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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP

Greenwood clerk’s 85 percent pay hike request OK’d

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GREENWOOD TWP- On a 3-2 vote, the Greenwood Town Board, Tuesday, voted to give the township clerk, Ellen Trancheff, a $12,000 raise, retroactive to Jan. 1 of this year.

The item, which was not on the agenda, was brought up during the end-of-meeting discussion time. Chairman Kirsten Reichel explained that Trancheff had been keeping track of time spent on township business, both in and out of the office, and had determined that her $14,190 salary worked out to between $11.14-$11.94 per hour, depending on the time of year, based on her averaging 99-104 hours of work each month.

Trancheff had presented a proposal to Reichel, who serves as the township’s employee coordinator, asking for a salary of $26,190 a year.

Reichel said this worked out to an equivalent of $21.82 per hour, which was in the range paid to city clerks and deputy clerks in Tower, Cook, and Orr.

“Ellen’s proposal fits right in with others doing the same job,” Reichel said.

Supervisor John Bassing noted that Tower has a Clerk/Treasurer and that it was a full-time position.

Resident Pam Lundstrom asked how this salary would compare to other larger townships, such as Breitung or Eagles Nest, but Reichel said she hadn’t thought to get that information.

The Embarrass Town Clerk is paid hourly, at a rate of $13.40/hour for 28 hours a week. Embarrass also has a deputy clerk. In Breitung, the clerk is paid an annual salary of $17,500 (a $2,100 raise from the previous year).

Supervisor Rick Worringer said he was comfortable with the proposal.

“I think it is a reasonable request for someone with 30 years experience,” he said.

He made a motion, seconded by John Milbridge, to increase the salary as requested.

Resident Mark Drobec wondered if the clerk was a temporary position, since it is an elected position.

Reichel said it is elected but also considered a township employee, so it is under the discretion of the board.

Reichel noted that this decision was one that was made by the board, and that public input was not appropriate. She noted that Trancheff had brought up the issue last year with former Chairman Tom Aro, who had asked her to track her time. Previously, Trancheff had also been hired as the township’s assessor, which was considered a full-time position, in addition to her clerk duties. When St. Louis County took over assessing duties in Greenwood, Trancheff’s assessor job was eliminated.

Resident Carmen DeLuca noted that Trancheff receives an additional $6,334 per year for her duties as 911-coordinator, a position not found in any other area township, which involves assigning new address numbers for new township properties. Trancheff is also hired as the fire department secretary. She also receives pay, as do the other supervisors, for attending extra meetings beyond the monthly board meeting.

Supervisor Gene Baland asked the board to consider tabling the issue for a month, so supervisors would have time to review the proposal and get input from residents.

“I don’t like to decide things the same night I get them,” he said. “I’ve made this comment before, for not any other reason than I want to look through this and understand it more completely.”

Reichel said she knew this was not going to be a popular decision, but said she felt the raise was deserved. She noted that other board members were welcome to amend the motion if they were not comfortable with the amount.

The board approved the raise without further discussion, on a 3-2 vote, with Bassing and Baland voting against.

In discussion after the meeting, Bassing questioned why this item wasn’t put on the agenda. He said he opted not to bring up discussion of the actual raise amount because he felt there were already three votes in favor of the raise at that amount.

“There is absolutely no reason it shouldn’t have been on the agenda,” he said. He noted that Reichel had discussed the issue with him the week before, and said it was his understanding that she had spoken with two other supervisors prior to the meeting.

Reichel, when reached Wednesday, said the reason it wasn’t on the agenda was because Trancheff had not made the final decision to ask for the raise until right before Tuesday’s meeting. She said she had only discussed the issue with Bassing, since he had questioned an earlier billing statement from the attorney that related to the clerk’s salary.

Under new guidelines put in place for conducting township meetings this year, agendas are to be posted online, though with the provision that last minutes changes may be made. The posted agenda for this meeting had no old or new business, just the standard monthly items.

“We try to post agendas as much as we can,” said Reichel. “But it’s not possible in all cases. It isn’t a mandate.”

“Ellen told me verbally before the meeting started,” Reichel said. “The information was put in everyone’s packet on the table.”

When asked why the issue wasn’t added onto the agenda prior to the board starting the meeting, she said she didn’t know that was possible. It is standard practice at other township, city, and school board meetings to add last-minute items to the official agenda at the start of a meeting, after a vote of the board.

Reichel said the discussion and decision was made “in front of everybody.”

“Ellen could have requested a closed meeting to discuss this,” she said, “but she opted to have an open meeting venue.”

Reichel noted that there were five supervisors, and all had the information in front of them. She said she was frankly surprised that a discussion on the salary amount, or the implication for the township budget, had not been brought up.

A sheet prepared by Trancheff and given to the supervisors summarized her work duties and then made the salary adjustment proposal. It also noted that the township had “received a greatly reduced cost for my service in 2014.”

“I am the bearer of bad news,” Reichel said. “But it was the vote of more than just me on the board.”

Reichel also told the Timberjay that she will not be seeking reelection in March, when her term expires, though she said her decision was made a while ago, and was not in any way linked to this issue. Reichel is currently the longest-serving member of the board.

Other business

In other business the board:

‰ Passed a resolution asking the DNR to not remove the concrete pier at Moccasin Point when the public landing is renovated, due to its importance to local residents, contractors, and emergency service personnel. It also states its support for allowing local barging operations to use the landing for parking and loading.

‰ Welcomed three new members to the township fire department: Eric Milbridge, Craig Gilbert, and Hunter Gilbert. Chief Dave Fazio also recognized Jim Martin, who recently retired after many years of service to the department. Fazio reported on a series of weekend leadership trainings he had attended at Camp Ripley, which has been organized by the Minnesota Board of Fire Training. He attended four sessions over the past year. Safety Officer Ed Borchardt reported that the eight new self-contained breathing apparatus units (purchased with a grant) were in, though the department was still waiting for the new masks. The supplier sent a trainer to their last meeting to properly fit the masks, which are now ordered. The department will use the old equipment, if needed, until the new masks arrive.

‰ Discussed passing a policy to forbid the consumption of alcohol on township grounds without a proper permit. The township currently has a policy in place regarding alcohol use at the town hall requiring special insurance and a police officer on duty. The town board had concerns about liability issues. Sample wording for a policy will be brought to a future meeting for discussion.

‰ Will consult their attorney or the Minnesota Association of Townships on the procedure to solicit additional quotes for the tennis court project. Only one quote was received and it came in over the $50,000 threshold, and state law requires at least two quotes before awarding a bid at this price level. Bassing found another contractor who does tennis court work in northern Minnesota, that might be interested in sending a quote. In addition, Trancheff will contact some other contractors who said they didn’t have enough time to prepare a quote. The township still hopes to get the work completed this year.

‰ Awarded the propane supply contract to Como Propane, at a price of $1.189 a gallon. The township owns its own tank.

‰ Passed a resolution to allow Reichel Electric to perform work for the township. The township currently has a claim of $90 due to Reichel. Bassing noted that the township needed to follow state conflict of interest rules and have a current resolution in place before paying the bill. Reichel Electric is owned by the family of Kirsten Reichel.