By Tom Gilchrist
For The Advertiser
ARBELA TWP. — The Arbela Township Board of Trustees on Monday night voted to end their 24-year practice of paying money to their retirement plans, and an auditor is examining township financial records after discovering what Supervisor Kenneth Panek calls “improper pension contributions.”
Board members voted 5 to 0 for the township to stop contributing money to their retirement plans as of Oct. 1. “Full-time employees working at least 30 hours per week” — which includes employees Deborah M. Cerasoli and John D. Gunnels — will continue receiving retirement money.
Township board members have received pension money since 1989. Some township residents, including Gary Rooney, have questioned why the township continues paying out the money to Panek, Clerk Mary C. Warren, Treasurer Jody Hunt and Trustees William Jacobi and Wayne Schultz.
Rooney calls the board members’ positions “part-time jobs.”
This week, workers from the township’s auditor — Smith & Klaczkiewicz P.C. of Saginaw County — are examining the township’s payroll registers and pension-statement information, according to Panek.
“This is being done because of the improper pension contributions discovered during Arbela Township’s recent annual audit,” Panek told the Advertiser.
Township resident James Bucy suggested that the board learn the extent of problems with the retirement-plan contributions before voting to change the plan.
“I’ve got a copy of the report from the auditors that says too much money is being put into that pension plan,” Bucy told the board. “I see you have on the agenda tonight to make some changes to that pension plan. Before we make any changes to it, I really think we need an audit to find out how much money went in there over the past few years that shouldn’t go in there, and get (the money) back to the township.”
Warren told the audience she doesn’t think recipients of retirement-plan contributions have received too much money.
“If anything, they got shorted,” Warren said. “They didn’t get more, not the way it was done.”
“Well I disagree with you,” Busick said.
“That’s your opinion,” Warren replied.
Earlier in the meeting, township resident Ken Platt scolded board members for “fighting” each other.
“Sitting here tonight watching you five people — and also reading the report from last month — I am seeing fighting between five people behind that table,” Platt said. “It should not be. You five people are elected to serve us, not to serve your own agenda against somebody to grind an ax.”
Panek said board members are getting the township’s work done following November’s election that he described as “kind of tense.” Panek unseated Supervisor Joseph White at the polls.
“I don’t see anything that’s not solveable, between all of us,” Panek said. “Especially with Mary (Warren) and I — Mary and I have been friends for a long time.”
“That was before you started telling lies, Ken,” Warren told Panek.
“That’s wrong that you sit up there and say that,” township resident Patricia Jewell told Warren from the audience.
Panek told The Advertiser he has “no idea” what Warren referred to. “I don’t know what to say about it,” Panek said. “I was duly elected and if you’ve got somebody on the board who’s not going to accept the election, they’ll say stuff like that.”