Working for one municipality, while representing another on two intergovernmental boards that contain both communities as voting members led to an elected official’s resignation to avoid the “appearance of conflict.”

Last week, Addison Township Treasurer Lori Fisher resigned from both the North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA) board and the Oxford Area Cable Communications Commission.

“I have recently been contracted with the Village of Oxford to perform work on a temporary part-time basis,” wrote Fisher in her Sept. 28 resignation letter to Addison Township Supervisor Bruce Pearson.

Fisher’s “first day was August 28” and “to date, she has worked 68 hours” for the municipality handling responsibilities related to its finances, according to a Sept. 28 email from Interim Village Manager Evan Teich. Her pay rate is $49.50 per hour.

Fisher has served as Addison’s elected treasurer, a part-time position, since 2012. Her annual base salary is $35,248.

“While the work does not interfere with my Treasurer duties in Addison, I am a voting board member on the North Oakland Transportation Authority and the Oxford Area Cable Commission. Both boards include membership from Addison Township and the Village of Oxford,” Fisher wrote in her letter. “While I feel that I can continue to fairly represent the best interests of Addison on these boards, I offer my resignation to both boards to prevent (the) appearance of (a) conflict.”

Although she’s currently an independent contractor, Teich told this reporter there has been some discussion about the possibility of Fisher becoming a village employee by filling the vacant clerk/treasurer position on a part-time basis. No offers have been made and such a hiring would require council approval.

Fisher went on to write, “It is of utmost importance to me that all municipalities involved on (the NOTA and cable) boards feel confident that all communities are fairly represented.”

Attorney Bob Davis, who represents both Oxford Village and Addison Township, said there was the potential for the “appearance of a conflict” in this situation.

In a Sept. 28 response letter to Fisher, Pearson “accepted, effective immediately,” Fisher’s resignation. “We appreciate your time and dedication to both boards,” he wrote.

Pearson indicated that Addison Trustee Jacob Newby will serve as Fisher’s replacement on the cable commission.

“I think he can bring some new ideas and a different approach, and after five years on the board, that may be a good thing,” Fisher wrote in an email to this reporter.

As for the NOTA board, Addison has two seats. Pearson occupies one, so he will have to hold down the fort until another Addison representative is appointed to replace Fisher.

Teich provided this reporter with a copy of Fisher’s independent contractor agreement with the village.

“We have not executed her contract, but I’ll show you the draft that I have,” he said. “She hasn’t signed it. I haven’t signed it. We’ve been so busy with the audit and she said, ‘Is this going to be a problem?’ and I said, ‘I will honor our agreement regardless’ . . . In essence, we’ve agreed to the terms.”

Under the three-page agreement, Fisher is earning $49.50 per hour, “not to exceed 20 hours per work week.”

Based on the 68 hours she’s worked, according to Teich, Fisher has earned $3,366, but has not been paid. “She actually hasn’t sent me a bill yet,” he explained.

The agreement spells out the services that Fisher is to provide and it includes performing the “functions and duties of treasurer for the village,” maintaining the general ledger, payroll and accounting services.

In an email to this reporter, Fisher explained she was asked by Teich if she would be interested in working for the village “as a contractor on a part-time temporary basis to fill in some gaps in personnel.”

“My position in Addison being part-time, I was happy to lend a hand to help out a neighbor,” Fisher wrote.

In a Sept. 21 interoffice memo, Teich informed council that “under my authority, I brought in Lori Fisher to address bookkeeping, banking, audit preparation and other functions . . . Lori has done an exceptional job in the very short period.”

Fisher explained that “as a consequence of the contractual agreement, it seems prudent to ask to step away from the (intergovernmental) boards I serve on.”

Davis said he originally drafted a “standard” independent contractor agreement for Fisher and that was the last he heard about it until last week. “No one ever got back to me that we were even doing that. I drafted an agreement . . . but I never got any follow-up on the agreement,” he said.

Then last week, Davis said Teich communicated with him about the possibility of Fisher becoming a formal employee of the village.

Teich confirmed this. He wanted to know “what would be required to have her as the clerk/treasurer” on a part-time basis.

“I was considering it. I’ve not acted upon it,” Teich said.

“I was just wondering if the village were to consider her, what would need to be done and if there were any issues,” the interim manager explained.

Currently, the clerk/treasurer position, which has been vacant since June, is a full-time job. It is council that interviews and hires for this position, not the manager.

“I have not spoken to the village board members, necessarily, about this. I have not had the opportunity, but I do believe she is very well-qualified and . . . would fit very well here in the village,” Teich said.

“As far as I know, the village board is still accepting applications for a full-time (clerk/treasurer) position,” he noted.

This conversation about Fisher potentially becoming a village employee is what prompted Davis to offer his opinion to Teich on the topic of conflicts.

“At the time, they were discussing her potentially becoming a part-time employee of the village and I said if she’s going to be an employee of the village, I think that she would have the appearance of a conflict,” Davis said. “I’m not saying it’s an absolute conflict, but to me, there’s an appearance of a conflict if she’s on boards that vote (on) the interests of both (Oxford) village and (Addison) township.”

“When you’re talking about making her a formal employee, that triggers the conflict rules,” Davis continued. “I don’t think that in her position there is a conflict, but I believe that there’s an appearance of a conflict if you’re employed by two municipal entities and then, you’re on a neutral board that votes on the interests of both, to some degree. I think that’s a bad appearance.”

“If she’s going to become this formalized with the village, it would be my suggestion that she resign immediately from any boards wherein (Oxford) village and (Addison) township are both entities,” Davis explained.

Davis believes telling the village and Fisher “to avoid the appearance of any form of conflict” is “a good opinion.”

When asked if he believes Fisher’s current role as an independent contractor working for the village could have the same appearance of a conflict, Davis replied, “Yes.”

When asked why he didn’t raise this issue back when he drafted the contract, Davis replied, “It didn’t trigger my thinking when they were talking about independent contractor.”

For him, the key word was “employee.”

Fisher confirmed the idea of her potentially becoming the village’s part-time clerk/treasurer has been discussed. “It’s been brought up, but no offers have been made and no decisions have been made,” she said.

Fisher indicated she would consider accepting such a position, but only if it was on “a part-time basis.”

“I have absolutely no interest in leaving Addison,” she said.

Fisher believes Teich “was looking at it from a strategy (stand)point that (a) part-time (position) would be paid less.”

“They desperately need people at the ground level in the (village) office,” she noted.

It appears Fisher’s current relationship with the village is open-ended at this point.

“I can’t say at this time if my work with the Village will wrap up in a matter of weeks or continue longer,” she wrote in her statement to this reporter. “I certainly wouldn’t want any of the residents or communities involved to feel that they were not being fairly represented.”

“I have greatly enjoyed serving on the NOTA and OCTV Boards and have met wonderful people as a result,” Fisher noted. “I don’t feel it’s a bad thing to move Board members around on occasion. I think it will allow for some fresh ideas.”

Teich was “sorry to hear” about Fisher’s resignation. “I think she was doing a fine job on those boards,” he said. “I think she’s a good public servant and she’s certainly helping us out in a very difficult time.”