Sciota Township adds $91,897 to budget for LSW fire contract

Sciota Township's board agreed on Oct. 12 to increase general fund spending by $91,897 to cover what the township actually owes under its LSW fire millage contract. The vote was 5-0.

The amount is large against the township's own books. Draft minutes of the meeting put the general fund balance at $249,398.66, so the amendment commits an amount equal to more than a third of that balance. The tax fund balance was listed at $505,326.74 and a certificate of deposit fund at $34,804.03.

The board took a roll-call vote on the amendment, the only roll call recorded that night. Voting aye: Trustee Vondrasek, Trustee Reed, Treasurer Palmer, Clerk Parker-Wing and Supervisor Matthews. The minutes record no nay votes and no absences. The motion came from Parker-Wing and was seconded by Palmer. The minutes say the amendment reflects "actual LSW fire millage contractual obligations" and was "explained to the Board by Clerk Parker-Wing," but they do not record what that explanation was or why the budgeted figure fell short of the contract.

The board also approved the month's payroll of $6,472.03 and accounts payable of $9,839.67, written on checks #11777 through #11785.

In public comment, a representative of the Laingsburg Public Library told the board the library is holding a silent auction fundraiser in November and will host an informational session on the Soo Locks presented by the Army Corps of Engineers. The minutes also say the library "has a new attorney, Matt Shastal," who "will be working with the Laingsburg Public Schools and the City of Laingsburg to partner in forming a district library." A district library is a library jointly established by more than one unit of government rather than run by a single city or township. The Current has previously reported Matt Shastal as superintendent of Laingsburg Community Schools; the minutes do not explain the two roles, and the board took no action on the library item. The speaker is listed as "Sarah Mattson" in the guest list and "Sara Mattson" in the public comment section of the same document.

Elections came up again at the end of the meeting. Lucy Matthews asked Parker-Wing for ballot count totals from the Aug. 4, 2026 election, and the minutes say the clerk will bring a printout of voting values to the November meeting. Election records and election security have been recurring business in Sciota this year: The Current reported in October that the board voted 5-0 on Sept. 14 to buy a $500 replacement camera for the township's election box while a separate $2,250 grant-funded camera system for the township hall stayed shelved, and that the August minutes recorded a third reported interference with the election-box camera.

Two older items stayed open. The board's review of weekly and draft meeting minute submissions is set to be revisited in December 2026, and reassigning cemetery management and plot sales has not started, according to the minutes. The meeting was called to order at 7:12 p.m. and adjourned at 7:26 p.m.

What happens next

Parker-Wing is to produce the August election vote totals at the township's November board meeting, and the draft minutes do not give that meeting's date or time. These minutes are marked DRAFT and are subject to board approval; approved minutes are posted at sciotatownship.net. The board's December meeting is set to take up the minutes submission question.