Raisin Township Board members refute charges in recall petition

The six Raisin Board of Trustees recently named in a recall petition that was approved on Tuesday, Nov 18, by the Lenawee County Election Commission have refuted the charges against them in a press release sent to The Herald on Friday, Nov. 21. The six trustees are Raisin Township Clerk Debra Brousseau, Larry Crittenden, Tom Hawkins, Betty Holdridge, Raisin Township Treasurer Kami Johnson and Dale Mitchell. A separate recall petition is targeting Raisin Township Supervisor Jay Cavanaugh. The board petition sites the purchase of a firetruck “in excess of $400,000 without advertising for and obtaining competitive sealed bids” and the elimination of public comment at the conclusion of board meetings as the two reasons for the recall. Michigan law does not require the township to seek sealed bids, according to the press release, adding that the actual cost of the firetruck was $386,982. According to Holdridge, the $386,982 accounts for the $22,000 trade-in of a 1996 township truck that, according to the press release, “was an accident waiting to happen, a great liability to the township and our public safety people.” The Herald reported the firetruck cost $408,982, noting the $22,000 trade-in along with an additional $20,000 from the public safety equipment fund.The release went on to state “The leadership of the fire department did an excellent job in researching several sources, based on the township’s needs, and found an excellent value in a fully decked out demo model.” Adding that the township was able to get the approximately $500,000 truck for $386,982. The board also reiterated that the truck it replaced was costing the township excessively in maintenance and repairs, which was stated at the March 17 meeting where the purchase of the firetruck was originally approved. On the charge of the township eliminating public comment at the end of regular and special meetings the board said, “The township has never had an agreed upon policy other than one public comment period at the beginning of each regular and special meetings.” The release stated that only one public comment period is required by law and that the Michigan Township Associa-tion advised the board to have only one period at the beginning of the meeting, “in order to have a fair and effective board meeting.“The board unanimously supports only one public comment period at the beginning of meetings for the sake of meeting all the public’s need for input into the meeting without dragging the meetings out.”The release concludes with the six trustees names. The petition language is valid for 180 days. Individual signatures are only valid for 60 days. The petition was filed by township resident Tom VanSickle.