metro
EMAG/NE
West Bloomfield Vote
Board seeks to remove treasurer,
Weingarden calls it a "witch hunt."
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14 December 19 • 2013
D
uring a contentious and emo-
tionally charged board meeting
last week, West Bloomfield
Township officials voted to petition
Gov. Rick Snyder to have Treasurer Teri
Weingarden removed from office.
The township does
not have removal
power, but the gover-
nor does. According to
state law, the governor
may remove a town-
ship officer for cause.
In this instance, the
Teri
township board indi-
Weingarden
cates it will provide
arguments that allege
a "willful neglect of duty," one of several
statutory reasons to remove an official.
Weingarden will be given an opportunity
to present a defense.
Five months ago, the board commis-
sioned the law firm of Johnson, Rosati,
Schultz & Joppich PC to investigate irreg-
ularities in the treasurer's department.
The board decision was based on a
79-page report presented by attorney
Christopher J. Johnson that docu-
mented several concerns about the trea-
surer's investment, cash management
and accounting procedures. The report
alleges, among other claims, that there
was a "willful neglect of duty:'
One of the main concerns in the
report was a $2 million investment that
Johnson deemed "very inappropriate"
in terms of the township investment
policy. The investment was subsequently
canceled and the money was recovered;
however, Johnson said he was concerned
about similar mistakes in the future.
The report also documented two
instances where wire-transferred
money was credited instead of debited,
and several other discrepancies in fund-
ing and cash management procedures.
Johnson, however, said he discovered
no evidence of fraud or wrongdoing by
the treasurer.
Calling the investigation a "political
witch hunt:' Weingarden asked for the
chance to respond to Johnson's state-
ments at the meeting.
"I was given no due process, no part
in this investigation:' she said. "... he's
never spoken to my staff ... this entire
report is completely one-sided:'
At the board meeting, trustee Steven
Kaplan, an attorney and former prose-
cutor, criticized Johnson for not includ-
ing Weingarden's input in his report. He
said the temporary loss of two key posi-
tions in the treasurer's office, the deputy
treasurer and the cash manager, should
have been taken into account.
"She lost her two top aides:" said
Kaplan, who also questioned why
Johnson's report included a recommen-
dation to remove Weingarden in addi-
tion to a summary of his findings.
Johnson said the problems he cited
were still occurring even after the staff-
ing issues had been resolved.
He also cited an incident on Oct. 9
when Weingarden closed her office at
noon, leaving a handwritten sign stat-
ing the office was closed for "political
reasons:' She said her staff was unable
to work effectively because of the antag-
onistic atmosphere at Town Hall.
Weingarden later said she sent her
staff home after Supervisor Michele
Economou Ureste canceled a meeting
that had been scheduled to address the
concerns of the treasurer and her staff.
"We were unable to access certain
information, and people in other
departments were refusing to cooper-
ate said Weingarden, adding that
several employees complained about
the "hostile" work environment. "We
felt we couldn't get our statutory work
done, so when the supervisor canceled
[the meeting], we went home. We were
closed for four hours, and I apologize if
anyone was inconvenienced:'
The motion to proceed with the trea-
surer's removal passed by a 5-2 vote,
with Weingarden and Kaplan dissenting.
Performance, Not Personal'
Trustees Larry Brown, Howard Rosen-
berg and Diane Rosenfeld Swimmer
said their criticisms about the treasurer
were performance-related, not personal.
"With all the issues over the years,
I have really lost my confidence in the
skills of the treasurer and her ability
to do her job:' said Brown, a CPA, at
the meeting. Rosenberg said he was
disheartened by Weingarden's refusal to
take responsibility for her actions.
Weingarden cited a shortage of
personnel and a lack of cooperation
from the Finance Department, which
is supervised by Township Clerk
Catherine Shaughnessy.
Economou Ureste said she was con-
cerned Weingarden's actions could
jeopardize the financial stability of West
Bloomfield, the fourth largest township
in Michigan, with more than $60 mil-
lion in its general fund and more than