records of the Township. To make matters worse, the Township has yet to hire a qualified Financial Director or a qualified Township Administrator.
It is important to understand that Finance Director Egeler was appointed to be the Deputy Treasurer leaving the Directorship vacant since the Fall of 2021. A few months later, she was appointed to be Deputy Supervisor, holding both positions simultaneously. As Deputy Supervisor, she has the responsibility to assess our properties and as Deputy Treasurer, she has the responsibility to tax us. I believe this dual role is in violation of the State’s Incompatible Offices prohibition and cancels the last remaining checks and balances the Township had with respect to its finances.
It has become customary in Scio Township to renew the Millage a year early. This ensures continuity in the effort to protect certain properties from development. Normally, I would be supportive of this effort but in light of the apparent irregularities, gross incompetence and, possible illegal activities as documented above, I cannot support adding to the financial burden of Township residents until the statutory controls are restored and proper, qualified financial staffing is in place.
Please vote NO on the “Farmland and Open Space Preservation Millage”. Assuming the Township restores the statutory duties of the Clerk and hires appropriate, qualified financial staff in 2023, the Board can put the Millage to a vote again in 2023 or even in 2024 in time for the 2024 Winter tax bill.
David Read
Former Scio Township Trustee
Former Scio Township Deputy Clerk
