News File Photo The Alpena Township Board of Trustees is seen in this file photo from 2022.

ALPENA — Alpena Township’s labor attorneys recommended to the Alpena Township Board of Trustees that likely incoming township supervisor Abbi Kaszubowski abstain from matters involving the township Fire Department.

The lawyers also recommended Kaszubowski not directly oversee the township fire chief and that the board should find a substitute for the personnel officer position normally held by the supervisor.

Bev Banks, who is running for a township trustee seat on Election Day, should also abstain from some Fire Department business, the attorneys said.

Kaszubowski’s and Banks’ husbands work full-time for the Fire Department. Kaszubowski’s husband is president of the township firefighters union.

Neither of the men’s jobs will be impacted.

The township board did not take any action on the recommendations during its meeting on Monday.

Kaszubowski and Banks both publicly affirmed they would abstain from votes concerning the Fire Department upon taking office, but, for Kaszubowski, the conflict would likely forbid her from playing any active role in Fire Department matters.

The attorneys who drafted the recommendation suggested that neither woman be placed on the board’s Personnel Committee, on which the supervisor and other trustees usually have a seat.

In a presentation to the township Board of Trustees on Monday, attorneys from the firm Fahey, Schultz, Burzych, Rhodes, of Okemos, outlined the potential conflicts of interest Kaszubowski and Banks would face and the courses of action needed to address them.

“Without question, the election of Kaszubowski and potential election of Banks raise concerns about conflicts of interest, and perhaps just as importantly, raise questions about the appearance of impropriety if either were to take part in decision making that impacted their respective spouses,” the attorneys’ report to the township board says. “To be clear, we do not assume that Kaszubowski or Banks would attempt to use a board seat to further their own personal interests. Instead, we routinely advise our clients that the risk to public trust of even the appearance of a conflict is just as damaging to the board’s ability to effectively manage and govern the township as an actual conflict under state law.”

Kaszubowski’s husband working for the Fire Department may impact the extent to which she can oversee Fire Department operations.

Because of her relationship, the labor attorneys said, she should not have the ability to work directly with or receive reports from the fire chief.

“The supervisor has historically supervised the fire chief, which puts the supervisor squarely within the fire department’s chain of command,” the attorneys’ recommendation says. “The fire chief is likely to bring employee performance, disciplinary issues, and other items impacting the firefighters to the attention of the supervisor. A fire chief placed between a township supervisor and a relative of the supervisor is in a no-win situation. Their own independence and judgment will be strained in any such situation. For those reasons, we recommend that the incoming supervisor not directly supervise the fire chief, or at least not do so exclusively.”

The attorneys said state law about nepotism is murky, but the township’s policy is clear, binding, and more aggressive than the state’s.

Township policy 5.9 allows the township to employ family members but prohibits relatives from being in a direct reporting, supervisory, or management relationship.

Further, no employee is permitted to work within the chain of command or supervision of a relative such that one relative’s work responsibilities, salary, discipline, or career progress could be influenced by the other relative.

The attorneys’ report also says information regarding the Fire Department, which is often vital to a supervisor and trustee, should not be shared with Kaszubowski and Banks.

“We similarly recommend that Ms. Kaszubowski and Banks are not exposed to confidential or strategic information relating to fire Department personnel or collective bargaining matters,” the report says. “This would put these individuals in yet another difficult, if not impossible position of balancing their home lives and their fiduciary responsibilities to the Township. Specifically, we recommend that both be asked to step out of any closed session that the board enters into for the purposes of developing strategy for labor negotiations with the fire department or considering a confidential written legal opinion concerning fire department labor matters.”

If Kaszubowski and Banks do ask to recuse themselves from a vote, it is up to the remaining trustees to vote unanimously to allow them to do so. There could be times when the other trustees believe an issue is not suitable to force their recusal.

Still, the labor attorneys said, the relationships and chain of command issues are serious and they should be addressed.

“The presumptive election of Ms. Kaszubowski and the possible election of Ms. Banks raise potential ethical concerns given that their respective spouses serve as full-time firefighters on the township’s fire department,” the attorneys’ report says. “Although the bar for a conflict of interest under state law is high, the law, township policy, and good governance require that elected officials remain above even the appearance of impropriety. We therefore recommend that, if elected, Ms. Kaszubowski and Ms. Banks abstain from matters involving fire department personnel and that Ms. Kaszubowski not act as the township’s personnel officer.”

In August, Kaszubowski defeated incumbent township Supervisor Nathan Skibbe. She received 64% of the vote, compared to Skibbe’s 36%.

Kaszubowski is unopposed next week and is expected to take her oath of office in late November.

Banks, who is running as an independent, is one of five candidates battling for four trustee seats on Election Day. She faces incumbents Norm Poli, Cash Kroll, Steve Lappan, and Russ Rhynard, all Republicans.

Election Day happens Tuesday, but many voters have already cast ballots either absentee or early in person.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.