Kalamazoo Commissioner Didn’t Do His ‘Homework’
What does it mean when a county commissioner in Michigan say’s that he did not do his homework on a very basic decision?
On the surface it means he may be out of a job for a few months but even more important it begs the question what else did he not do his “homework” on.
Mlive is reporting that Kalamazoo County Commissioner Kevin Wordelman moved out of his district on September 24, 2018 and did not tell anyone he did so. Well he did not tell anyone until last week when he informed the county’s corporate counsel.
The County and the Boards problem is that state law requires Michigan county commissioners to reside within the district that they represent and they must do so throughout the duration of their entire term.
Commissioner Wordelman was quoted in the article stating:
I knew it would have an impact and to be honest I just didn't do my homework on what this would mean legally…When it dawned on me that I needed to have the conversation, I spoke to the county attorney and notified board leadership.
As I stated above, his actions begs the question what else did he not do his homework on before he made a decision or a vote?
Last week I wrote about Commissioner Wordelman’s decision to introduce an additional $500,000 for housing assistance into next year’s budget. He wants the county to take the $500,000 from the county’s delinquent tax fund account.
I asked the question in that piece I wrote last week, should they start throwing taxpayer dollars at this issue if there has not been enough time to truly investigate and study the homeless situation in Kalamazoo to determine what is really needed to address this issue. Is spending more taxpayer dollars the answer?
Well I may now have my answer and that answer could be that he did not do his homework to determine if those funds would be appropriately spent on something that is needed and would actually help in the long term.
Commissioner Wordelman now has the choice of either resigning or face removal by a vote of the board.
According to the Chair Wordelman's decision to move out of his district before his term ends could mean that all votes conducted by the Commission since Sept. 24, could be void. That includes the $500,000 he secured for the county's public housing commission. All those votes would have to be voted on again in the Commission.
I do not have a problem with any political body attempting to spend taxpayer dollars for the good of all the people, I do have a problem when they may do so blindly and without doing their “homework”.
By the way all vacancies on the board must be filled by appointment within 30 days. If no one is appointed to the open seat a special election is required, costing the good taxpaying people of Kalamazoo County to waste even more money.