Former Augusta Township Treasurer Angela Sherbine resigned on Sept. 2, and a new treasurer was appointed in her place that day.

But the process by which the new treasurer was appointed has one of the township board's political factions crying foul, and they are considering how to proceed with disputing the appointment.

Supervisor Pete Hafler, Trustee Mike King and Trustee Dan Lula weren’t present at the meeting, and King said the manner by which Susan Burek was appointed interim treasurer violated the Open Meetings Act.

He also said language on the notice for the special meeting didn’t make clear that it had to do with Sherbine resigning and Burek being appointed.

King, Lula and Hafler are often at odds with and have had a contentious relationship with the other board members, who include Trustee Bill Tobler, Trustee Brian Shelby and Clerk Kathy Giszczak.

A special meeting for Sherbine’s resignation was called on Sept. 1 and was scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sept. 2. King said the notice stated that the meeting had to do with a Treasurer’s Office staffing report.

Giszczak said the Open Meeting’s Act requires board members to be notified of a special meeting within 24 hours, and public notice must be posted within 18 hours.

Giszczak said all the notices were delivered to trustee's homes, as they requested, more than 24 hours prior to the meeting, and a notice was placed in Hafler’s mailbox at the Township Hall as she said he requested be done for special meeting notices.

An email also was sent out to all board members, Giszczak said, and she said she also followed up to each board member with a phone call, with the exception of Hafler, who she said hasn’t provided his cellphone number.

Sherbine, who resigned because she is moving to Alabama to be with her family, said she personally delivered the notices to board members’ homes and asserted notification was completed properly.

“Every board member was notified in the legal and standard way that we notify for all special meetings,” she said. “Physical meeting notices were placed where they were supposed to be, and we followed the same process we have followed for all the other special meetings.”

King said he was under the impression from the notice that the meeting didn’t have to do with a resignation but with an issue with a deputy treasurer hired several weeks before. He said the notice was “deceptive” and provided so late that he wasn’t able to take off work the day before the Labor Day weekend started.

King said Hafler wasn’t made aware of the meeting, though Giszczak provided emails in which Hafler knew about the meeting — though not its content — beforehand. Regardless, King said the move was done intentionally to exclude the three members from the vote.

Shelby, Giszczak, Tobler and Sherbine were present at the meeting, which is enough for a quorum. They voted on Sherbine’s resignation, which was approved unanimously. The remaining three board members voted to approve the appointment.

King said he didn’t believe there was a quorum with only three active members left on the board, therefore they couldn’t vote to approve Burek’s appointment. He questioned what kind of precedence there is on such a scenario.

Giszczak contended that it takes four members to open a meeting, but only a simple majority vote of three members in such a scenario. She said Tobler had checked that rule with the Michigan Township Association before the vote.

Giszczak said King doesn’t understand the OMA law.

“I’m appalled that after three and half years (on the board) he doesn’t know the minimum of the Open Meetings Act,” she said. “If he had reviewed this information and called the MTA and got clarification, he wouldn’t be spouting off like this. This is political."

She also argued that the meeting's content fit the within the description of the notice, as is required by the OMA.

Sherbine added that the board worked quickly to approve a new treasurer so she can train Burek and ensure a smooth transition before moving.

Burek ran against Shelby in the 2010 elections but lost.

King questioned whether Burek had any experience that would qualify her for the position and said he didn’t believe she had been active in local politics.

“She is a puppet candidate who is going to vote with them, and that’s what it is,” he said. “She’s someone they put in place to continue to bolster their four votes.”