To pay or not to pay ? that was the question.
A motion by Trustee David Lohmeier to have Independence Township Supervisor Dave Wagner pay for legal opinion from township attorneys concerning the recall video aired on public access channels failed, 4-2, at the April 20 board meeting.
‘It was my feeling and it remains my feeling the benefit occurs predominantly to you (Wagner) as a candidate or as an individual and the board’s benefit is really limited,” Lohmeier said. ‘I felt that was a cost that shouldn’t be bore by the taxpayers in the township.?
Lohmeier noted the legal opinion was estimated at $1,300.
Trustee Larry Rosso asked Township Attorney Steve Joppich if there was a way to divide the ‘value of your opinion as a benefit to Mr. Wagner from the value of your opinion as it benefits the township.?
‘I wrote the opinion for the township,? Joppich responded. ‘It would be difficult for me to separate the two.?
Wagner in attempt to clear things up said he never asked for an opinion and feels he was doing ‘the right thing for the township.”
“First off, Mr. Joppich did not write this, Kristin (Kolb) did that’s who signed it. It’s eight pages, so you can see it’s much more complicated than what anyone would have imagined,? Wagner said. ‘As far knowing if they can air it, anyone can go on the air we already knew that.?
Trustee Neil Wallace who voted ‘yes? with Lohmeier, wished Joppich would have said it was a ‘conflict of interest? until the board approved it and the matter should have been handled with ‘heightened scrutiny.?
‘It’s not the amount of money, it’s the concept. It fits right in to something we’ve had difficulty with as a board from the time this board was constituted and that is the limits of the supervisor’s authority and the supremacy by statute of the board’s authority,? Wallace said. ‘This was not a routine administrative matter, nobody can brush this off, saying it was.?
Clerk Shelagh VanderVeen said after talking with one of the Michigan Township Association’s (MTA) legal advisors she felt comfortable with the expenditure.
‘In the past I have requested legal opinions of our attorney and have not gotten board authorization, going forward if that’s the wish of the board fine,? she said. ‘I feel this would be a legitimate expense to be bore by the township.?
Treasurer Curt Carson appreciated the opinion and thought one of the most important elements was the need for the township to have written guidelines for the airing of shows on the public access channels.
‘I understand the First Amendment and I understand this group’s right to do what they’re doing, I don’t quibble with that,? Carson said. ‘But I was totally unaware that anybody could just go ahead and do anything.?
Rosso voted against the motion ‘because on a narrowing defined area it does have a residual benefit to the township? and he liked that VanderVeen got an opinion from MTA.
‘I value the legal advice our attorney generally provides us, I value the MTA, they’ve never mislead us,? Rosso said. ‘I think it was morally wrong, but legally I think there are some grounds.?
Trustee Mark Petterson was absent from the meeting.
‘Fundamentally we had a group tape a video that gave their opinion,? Lohmeier said. ‘The supervisor did what I consider to be wrong and I have a hard time with anybody who wouldn’t see it that way.?