Independent Editor,
Why is collusion being allowed within Shiawassee County government over the county clerk’s office. There has been a stream of events that has led me to write this letter.
The county clerk was forced to take back two employees that she let go at the beginning of the year. The two employees were on probation so, as an elected official, it seems she should have the right to staff her office as she saw fit.
Later, came the grief the board of commissioners gave the county clerk about choosing new election equipment. The state of Michigan had completed the bidding process and had given the county clerks in the state multiple companies as choices for each county clerk to choose from.
The Shiawassee County Board of Commissioners delayed a vote on the issue. The board invited the old vendor to a meeting to discuss their bid. If the board wanted more information, why didn’t they also invite the other two competitors, including the vendor the county clerk had decided on?
The most recent effort in paralyzing the county clerk’s office came on June 15 when the board of commissioners approved the removal of the only two employees in the vital records side of the clerk’s office, to be effective July 1. When the clerk asked to keep one of the employees for a month to train a new clerk who was set to start on July 3, she was told no.
It sounds to me the Shiawassee County Commissioners are trying to undermine the clerk’s every move. For what purpose? Who is to gain anything from that? The reduction in the county clerk’s staff has caused the public to suffer with reduced office hours and delays in getting service. I applied for my CPL renewal on June 29, and as of Aug. 14, I still haven’t received it. I don’t blame the county clerk’s office employees. I think there are others who are responsible and believe it is due to poor choices made by our commissioners.
I would like to see an investigation done to stop the erosion of the service to the people of Shiawassee County. That would be the first step in the process of ensuring the clerk’s office is able to run as it has in the past without micromanaging by the commissioners.
Gary Hope, New Lothrop