Category Archives: Ann Capela

Supervisor Gonser attempts to defend his lie in Rochester Post article

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At the January 13, 2015 Oakland Township Board meeting, one of the agenda items was a discussion about the decision and authority to cancel the televising of the September 29, 2014 Board meeting(s).  It has previously been reported that Supervisor Gonser had cancelled the taping and televising of the meetings.  In those meetings, our former Township Manager, Ann Capela had first been fired, and later allowed to quit.  Many of the Board members did not agree with Gonser’s decision to cancel the taping of the meeting based on the resultant lack of transparency to our citizens.  They also questioned his authority to have made that decision.

When confronted with the facts about the cancellation, Supervisor Gonser acknowledged that he did call CMNtv to cancel the televising of the meetings, but then attempted to justify that decision by saying he was trying to protect Ann Capela reputation.  He made no apology for making the decision nor for lying to the Press.  In the September 29th meeting, both he and Trustee Thalmann were the only two Board members to not support firing Ann Capela.

The author of this post confronted Gonser in the meeting by saying that his rationale for not televising the meeting was NOT justification for lying to the Press when he said:

“It (the special meeting) was posted late on the website Sunday afternoon. There was no time to get the meeting televised.”

Here are the key video portions of this meeting regarding this issue:

Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Townhip?  Most of the citizens of Oakland Township do not accept or condone Gonser’s lying in the Press (there was at least one citizen at the January 13 meeting who appeared to accept Gonser’s explanation).

This is not the first time that there has been documentation that our Supervisor has lied to the public.  One previous example was reported on this website where Gonser stated he had sent a letter requesting an opinion from our State Attorney General “as an individual”.  The letter he referred to was written 8 days AFTER he made that public statement.

Gonser’s lack of understanding that his rationale for making the decision is not justification for lying to the Press.  This is proof that his value system is based on “the end justifies the means”.

Gonser appears to subscribe to Machiavellian and Nixonian principles.

This post is one of several that support the actions taken by our Township Board at the January 13th meeting to try to stop Gonser’s many unauthorized decisions.

Richard Michalski

 

Supervisor Gonser thwarts promised transparency in Oakland Township and makes false statement to Rochester Post

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As previously posted on this website, our former Township Manager, Ann Capela, resigned after the September 29, 2014 Special Board meeting.  Neither the Special meeting nor the Budget Workshop (that had been scheduled to be televised and taped) were televised or taped (or even audio recorded).  It has been determined that Supervisor Gonser was the one who made the decision to CANCEL the video taping and televising of this very important meeting, contrary to his statement in the Press that there was “no time to get the meeting televised’ .

A Board discussion of this cancellation is on the agenda for the January 13, 2014 Board meeting.

Here are the details:

  • A 6 PM televised Oakland Township Board Budget Workshop had been planned and scheduled for September 29, 2014.
  • A day or two before the meeting, several Board members determined that they wanted to have a special meeting (that would include a closed hearing, at the request of Ann Capela) to:

” consider a periodic personnel evaluation of a public officer, employee, staff member, or individual agent”

  • The official posting of the special 5:30 PM meeting met the timing requirements for notification to the public.
  • Based on documents obtained through the FOIA process, here are the records of communications that took place the day of the meetings:
  • At 2:15 PM on September 29th, Supervisor Gonser made a 4 minute call to the CMNtv Executive Director.  (CNMtv is responsible for taping and televising our Township meetings at the direction of the Township.)
  • At 2:20 PM on September 29th, Jamie Moore, a member of the Township staff, sent an email to the CMNtv Executive Director stating, “Terry said you were looking for the agenda for tonight.” She attached the link to the agenda for the 5:30 meeting.
  • At 2:31 PM the Executive Director responded to Jamie’s email and acknowledged receipt of the email.
  • At 2:59 PM Supervisor Gonser made a 2 minute call to the CMNtv Executive Director.

The two meetings scheduled for that day were neither taped or televised, even though the Budget Workshop had previously been scheduled for being taped and televised.

As reported in the minutes of the two meetings, Ann Capela’s contract had been terminated during the open portion of the Special meeting, but during the ‘Old Business’ portion of the Budget Workshop meeting, her ‘termination’ was revised to accept her ‘resignation’.

Supervisor Gonser and Trustee Thalmann were the only two Board members who voted against Ann Capela’s termination.  The later vote to accept her resignation was unanimously approved.

In the October 9, 2014 Rochester Post, Supervisor Gonser is quoted as saying,

“It (the special meeting) was posted late on the website Sunday afternoon.  There was no time to get the meeting televised.”

At the October 14, 2104 BOT meeting, Treasurer Langlois, stated that Gonser’s statement was inaccurate. She said:

“So, in fact, not having a video tape of the meeting was not due to a lack of time, but apparently due to an earlier administrative decision.”

At the November 17, 2014 BOT meeting, she went on to say:

“We (the Board) discovered, after the fact, that a decision was made to cancel the video taping of the meeting.”

Here is the video of Treasurer Langlois’ comments:

Why is this  important to the citizens of Oakland Township?  The Township is suppose to be managed by our hired Township Manager (under the leadership of our Board).  Other than the election of our officials, there is probably no more important decision that affects our Township.  Yet, Supervisor Gonser, who ran on improving ‘transparency’ in our Township made the decision to not televise or record this very important meeting.

Supervisor Gonser has claimed the decision to televise meetings is consistent with his campaign promise to improve transparency.  However, his unilateral decision to cancel the televising of  this very significant meeting, and then stating in the Press that “there was not time to get the meeting televised” is another clear example of his character and real feelings about transparency.

His decision to not record or televise this meeting reminds me of the statement he made in a previous meeting where he said “Process is everything”.  This is yet another example of Gonser’s ‘selective’ use of processes aimed at accomplishing his own hidden agendas.

So much for transparency and ethics under our current Supervisor!

A person's actions tell you everthing you need to know

Richard Michalski

Supervisor Gonser thinks Oakland Township’s form of government is “bizarre” and unworkable

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On November 11, 2014 the Oakland Press posted an article that reported on the current employment status of Oakland Township’s former manager, Ann Capela.  As reported previously, she agreed to terminate her employment as Oakland Township’s manager on September 29, 2014.  In the Oakland Press article, Supervisor Gonser indicated that he agreed with the former manager’s assessment that the political structure in Oakland Township is ‘unworkable’.  Gonser went on to say that it is a ‘bizarre’ form of government.  

At the November 11, 2014 Oakland Township Board meeting, the Board voted to authorize a consulting firm to initiate a Township Manager search to replace Ann Capela.  The motion was approved in a 6 to 1 vote.  Supervisor Gonser was the sole dissenting vote.

Here are some of the highlights of the Oakland Press article:

  • Ann Capela, our former manager, was hired by the city of Bethel, Alaska.
  • Regarding her September 29th agreement to terminate her contract as Oakland Township Manager, Capela stated:

“(Oakland Township has) a challenging political structure that soon became unworkable.”

  • The article states that Terry Gonser, the current Township Supervisor, agreed with her assessment.
  • He went on to say:

“We have a bizarre, unique form of government.”

  • Commenting on Ann Capela’s new assignment, he stated:

“She won’t be subjected to so much micromanagement.”

“She won’t be pulled in different directions.”

  • Trustee Thalmann, who voted to retain Capela, also supported the Supervisor’s opinion regarding the Township’s form of governance.

Here is a link to the Oakland Press article:

Former Manager: Oakland Townships structure ‘unworkable’

 Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Township?  Oakland Township has had the current structure since the early 1990’s.  There were no issues raised under the previous three Supervisors (Buser-Hoffman-Fogler) with the current form of government.

Supervisor Gonser, as well as Trustee Thalmann, continue to want to change the structure to one with a “Strong Supervisor”.  There have been several previous articles posted on this website regarding Gonser’s attempt to change the Township structure.  Here are those articles:

Supervisor Gonser and Trustee Thalmann attempt (once again) to have a “Strong Supervisor” structure in Oakland Township

 Trustee’s reject Supervisor Gonser’s desire to become a ‘Stong Supervisor’

 Can we Trust Supervisor Gonser with more authority

Gonser and Thalmann have recently been in the ‘minority position’ on a number of Board decisions.  This could be a contributing reason for their desire to have Gonser become a ‘Strong Supervisor’.  He would then be able to make Township operational decisions without the consent of the entire Board.

The current political structure allows a trained professional Manager or Superintendent to manage the Township with direction from the Board. Having the operational decisions made by an untrained political elected official would not only dilute the authority of the Board, but would result in chaos and confusion in our Township after each Board election.  It would highly politicize the day to day operation of our Township.

Supervisor Gonser has indicated that he spends 50 hours per week on Township business.  His position is suppose to be a part time position.  His presence at the Township Hall most likely caused the micromanagement that Capela complained about. The Treasurer and Clerk probably had to spend additional time at the Township Hall making sure Gonser did not give direction on items impacting their departments – probably contributing to Capela being pulled in different directions.

Fortunately, the current Board has consistently objected to changing the political structure of our Township.  I hope that continues!  Their decision to approve the search for a replacement for Ann Capela is a good start.

Richard Michalski

 

Treasurer Langlois challenges Supervisor Gonser’s Rochester Post statement

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As reported previously, former Township Manager Capela’s employment was terminated on September 29, 2014. Efforts have been made to learn more about the discussions that took place at the meeting.  However,  there is no video or audio recording of the meeting proceedings.  

In an October 9, 2014 Rochester Post article, Supervisor Gonser stated:

“There was no time to get the meeting televised.” 

At the October 14, 2014 BOT meeting, Treasurer Langlois corrected Gonser’s statement, and pointed out that there apparently was an administrative decision made to not record or televise the special meeting as well as the Budget Workshop that had been scheduled for that date. Previous Budget workshops had been recorded and televised.

A few days after the September 29th meeting, the author of this post called the Township Office to determine if an audio recording had been made of the meeting.  They informed me that there was no audio recording of the meeting.  In the past, audio recordings were made of a meeting if it was known that it would not be video recorded.

Here is the video of Treasurer Langlois’ correction of Gonser’s statement:

Here are the copies of the minutes of the September 29th meetings (approved on October 14th):

September 29, 2014 Special meeting minutes

Sept 29th Budget workshop meeting minutes

Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Township?  Supervisor Gonser ran on a platform of transparency.  Treasurer Langlois has pointed out that the administration (either Capela or Gonser) apparently made a decision to not televise the meeting proceedings.  We as citizens will never know what really happened at the meeting, since there is no audio or video recording of that very important meeting.  Does that sound like transparency to you?

Richard Michalski

(EDITORIAL) – An Opportunity to Move Toward Better Government

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As reported  here previously, the Board has acted and now needs to hire a new Township Superintendent

However this came about, the Board now has an opportunity to hire a strong, professional Township Superintendent who will take control over all of the duties assigned to the position by the Resolution made by the Board of Trustees.  In that Resolution the Board delegated every one of the fifteen duties and responsibilities enumerated in the Michigan Charter Township Act to the Township Superintendent. They need to find a person who, together with the Board, will stand up to Gonser and tell him that he has no executive nor management nor supervisory authority over the business of the Township.  The Board must enforce their Resolution and back their new executive in every respect.  Gonser says he spends 50 hrs./wk. working on Township business in the Township offices.  This is hardly possible unless he has been ignoring the will of the Board of Trustees.  He must be made to obey the Board, tend to his responsibilities and stay home.

We, the citizens of Oakland Township deserve good government.  This is our opportunity to make it clear to the Board that, in order to get our support, they need follow up their decision to fire Ann Capela with determination to hire and empower a township executive who will lead a good government.

Jim Foulkrod

BREAKING NEWS: TOWNSHIP MANAGER CAPELA’S CONTRACT TERMINATED

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Robert Yager, the publisher of the Oakland Township Sentinel, published an article indicating that the Oakland Township Board terminated  manager Ann Capela’s contract on September 29, 2014. The vote was 5 to 2.  Supervisor Gonser and Trustee Thalmann were the only two that supported keeping Capela.

 A copy of Robert’s article is posted here:  

Oakland Township Sentinel 9-30-2014

I would encourage any readers or ‘followers’ of this site to send Robert an email at:

yagerra@comcast.net

to subscribe to his website.  He will send emails to you with each update.  The content shown on his site is very informative.  Here is a link to his website:

Oakland Township Sentinel

Thank you Robert for bringing this to our attention!

Here is a link to an Oakland Press article:

Oakland Press Article

Richard Michalski

 

Township Board approves potentially precedent setting (and costly) policy on Road maintenance

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The Township Board approved spending $40,000 of funds from the ‘general fund’ to improve the gravel road portion of Silverbell Road at the September 9, 2014 Board meeting.  The Board approved spending this money by a 4 to 3 margin.  

Treasurer Langlois expressed concerns regarding:

  • the lack of having a comprehensive plan for our Township Road improvements that would ensure we were addressing the most critical roads,
  • the use of ‘general funds’ for this project, and
  • the precedent setting action of the Township assuming responsibility for the safety of the roads.  The Oakland County Road Commission has that responsibility.

This decision may cost the Township ‘dearly’ in the future.

At the September 9, 2014 Oakland Township Board meeting, Supervisor Gonser stated that the Road Commission had contracted for enough limestone to improve about one additional mile of gravel roads in Oakland Township. This limestone was in addition to the improvements that occurred on Dutton Road this year.

Road improvements in our Township (above and beyond what is required for safety) have historically been covered by what is called tri-party funds.  The dollars for these improvements come from three sources, 1/3 from the Road Commission, 1/3 from the County and 1/3 from Oakland Township (hence the name tri-party fund).   In other words, our dollars are ‘leveraged’.  The cost for the Dutton Road improvements was also shared between Oakland Township and Rochester Hills.  That improvement was totally covered by tri-party funds from both communities.

The cost for the additional mile of limestone could not be totally covered by the remaining 2014 Oakland Township tri-party funds.  It would require an additional $40,000 from Oakland Township’s ‘General Fund’.  Supervisor Gonser wanted to authorize the Road Commission to purchase and use the limestone on Silverbell road in response to safety concerns raised by citizens.

Treasurer Langlois indicated she was not in favor of using Township ‘General Funds’ to improve road safety when road safety was the responsibility of the Road Commission.  She also pointed out that the Township’s road improvement planning has deteriorated since we lost our previous Township manager.  Treasurer Langlois, Trustees Buxar and Bailey all expressed disappointment that a more comprehensive plan had not been developed that would ensure the most critical roads in the Township were being addressed.

The Township Board voted on the motion to purchase the limestone, and it passed with Gonser, Reilly, Thalmann and Giannangeli supporting the motion.  Langlois, Buxar and Bailey being the dissenting minority.

Here is a video of Treasurer Langlois’ concerns with this motion:

Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Township?  The use of general funds for road improvements to eliminate safety concerns could be a precedent setting action.  The Road Commission may now look to the Township to pay for future road improvements that they consider safety related. Until now, the Road Commission has been responsible for safety.  The Board’s decision may cloud that responsibility going forward. If the Township becomes responsible for road safety, our taxes will certainly increase to cover those costs.

The politically expeditious decision by Supervisor Gonser, Clerk Reilly and Trustees Thalmann and Giannangeli may cost the Township dearly in the future!

Richard Michalski

 

Supervisor Gonser incorrectly blames others for failure to be prepared for employee health care decision

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At the August 12, 2014 Board meeting, the Board was forced to make an uninformed decision regarding the health care plan for Township employees.  The Township employee health care plans take effect on September 1 each year.  The Board decided to ‘opt out’ of the cost share obligation of Public Act 152 of 2011, and continue the current coverage for employees. This decision was made since no one on staff looked at alternatives in time for the September 1 deadline.  They also had not looked at the carry-over plan that was approved.  The Board had virtually no time to review or make an informed decision on this matter.  This is clearly an example of poor planning on the part of our Supervisor and Township Manager.

John Giannagelli indicated that he was disappointed that they had to ‘opt out’.  He thought that maybe the 152 plan options would have been better for the Township.  Supervisor Gonser then stated:

“Unfortunately, this was not identified earlier… really last year.  It was completely missed”

Here is a video of that discussion:

Why is this important to the citizens of Oakland Township?  Terry Gonser continues to deflect any criticism on issues for which he bares responsibility.  Attempting to blame this issue on someone (our former Manager) from over a year ago does not pass the credibility test (sounds like Washington doesn’t it).

The current manager, Ann Capela, has been on staff since February, and certainly should have been able to investigate the health care options during the past 6 months.

Our supervisor has repeatedly stated how many hours he spends at the Township Hall.  His presence may actually be preventing our Township Manager from doing her work. Gonser needs to get out of the way, and let the staff do their work.  He also needs to stop blaming others.

I was once told, “Poor planning does not constitute an emergency!”  This is clearly a case of ‘poor planning’, yet our Supervisor continues to ‘fire’ the experienced planning individuals on our Planning Commission, and wants to provide the Planning Commission with his ‘strategic planning vision’.  Does he merit that trust? I think NOT!

Richard Michalski

Gonser suggests a $16,000 annual cap on employee health benefits

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8/26/14 Update After receiving thoughtful comments and email from several people I believe Gonser may have misspoke about a potential hard cap on the employee benefit plan.  He probably intended to say that the Township’s liability for the premiums for the plan may be limited to $16,000/yr.

Thank you Patricia, Marty, Thomas and Phillip for your willingness participate in our efforts to inform our community about our local government.

Jim Foulkrod

 

At the August 12, 2014 Board meeting Supervisor Gonser suggested that, in its search for a less costly employee health plan, the board could consider a plan that caps the amount of annual benefits at $16,000.  No member of the board spoke against his idea even though it could mean financial ruin for any employee of average means who had even a moderately serious health problem.  I was struck by how his meager $16,000 cap would have served a member of my immediate family who,  in June, fell, broke her leg and required surgery.  Her hospitalization, surgery and rehabilitation has, as of 7/29,  cost over $141,000.   If an Oakland Township employee had sustained this accidental injury and was subject to Gonser’s proposed $16,000 annual cap, the employee would need to pay over $125,000. 

This is another example of why, months ago, the Board of Trustees wisely refused to delegate any administrative responsibilities to Supervisor Gonser.  Township Manager Ann Capela retains  responsibility for all the administrative duties enumerated in state law.  So where does Gonser come up with  the authority and audacity to embarrass the whole Township with such mean-spirited, insensitive and draconian pronouncements?

It is time for the Board of Trustees to enforce their decision and reign-in the Supervisor.  He, by law and our Board’s actions, should only chair the meetings, do photo-ops and ride in the Christmas Parade.  Manager Capela, under direction of the entire Board, should  have full authority over the Township administration.

Jim Foulkrod

Here is the video containing Gonser’s remarks and discussion by the Board.

 

Hills of Oakland Bailout – Old Promises, New Threats

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On Wednesday, May 8th I was interviewed by the Safety Paths and Trails Committee regarding my application to serve on that committee.  The committee members Alice Tomboulian and Ron Hein were present. Committee member Treasurer Langlois joined the meeting by phone and Township Manager Ann Capela was also present.

Ron is President of the Hills of Oakland subdivision homeowners association.   At the 10/1/13 Planning Commission meeting Mr. Ron Hein, then a  Planning Commissioner newly appointed by Supervisor Gonser and the Board, volunteered to serve on the Township Safety Paths and Trails Committee saying “I have a little bit of a vested interest in this.”

Early in the interview Ron asked if I was still opposed to using trails millage money to maintain the Safety Paths that are owned by the Hills of Oakland subdivision.   When I responded saying that I had not changed my mind we began a discussion during which Hein said:

  • the Hills of Oakland does not have the money to maintain their safety paths;
  • they have no legal obligation to maintain their safety paths;
  • “We could just let them turn to dirt.”

There was no objection to these statements from Treasurer Langlois or Manager Capela.

Ron Hein as President of the Hills of Oakland Subdivision Association is charged on page 1 of their Declaration Of Restrictions with the responsibility of “promoting the recreation, health, safety and welfare of the residents”.  That Mr. Hein would propose in a public meeting where he represents the Planning Commission that safety paths in use by the public could be allowed to deteriorate, develop cracks and holes, expose tree roots, become unsafe, crumble and eventually “turn to dirt”, is cause for alarm.

In October he told us why he wanted a seat on the trails committee (his “vested interest”).  Now he has told us about the level of concern he has for community safety.

The idea that our trails millage money could be used by subdivision homeowners associations was first proposed in the form of a campaign promise made by now Supervisor Terry Gonser during the run up to the Aug. 2012 Primary Election.

So we, voters and taxpayers, see our new leadership in action, fulfilling their campaign promises.  If we don’t pony up our money to bail out the residents of the Hills of Oakland Subdivision they threaten to allow their publicly used safety paths to “turn to dirt”.

Are you concerned yet?

Jim Foulkrod