When Trustee David Lohmeier tried to make a formal motion at the Jan. 6 township board meeting, Supervisor David Wagner would have none of it.
‘It hasn’t been advertised,” Wagner said. “If we start doing that, then we might as well forget about publishing anything in the newspaper. This (opening comment) is not when you make motions, especially something to that degree, when you’re talking about policy change.?
Independence Township’s unwritten policy for the past 16-18 years requires department heads and trustees who want items placed on the agenda to go to the supervisor. If denied, they can go to the clerk or treasurer to have them co-sign, and the item will be placed on the agenda.
Trustee Neil Wallace disagreed with the policy.
‘I feel like trustees are being relegated to second class citizenship when we have to seek the permission of one of the officers in order to get something on the agenda,” Wallace said. “We’re all elected by the people of this community. I know of no reason why we cannot adopt a policy even in opening statements. We’re here, we should be able to debate these things and discuss them.”
Board members with ideas shouldn’t have to ‘beg to put it on the agenda,? Lohmeier said.
‘I think it’s a responsibility that we have, that the right things are getting on there and they’re getting on there in a timely manner,? he said.
In a later interview, Wagner explained the agenda is actually ‘the supervisor’s agenda? and a lot of planning goes into it, sometimes a month in advance.
‘One of the things we try to do is not have agenda adds unless it is an emergency,? he said. ‘But, if you’re going to allow a single trustee or a couple of trustees just too simply throw things on because they have a personal agenda of their own, for disruption, this never will work.?
Lohmeier was hoping to talk about the township’s capital improvement plans, but was denied by Wagner because a workshop was planned with planner Dick Carlisle, Jan. 12.
Clerk Shelagh VanderVeen said, in the last four years, the agenda policy has never been an issue.
‘I’ve never had a problem with any of the trustees wanting to put something on and Mr. Wagner refusing them. He’s never done that,? said VanderVeen. ‘In this particular instance, I understand his reasoning. It was an item we were going to discuss and it was an important item. I just didn’t think adding it onto the agenda like that gave it enough time or thought that it was deserved.?
However, Lohmeier said he actually wanted to talk about the process the board uses to establish priorities on the capital plan.
‘I wanted to converse on how we were going to involve the citizens, setting a deadline for the entire process to be over and things like that,? he said. ‘I didn’t need the workshop to do that.”
The confusion proves a new policy is needed, he said.
“The one we have now is not working,? he said.
The board will discuss a written policy at the Jan. 20 meeting, at Independence Township Library, 7:30 p.m.