At the January 13, 2014 BOT meeting, Supervisor Gonser made an unsubstantiated accusation that four of the Board members met outside a public meeting discussing a Resolution that was being proposed.  If this occurred, it would have been a violation of the Open Meetings Act.

 Gonser’s accusation was made after a motion to reaffirm Ordinance 97 (which defines the authority of our Township Superintendent/ Manager).  His accusation was part of a very emotional 4 minute statement when he apparently felt he was being accused of inappropriate actions.

Three of the Board members immediately challenged Gonser’s statement, and indicated that they had never met as Gonser had stated.

As previously reported on this website, the Board did take two actions to restrain Gonser’s actions to what he statutorily possesses.  They want to  ensure that the Supervisor does not perform duties outside his authorized responsibilities.  Gonser and Thalmann have made multiple attempts at expanding his authority by having the Township governance changed to a “Strong Supervisor” structure.

Here is a video of Gonser’s statement and the Board member’s response:

Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Township?  Gonser’s public unsupported accusation that other Board members have violated the Open Meetings Act is highly inappropriate and significant.  Given that he has made that accusation, our Township Attorney should determine if Gonser’s accusation can be supported.  If not, Gonser may have violated the Township’s ‘Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Policy’, as well as the ‘Board approved Principles of Township Governance Excellence’.

As one resident has recently stated, he believes Gonser’s actions have now escalated to the point of ‘malfeasance’.  The Board needs to hold Gonser accountable for his statement by either asking for the supporting data for his accusation, or demand a retraction of his accusation.

Gonser’s lashing out at fellow Board members, former Trustee Judy Keyes, disregarding our township attorney’s assessment, and lashing out at the accuracy of this website appear to be occurring because he is frustrated that he cannot get what he wants.

Mr. Gonser needs to understand that our Township is governed by a Strong Board through majority rule!

Richard Michalski