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| Michelle Cole |
Cole, who dated her resignation letter Nov. 22, said her last day with the township would be Nov. 29, providing the board with the week-long notice required in her employment contract. Cole was named as township administrator in August at an annual salary of $94,000. She joined the township as finance director in 2019 and was named deputy supervisor in 2020. She was promoted to township administrator by the board of trustees in August this year. She has reportedly accepted a new job with the City of Howell.
In her letter of resignation, Cole said she would be willing to work with the township administration as an outside contractor to ensure a smooth transition of her extensive responsibilities. Board members agreed to accept her offer and instructed township attorney Rob Young to prepare a contract for Cole at a rate of $95 per hour for no more than 8 hours a week. The contract was limited to 90 days but could be extended, Young said.
Cole's extensive duties will be assigned to other department heads and elected officials in the township. After much discussion, board members agreed to assign the responsibility for the water and building departments to the office of Supervisor Tim Bowman; general accounting and payroll to the office of Clerk Esther Hurst and Information Technology (IT) to Director of Public Safety/Police Chief Eric Luke.
Luke agreed to take on the added responsibility for the technology issues in the township but cautioned the board members that he was only the “semi-pro” in dealing with computer and software issues. He said others in his department were far more skilled and that it would be vital “we are able to use the information Elle has.”
“We'll step in and take up the slack,” he assured the board members.
During the extensive discussion of various options for assigning Cole's responsibilities during the transition, Trustee Tim Rush urged the board members to utilize the talent already available.
“We have a great deal of talent on this board. We have always gotten through major problems and we will get through this,” he said. “We need to put a plan in place to take care of payroll, MERS, HR issues and payroll issues.”
Cole repeatedly assured the board members that she would do whatever possible to ensure a smooth transition and help provide whatever instruction and information possible to benefit the township.
Trustee Matt Oddy repeatedly urged the board members to decide on a plan of action to move forward. Oddy made the various motions assigning the department responsibilities to the elected officials and to Luke and requesting the contract for Cole from the attorney. His motions were approved by unanimous vote of the board members.
In her letter of resignation, Cole expressed her regard for Sumpter Township and her appreciation for the community.
“Sumpter is in a critical space right now, with development right around the corner,” she said. “I will continue to work with the board to achieve growth, further financial security, internal controls, relevant and forward-thinking budgeting and information technology systems.
“There are so many wonderful things ahead for the township,” she said.
