BUCK CREEK TOWNSHIP — All three members of the Buck Creek Township Advisory Board have collectively submitted their resignation.
Matt Kelly, former advisory board chair, shared in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he, Scott Whitehouse and Erin Jordan decided to turn in their resignation forms on January 2.
Lisa Lofgreen, Hancock County clerk, confirmed that her office received all three resignations.
Janice Silvey, chair of the Hancock County Republican Party, also confirmed that they had received the resignations.
Kelly’s post states that “…we as a former governing body will spell out our unified reason for resigning,” and goes on to accuse Buck Creek Township Trustee Micki Simunek of unusual hiring practices, failing to be open and transparent in financial dealings, creating a hostile work environment with the advisory board, unauthorized purchasing of fire apparatus, and more.
At one point in the post, Kelly states that “She fired the long-serving Township Clerk and hired a longtime friend and campaign manager for the clerk’s position. The Trustee doubled the position pay for the clerk and began paying the new clerk at this rate immediately, even though the Advisory Board had not approved the higher salary nor passed a new salary resolution.”
In response to that topic, Simunek said that the board did approve a resolution and that she hired a deputy trustee, someone who has more responsibilities compared to a clerk and works regular business hours.
The details of the reasons behind the three’s resignation can be found on Kelly’s Facebook post.
In response, after reading the whole post, Simunek said that when she was elected for the trustee position, she stepped into a “mess “and is “improving things as efficiently and legally as possible.” Simunek said that every big decision has been made with proper counsel, and she will continue to do so.
A caucus for the three open seats is will be Jan. 22 at 5809 Airport Blvd. in Greenfield. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the caucus starting at 6:30 p.m.
Silvey said that any individual who wishes to run can fill out a CEB-5 form, and then has to be notarized and given back to Silvey 72 hours before the start of the caucus. Silvery said there are six precinct committeemen from Buck Creek Township that will then vote on who will fill the seats.
As of Friday, Silvey said she has only received one form.
