Posted 9/27/01 Concerns raised over whatís left out of township minutes To the editor: In the May, 2001 minutes of the Nessel Town Board meeting, a contract was let for mowing the grass around the Town Hall. Mr. Steve Eklund was given the job for $60 each time he mowed. What the minutes DO NOT show is that there was another bid for $55.00 each time mowed.ÝAccording to the Open Meeting Law, page 10, ìIf the Board takes the highest bid, a detailed explanation of the reasons must be included in the minutes.î In the October, 2000 monthly meeting, the custodial duties were offered to Mr. Jack Olsen. He refused unless they raised the pay, so they did. [I think it is $150.00 per month now.]You will not find that in the minutes either. So only one person had the opportunity for this job. Not long ago the Board passed a resolution raising their pay.ÝPerfectly legal, but you will not find that information in the minutes either. The clerkís pay doubled to $400.00 per month, plus $35.00 per meeting, of which there are two per month,Ýplus. 34 cents per mile travel pay. [$470.00 plus travel pay.]ÝThe Treasurer went from $100.00 per month to $150.00 per month plus the meeting and travel pay.ÝI was the only other person at this meeting, so had I not been there, none of us would know this. One of the last things the old three man Board did was to direct the clerk, Roger Eklund, to buy a tape recorder, tape the meetings and keep them for a year. In a discussion about the pole barn or garage that was voted down at the last election, I asked them to play the tapes of the March, 2001 Annual Meeting to see just what we actually voted for on the budget.ÝThe clerk quickly said he did not tape that meeting, although he has taped all other meetings. The clerk delivers the unapproved minutes to each Supervisor the day before each meeting for their approval and to make any changes they deem necessary.ÝWhen they vote to approve the next day, it is always 5-0 to approve.Ý In looking at the minutes for these dates there were no corrections or changes. In the Open Meeting Law, 1st page, 1st paragraph, it says, ìThe Courts have clearly stated that the Open Meeting Law is to be construed in favor of Public access.îÝFurther on it states, ìThe purpose the law serves is to prohibit actions taken in secretÝ[2] to insure the publicís right to be informed [3] to afford the public an opportunity to present its views to the public body.î Also, on page 10, it states, with respect to the minutes, ìthere should be a record of the description of the motion, who made it, who seconded the motion, and whether it was defeated or adopted.î The Open Meeting Law is 17 pages long, and pretty easy reading, so there is no excuse for not knowing it. It also should be noted that when we went from a 3 to a 5 man Board, a resolution was passed to furnish each new Supervisor with a copy of the Township Handbook, in which the Open Meeting Law is included. It is pretty clear that this Board does not care about the Open Meeting Law as the rules are in their own Handbook. They give us only the information they want us to have and not what actually happened at the meeting. Sincerely, Tom Hennemann Rush City ©Post Review