Support the Timberjay by making a donation.

Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Preordained but not neatly packaged

Posted 2/3/16

The Greenwood Township special meeting on Friday, Jan. 29, was yet another display of the lack of leadership, and poor governance, that exists in Greenwood Township.

Employee contracts were the …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Preordained but not neatly packaged

Posted

The Greenwood Township special meeting on Friday, Jan. 29, was yet another display of the lack of leadership, and poor governance, that exists in Greenwood Township.

Employee contracts were the order of the day, and were designated by Board Chair Kirsten Reichel to be judged as a whole after they were all heard. Reichel had no right to decide to vote on all of the contracts as one package or individually. Lawfully, this must be determined by the entire board.

Secondly, when considering Planning Director Julia Maki’s contract, Supervisor Baland showed some surprise that Maki had not lived up to the agreement upon her hiring that she have office hours on Thursdays at the Town Hall. It should never be the case that an employee abrogate conditions of an employment agreement without first notifying the employer. Baland contested that Maki have office hours since he feels the Town Hall should be open five days a week, but at the end of the forty-minute discussion, she was not bound to do so since Clerk Ellen Trancheff proposed she (Trancheff) be at the Township Hall from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday through Friday. Maki’s contract constituted a net loss to the township since Planning and Zoning has no set office hours.

Thirdly, Pat Trancheff’s maintenance contract was up for premature renewal since his current contract runs through Dec. 31, 2016. The new contract that begins on May 1, 2016, did not need to be negotiated with the others since the township already had a valid contract with Mr. Trancheff. Again, the township loses, since Pat Trancheff will get the benefits of the new contract eight months early.

Fourthly, for the first time, part-time contracts for the “Volunteer Fire Department” officers were approved for a three-year term. This becomes problematic since the department’s by-laws state the officers are all elected for a term of one year. This point was dismissed by Clerk Trancheff due to her claim that the by-laws had not been followed for years; begging the question as to who determines which laws, by-laws, or guidelines are to be followed in the township. Obviously, the loss to the township here is the board is not in control of what laws are followed.

Lastly, the position of Fire Department Administrative Assistant/911 Coordinator was considered as one position, whereas in the past, they were two separate positions. The board had never considered combining these positions into one, but Clerk Trancheff took it upon herself to accomplish this maneuver, thus cementing the 911 Coordinator Position to a three-year contract. The township pays the 911 position roughly $7,000 a year to provide 8 to 10 new fire numbers while charging each address applicant $65. A quick call to Matt Goodman, GIS Specialist at St. Louis County, revealed that it requires 5 to 15 minutes of his time to provide a new fire number. Again, another loss for the township since in this case we lose approximately $6,000 per year, and we are the only township in St. Louis County with such a position.

This meeting was but a brief microcosm of what routinely occurs in Greenwood, whether it be sneaking through an 85-percent pay raise for Clerk Ellen Trancheff, trying to hide public survey comments, or acquiring easements without discussion by the board.  The truth is that Greenwood is really governed by a very small clique of people, and the board is little more than a “puppet theater.”  So when will people say “enough is enough”?  Hopefully it will be Election Day, March 8, 2016, and at the Annual Meeting immediately thereafter.  Please, join us!

John, JoAnn, and

Kate Bassing

Greenwood Twp., Minn.