Sciota Township cuts deputy clerk's $500 election pay on 4-1 vote

Sciota Township's deputy clerk will no longer be paid an extra $500 for each election. The township board voted 4-1 on Aug. 10 to rescind Resolution 2024-03.01, which had authorized the additional pay for duties added to the position by Michigan's 2022 ballot measure on elections, according to the meeting minutes the board approved Sept. 14.

Supervisor Matthews made the motion and Trustee Reed seconded it. Trustee Vondrasek, Trustee Reed, Treasurer Palmer and Supervisor Matthews voted yes on the roll call. Clerk Jamie Parker-Wing voted no. No member was absent.

The pay question also shaped the bills. The minutes say Matthews' initial motion would have paid the township's bills while excluding check #11718 for $1,176.56, which included a $500 election project payment to the deputy clerk. Treasurer Palmer, the minutes state, "deliberated with the Board concerning possible repercussions involving a State Labor Board investigation or litigation costs for non-payment of project pay." Matthews then changed the motion to approve all expenses and noted that Resolution 2024-03.01 would be rescinded. All five members voted yes. Payroll came to $10,412.16 and accounts payable to $6,322.30, on checks #11714 through #11746. The general fund stood at $341,642.22, the tax fund at $85,851.92 and a certificate of deposit at $34,786.31.

Under a separate item, the minutes record that a final $500 check, #11715, was issued to Linda Knoblauch and given to the township's lawyer for submission to the State of Michigan, in connection with a Michigan Department of Labor matter. The minutes do not describe the underlying dispute.

In her board report, Parker-Wing said she found the township's election-box camera inoperable before 11 a.m. on July 21, and found the Wi-Fi modem unplugged from a wall socket in the Sciota hall great room. The minutes say the clerk had previously reported two other camera interference incidents to the board — one in which the modem was unplugged, and one in which the camera's electrical cord was broken — and that she had said future interference would be reported to the Michigan State Police and/or the Michigan Bureau of Elections. She told the board she is awaiting guidance from the Bureau of Elections on next steps for the July 21 incident. The board also corrected its July minutes on a related point: language saying Matthews "declared the camera system purchase void and the township would not go forward with any surveillance system" was changed, at Matthews' request, to "Nay, voted down and done away with."

Residents filled the first public comment period with concerns about a State of Michigan EGLE gravel pit and water withdrawal permit application, the minutes say, without recording what was said. Thirteen guests were listed as present. The minutes also carry word from Jody Frank, the City of Laingsburg's liaison to the Laingsburg Public Library, that the library cannot go forward with becoming a district public library because of a contract disagreement that one party will not accept or remove, and that lawyers are working on a millage for 2027.

The board unanimously approved two assessor policies — a tax assessor's office accessibility policy (2026-01) and a personal property canvass and records policy (2026-02) — and signed a land division variance for parent parcel #009-23-400-002, recommended by the township planning commission. The application, from Arden and Sandra Dezess of 8997 Woodbury Road, sought to divide two dwellings on parcels with less than 200 feet of continuous road frontage and a side-yard setback under the 20-foot minimum. The roll call recorded yes votes from Palmer, Vondrasek, Reed and Parker-Wing, with none opposed and none absent. On a motion by Palmer, seconded by Matthews, the board also voted 5-0 to have the clerk ask the township attorney to bill monthly with a breakdown by subject.

Treasurer Palmer reminded residents that summer tax payments must be mailed to the treasurer's office at 8574 Woodbury Road, not to the township's business P.O. Box, and that payments sent to the P.O. Box and deemed late will not be eligible for late-fee leniency. Matthews reported roadside brush cutting is underway and said the Shiawassee County Drain Commissioner has written that Bennington/Sciota Township Section 18/19 drain repairs are going forward.

What happens next: The clerk is waiting on the Bureau of Elections before deciding how to handle the July 21 camera incident. The minutes do not list a date for the board's next regular meeting; approved minutes are posted at sciotatownship.net.