ALPENA — The expected incoming Alpena Township supervisor will likely have to recuse herself from votes related to the township Fire Department — one of the biggest issues in the township — because her husband works for the Fire Department.
A candidate for township trustee, meanwhile, would likely have to do the same if she wins a seat during the November election.
Abbi Kaszubowski, who defeated incumbent Supervisor Nathan Skibbe during the August primary and is running unopposed in November, has a spouse who works full-time for the Fire Department and serves as the department’s union president.
Trustee candidate Bev Banks’ husband also works for the Fire Department.
The township board votes on Fire Department union contracts that set pay and benefits for Fire Department employees, meaning Kaszubowski and Banks could be asked to cast votes that would benefit their families.
Bev Banks
However, both Kaszubowski and Banks told The News they would remove themselves from votes involving their husbands and would not take part in any contract negotiations with the firefighters union.
Firefighting operations have also for years been among the biggest issues in the township, where the township board at one point considered outsourcing firefighting operations to save money. The board twice asked voters for a tax hike to fully fund the department, and voters twice said no.
The township’s nepotism policy allows two related employees to work together, provided there is no supervisory or management relationship. The township supervisor and trustees manage the Fire Department.
Helen Mills, the township’s labor attorney, is expected at an upcoming township meeting to lay out a comprehensive report on what Kaszubowski and Banks’ limitations would be in terms of their dealings with the Fire Department.
The Michigan Townships Association and an attorney from the Michigan Press Association have differing interpretations of the township’s nepotism policy and the impact it may or may not have on township and Fire Department operations.
Michael Selden, director of member information for the Townships Association, said there isn’t necessarily any state law that sets policy for nepotism and most townships have their own guidelines. He said that, after reviewing Alpena Township’s policy, it seems the two Fire Department employees would not be required to resign from their jobs if their wives took on managerial and supervisory roles.
He said he believed the Fire Department employees would be grandfathered in and the policy could only impact the hiring of any other relative after Kaszubowski and Banks take their oaths of office.
Selden said any person has the right to seek public office, and having a relative working for the municipality should not deter them from that right, as long as they recuse themselves from potential conflicts during township business.
Selden added that neither of the women would be able to bargain with the Fire Department during union negotiations, either.
“It may look like a conflict, but, ultimately, they wouldn’t have direct authority,” Selden said. “The board has the authority. They could simply recuse themselves from votes about compensation, discipline, or promotions, and have the other trustees make the decisions.”
Jennifer Dukarski, general counsel for the Michigan Press Association, said the township’s policy seems clear and makes no mention of recusals.
She added that a supervisor or trustee would be a part of the chain of command cited in the township’s policy and that could become problematic.
“For a supervisor or a trustee, it appears clear that the roles would necessarily impact the salary, potential discipline, and career progress of their relative,” Dukarski said. “The policy requires that, in the case of such a conflict, the employee must be transferred as quickly as practical.”
A model local government ethics policy written by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, which acts as a recommendation and does not supersede the township’s current policy, says that any employee hired before an election should be able to keep their employment.
Banks said that, when she decided to run for trustee, she had already decided she would recuse herself from all conflicting votes. Banks, who is also a firefighter for the township’s department, said she wants to be a trustee to help improve the township while protecting it.
Banks said that, as a licensed nurse, paramedic, and firefighter, she has always served anyone needing help ethically and will continue that on the township Board of Trustees.
“We have never hid anything or tried to,” Banks said. “I am an ethical person, and I’m licensed in three different professions that require me to be. I just want to help my community and possibly save some lives at the same time.”
Kaszubowski said having her husband working with the township while she is the supervisor would not keep her from doing the job the way voters expect. She said she could separate herself from the Fire Department and her husband’s career and let the others on the board do the decision-making.
“In the event that I win the election, I intend to do what is required by law to uphold the ethics and integrity of the position,” Kaszubowski said in an email to The News. “I was aware of the policy before I decided to run for the position. I did my own research prior to filing the paperwork for candidacy, in order to avoid any potential conflicts.”
It isn’t the first time that claims of a conflict of interest have surfaced in the township.
Skibbe’s mother sat on the Alpena Township Zoning Board of Appeals for many years before her son was elected in 2016.
Skibbe does not have a vote on the zoning board, which has only considered a zoning challenge three times in the last eight years. Skibbe said he has no power to recommend the board’s rulings.
Skibbe said the zoning board must act on established law set forth in the Michigan Zoning and Enabling Act, in conjunction with township policy. He said laws and policy dictate the zoning board’s decisions, and he has no power to sway the board.
“There is nothing in my capacity I can do to sway their position,” Skibbe said. “They operate solely on autonomously by Michigan law and township policy. We looked into my mother being on the board before I was even elected.”
Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.
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- Abbi Kaszubowski
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- Bev Banks