Hart Township Lessons for Ludington to Take to Heart

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Earlier this year, the Ludington City Council voted to establish a code of conduct for public officials.  At the time, I applauded the move, for it was a small part of a wish list that was within what was basically an Open Meetings Act lawsuit that two Ludington citizens (including myself) had with the city corporate.  Regrettably, the first use of the code of conduct was against a newly elected city councilor whose objectives seem to be contrary to the old guard's objectives of keeping the citizens in the dark about almost everything while patting themselves on the back even when they are doing a poor job.  

So when this freshman councilor claimed that the police and council apparently weren't doing their job properly, while laying out the relevant facts that solidly backed it up on social media, a contingent of old guard councilors, led by the mayor, weaponized the code of conduct in a way that it never should be used, and effectively censured the councilor for her whistleblowing efforts.  The rest of the city council should learn a lesson from Hart Township who censured two of their city officials recently, and our other Mason County media friends could learn a lot from Oceana's star reporter, Allison Scarborough who penned the following account:

Township officials censured over $3,500 salary advance. 

HART TOWNSHIP – Clerk Tim Tariske and Treasurer Todd Metzler were censured – publicly reprimanded – by the township board during a regular meeting Wednesday evening, Aug. 14.

Tariske took a $3,500 salary advance without board approval, and Metzler signed off on the check.

Tariske said he took the money out in order to secure a piece of property on Hart Lake that he was hoping to develop for the township’s use. “I had an opportunity to buy a piece of property on Hart Lake and help people out while doing it,” he said. The township currently does not have any property on the lake, such as a boat launch, and he thought it would be beneficial to secure the property so it could eventually be used by the township.

“I’m a forward thinker,” Tariske said.

He later found out the property on Circle Drive is a private subdivision and cannot be developed for public use. Tariske admitted it was a “spur of the moment” decision.

Tariske paid back approximately $400-$500 of the salary advance during the meeting Wednesday night. Metzler and Township Supervisor Jay McGhan confirmed the transaction. He said he plans pay to back the rest as soon as possible.

Tariske said the Michigan State Police are planning to interview him.

A unanimous resolution to censure Tariske and Metzler was passed by McGhan and trustees Richard Huntington and Calvin Moul, McGhan said. The recommendation to censure came after the board met with its attorney Crystal Morgan in closed session last week, Aug. 7, McGhan said.

Metzler said he feels blindsided by the controversy. “It was just an employee advance,” he said. “Just like it’s done in businesses all the time. It’s a normal procedure in business. There was nothing hidden – there is a paper trail.”

The treasurer now realizes that salary advances at the government level do not work the same way. “It’s not kosher at the township level.”

“Ignorance of the law is not an excuse,” Metzler said. “I owned up to it. Hindsight is 20/20.”
Metzler said he has been the township treasurer for 23 years, having served on the planning commission prior. Tariske said he has been the township clerk for nearly 30 years with over 32 years of involvement in township business.

Tariske said his annual salary as clerk is $21,000, but more than half of it goes toward paying his deputy clerk who is his wife, Carol.

McGhan said the board has the right to bring further action against Tariske and Metzler [END]

With over 50 years of experience in their professions of clerk and treasurer, these two officials somehow thought that land speculating without consulting with the township board, and without much of a clue, was in the township's best interest.  I won't be surprised if the clerk's investment turns out to be made without the township's interest at heart (Hart). 

If the modus operandi sounds familiar, a lot of variations on this theme have been committed by Ludington officials in the past-- all without any censure from their peers-- primarily because they lacked any kind of moral compass after the two Johns (Shay and Henderson) had been in office for a term's worth.  This continued even after Henderson was term limited out.  All of the infractions I can think of also occurred during Treasurer Linda Rogers tenure, who put in her ten years and conveniently went out west last year to enjoy the great retirement pay the city allows.

Examples?  Back in 2014, City taxpayers footed the bills for a charity memorial softball tournament, where the assistant city manager said that all proceeds would go to the benefactors.  This was apparently a lie according to a late-established paper trail, but even that showed the City forwarding thousands of dollars for various purchases before they allegedly covered that debt with a lot of the proceeds.  The punishment:  a city council meeting was choreographed to shame the messenger, not the people who violated the sanctity of the public's coffers.  Those who did wrong were given pats on the back from all who joined the circus.

Recall the Shop with a Cop shortfalls?  Once again, the treasurer used public money freely and interchangeably from the general fund before the donated money came in, and when Chief Barnett was confronted multiple times about where 1400+ unaccounted for dollars went, he had no answer other than to degrade the person asking the question.  

Just last year, I pointed out the DDA said all the proceeds earned from the Cops & Robbers Run would go to the Shop with a Cop program, they put it on all their promos, but zero dollars were put towards the program, it went back in the race fund instead.  Heather Tykoski, speaking on behalf of the DDA, said this outright fraud was acceptable to her and that my concerns were an attack on her.  All of the other officials tacitly agreed.

I could list probably a dozen more, many dealing with DDA city officials getting no-bid contracts in their favor with the city without acknowledgment in the meeting minutes or elsewhere, but the point hopefully is made.  When Ludington uses public money without any legal authorization or when their public officials gain financial advantages by dint of their public position, it should always be worthy of public censure, just like what happened down in Hart Township.  Until that starts happening, we will be stuck with the old guard taking advantage of the rest of us and attacking us when we point it out, and attacking the good officials who are brave enough to stick up for the public interest.