Members of the Belleville City Council approved the hiring of Vera Chapman as the new city clerk/treasurer, just in time to manage the Nov. 3 general election.
Chapman, who is expected to begin her new job in Belleville in about a week, is currently employed in Birmingham. She will replace Sheri Scharf who resigned from the dual city position effective Sept. 1. Scharf did stay on with the city through Sept. 4 in an effort to complete some of the work required by the upcoming election.
Chapman's hiring followed a report earlier this month from Interim City Manager Tracey Schultz Kobylarz who told council members that without Scharf the city was without staff to register voters, send absentee ballots or manage the upcoming election.
She suggested the only option at that time was to partner with Van Buren Township personnel if no one certified to do the work was hired immediately. The increase in the number of requests for absentee ballots was also a concern, she said, as the city had already received an estimated 900 applications for absentee ballots while the average for other elections was about 400.Kobylarz told the council members that she was learning the correct procedures for registering voters and that her training with the office of the secretary of state was nearly complete, but that hiring a qualified person was an immediate concern.
Members of the council agreed to delay any action authorizing help from Van Buren until Chapman’s interview set for the following day. Chapman was hired following that meeting and no further action was taken on the proposal to partner with Van Buren to handle the election.
