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Message from the Township Supervisor
This was written in response to an article in the Daily News (the week of June 13, 2023).
There was a young lad who, while playing with his friends as young lads do, told an accurate story of his father but left out important details that changed the dynamic of the story. The lads told the story to their families & the adults gossiped enough about it to destroy the father's reputation. While the story was true, the parts left out created a false impression. The lad, noticing his father's sadness realized what he had done and asked his mother how to fix things. She led him to an open upstairs window and cut open a feather pillow instructing him to pour the feathers out into the wind. The feathers travelled as far as he could see. "Now go gather all of them", she said. "But mom, that's impossible!", he exclaimed, "Nobody could find all of them!". "The words we speak can never be retrieved and the harm can not be undone so, we must guard our words", was her reply.
To try to refute a slanted story about me and our TWP board is futile but it creates an excellent opportunity to explain how a township is supposed to operate.
Maple Valley TWP has 5 board members.
1) The TWP supervisor is the supervisor of the TWP not the supervisor of the board. He is not the manager of the board like the manager of McDonald's. It's not his job to direct the actions of the members of the board, nor is it his job to make sure the other members are doing their job. All of the board members are elected (or appointed in the case of a vacancy) by the people. The electors are the managers. Each individual board member is accountable to the electors. If one member doesn't do their job, the electors can recall or elect a new one at the end of the term.
2) Although all members of the board are concerned about the money, the treasurer & clerk work directly with the money. The treasurer collects the money, deposits the money, & disperses the checks. The clerk writes the vouchers (unsigned checks) & both the clerk and treasurer sign the vouchers after they are approved by the board. After the vouchers are signed they become live checks which the treasurer disperses. The treasurer and the clerk keep separate ledgers which should be reconciled monthly. In order for the ledgers to reconcile and the budget line items to be kept current, it is imperative that the treasurer & clerk communicate their transactions with each other.
3) The trustees are on the board to make sure things are done properly.
4) Three members make a quorum for a five member board. It is a prosecutable violation of the Open Meetings Act for three members to discuss any business of the township outside of a scheduled board meeting.
In summary, each member of the board gets one vote on every motion before them and each member has the equal authority to make a motion. Each member has a personal responsibility to those who elected them. Nobody on the board has any authority over the others & nobody is responsible for the actions of the others.
Thank you
Dan Boes
Maple Valley Township Supervisor
There was a young lad who, while playing with his friends as young lads do, told an accurate story of his father but left out important details that changed the dynamic of the story. The lads told the story to their families & the adults gossiped enough about it to destroy the father's reputation. While the story was true, the parts left out created a false impression. The lad, noticing his father's sadness realized what he had done and asked his mother how to fix things. She led him to an open upstairs window and cut open a feather pillow instructing him to pour the feathers out into the wind. The feathers travelled as far as he could see. "Now go gather all of them", she said. "But mom, that's impossible!", he exclaimed, "Nobody could find all of them!". "The words we speak can never be retrieved and the harm can not be undone so, we must guard our words", was her reply.
To try to refute a slanted story about me and our TWP board is futile but it creates an excellent opportunity to explain how a township is supposed to operate.
Maple Valley TWP has 5 board members.
1) The TWP supervisor is the supervisor of the TWP not the supervisor of the board. He is not the manager of the board like the manager of McDonald's. It's not his job to direct the actions of the members of the board, nor is it his job to make sure the other members are doing their job. All of the board members are elected (or appointed in the case of a vacancy) by the people. The electors are the managers. Each individual board member is accountable to the electors. If one member doesn't do their job, the electors can recall or elect a new one at the end of the term.
2) Although all members of the board are concerned about the money, the treasurer & clerk work directly with the money. The treasurer collects the money, deposits the money, & disperses the checks. The clerk writes the vouchers (unsigned checks) & both the clerk and treasurer sign the vouchers after they are approved by the board. After the vouchers are signed they become live checks which the treasurer disperses. The treasurer and the clerk keep separate ledgers which should be reconciled monthly. In order for the ledgers to reconcile and the budget line items to be kept current, it is imperative that the treasurer & clerk communicate their transactions with each other.
3) The trustees are on the board to make sure things are done properly.
4) Three members make a quorum for a five member board. It is a prosecutable violation of the Open Meetings Act for three members to discuss any business of the township outside of a scheduled board meeting.
In summary, each member of the board gets one vote on every motion before them and each member has the equal authority to make a motion. Each member has a personal responsibility to those who elected them. Nobody on the board has any authority over the others & nobody is responsible for the actions of the others.
Thank you
Dan Boes
Maple Valley Township Supervisor