Richard Scott appointed to Clawson City Council

CLAWSON — Richard Scott has been chosen as the new member of the Clawson City Council following a 3-1 vote on July 10.

Scott, a 29-year resident of Clawson, was originally chosen on July 1 to fill the vacancy on the City Council left by Matthew Binkowski’s resignation.

Since that decision was made, it was found out that Scott had an unpaid water bill for $245 due on June 23. Scott paid the bill in full on July 7, and it was posted on July 8.

Mayor Paula Millan and Council members Bruce Anderson and Glenn Shepard were all in approval of Scott being on the council while Susan Moffitt was not.

On July 1, the council came to a standstill in the decision due to the confusion on the definition of “default” used in section 4.31 of the city charter.

“No person who has been convicted of theft, misuse or misappropriation of public funds or who is in default to the city, or to any other governmental subdivision of the State of Michigan, or who has been convicted of a felony, shall be elected or appointed to any office of the city. All votes for, or any appointment of such person shall be void,” the charter states.

To help define “default,” the city requested a letter from City Attorney Ren Nushaj, from Troy Law Center. The letter included a definition of “in default to the city” provided by the Michigan Attorney General in Opinion No. 7241 (Feb. 10, 2010), which states:

“The phrase ‘in default to the city’ means that, at the time of the contract or appointment is to be made or given, the person has failed to meet a financial, contractual, or other obligation to the city, after adequate notice of the obligation and an opportunity to cure the default were provided to the person, and the obligation is not the subject of a pending judicial or administrative proceeding.”

The letter goes on to say that with the evidence provided, “a candidate’s unpaid utility bill, coupled with an opportunity to cure and failure to do so, constitutes sufficient grounds for disqualification. The candidate, of course, would have the ability to cure the default at any time, all the way up to the date and time of the next city council meeting where the issue of appointment would be taken up.”

The paperwork that the city of Clawson provides to all citizens who run for any office has an outdated definition of “default” listed. Millan read that definition out loud.

“I understand that the term ‘default’ means a willful omission to account or pay over funds belonging to the city or other governmental unit of the state with a corrupt intention,” she said.

Nushaj said that the definition of “default” within that paperwork has since been updated to the 2010 version, and everybody who has run or is trying to run for office has received a notice that this was done.

“We have a responsibility to the public to have people sit on this dais who understand basic adult responsibilities. Paying your obligations to the city is a basic adult responsibility and the neglect of that, I think, can be construed as a willful neglect,” Moffitt said.

“The point is that we asked for a definition. We have gotten the definition. We also understand that there is a period in which to have his debts cured. … By that point if they are cured he’s not in default,” Shepard said.

Moffitt said that since Scott was in default during the first meeting on July 1, he should not be eligible for appointment.

“At the July 1 meeting, when we were ranking votes by the candidates, he was in default by the definition that we were given from the attorney,” Moffitt said. “So on July 1, when we were voting on what position we put the candidates, he was in default on July 1 — period”

Anderson said that since the council did not have a clear definition of “default” at the time, the council had no way of knowing Scott was in default.

“I refuse to play amateur lawyer, and you should refuse that too. So, we got the professionals to speak, and we have their opinion now. We may now move forward,” Anderson said.

“I want people to be proud to serve here. I want people to be confident that this is a fair process and that we are doing what is best for the community,” Millan said. “I think that’s what we are called to do. And I think doing the right thing is always the right thing to do, even if other people around you don’t think it’s the right thing to do.”

The council gave the public a chance to speak on the matter. The majority of those who spoke up were not in favor of Scott being appointed.

“Default has been talked about a lot today, so I just want to talk about the appearance of impropriety being the appearance of wrongdoing. Politicians should always avoid this, right? It erodes our public trust, and I believe that is pretty low right now in the city of Clawson,”  resident Jamie Gills-Takenouchi said.

Karen Knudson, a 25-year Clawson resident, said that she does not trust anybody on the council.

“This is dirty. You don’t have somebody that can’t conform to the laws, with the rules, paying your basic water bill to the city, being a council member,” Knudson said. “It’s wrong. It sets a bad example for our children, for the rest of the city, for any other person that has ideations of running for council. You have just destroyed the integrity of this council.”

Following public comment, the council moved forward with appointing Scott. He will serve on the council until Nov. 17. His first meeting on the council took place on July 15.

“I am satisfied with our city attorney’s definition regarding default and the opportunity to cure. I think everybody has an opportunity to correct the situation, and right now he’s not in default,” Shepard said. “I would move forward with my first ballot choice for Mr. Richard Scott.”

Scott did not respond to requests for comment.