Two key Oakland County officials are resigning and another two will be suspended in connection with a company owned by a county employee receiving a six-figure public contract from the county earlier this year.
Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter said county employees failed to live up to expected standards and are now facing the consequences.
“While I’m grateful that the independent investigation into this matter found no evidence of any intent to defraud the county or improper financial gain, failure to follow county policies and its Standards of Conduct is unacceptable and must be appropriately disciplined,” Coulter said in a statement released Friday, Oct. 31.
“I support the effort of law enforcement to investigate this matter as they deem proper and I remain committed to accountability in this and all matters where there has been a violation of public trust and the principles to which we hold ourselves.”
The release does not name the employees disciplined. Instead, it lists the employees’ role and their punishment.
Coulter spokesman Bill Mullan said it is not immediately clear when the two employees resigning will leave their county roles. Until the date of their resignation, they’ll be suspended without pay, Mullan said.
The discipline, determined after an internal review and external investigation by a private law firm, is unlikely to be the final action related to the contract debacle.
Earlier this month, Chief Deputy County Executive Walt Herzig and Deputy County Executive Sean Carlson told county commissioners they did not believe a criminal referral was necessary. But this week, Board of Commissioners member Michael Spisz, the top Republican on the commission, filed an official report seeking a criminal investigation by the Office of the Oakland County Sheriff.
He told the Free Press he referenced the county’s report in his communication with law enforcement. One of the first notes in the county’s summary of a private law firm’s findings is the contract violated state law and county policy.
On Thursday, Oct. 30, Oakland County Commissioner Charlie Cavell pushed for the board to immediately receive copies of the full investigation by the private law firm, Miller, Canfield, Paddock & Stone. Commissioners have yet to see the full findings — the county has released its own summary of the investigation, but not the law firm’s report.
Commissioners declined to vote immediately on whether to release the Miller Canfield report. The county has thus far refused to provide the report to the Free Press. A request made under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act is pending.
Cavell also said at the county board meeting that he is circulating a letter among commissioners that asks the Office of the Michigan Attorney General to review the situation. On Friday, Cavell said so far he has three signatures and is in the process of getting more before sending the letter to the Attorney General’s Office.
Filing a complaint and asking for the attorney general to review the situation do not guarantee criminal investigations. A spokesman for Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard confirmed the office received Spisz’s complaint but declined additional comment.
In the release, Coulter noted the county took additional steps to make changes beyond employee discipline. They also increased training, reviewed other IT contracts to see if there could be conflicts and made county employees affirm they have read the county’s standards of conduct policy.
At the same time, Cavell and others have pushed the county commission to do more in terms of strengthening ethics rules. Months ago, Cavell and Democratic colleague Commissioner Kristen Nelson introduced measures they said would increase transparency and accountability for the county’s elected officials.
But they never received a hearing until after reports from the Free Press and others noted possible conflicts involving Board Chairman Dave Woodward and others. Woodward is a paid consult for Sheetz, a gas station and convenience store chain seeking to expand in Oakland County, and has spoken with local leaders about the business. He’s also regularly voted on issues related to other private clients or business partners while serving on the commission, according to the findings of a Free Press investigation.
While Woodward and colleagues have denied misconduct, Coulter recently called for ethics reforms. Coulter and Woodward said they hope they’ll have a new financial disclosure system and potentially other measures in place by the end of the year.
Reach Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com and on X @Dave_Boucher1.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oakland County employees resign, suspended without pay amid contract scandal
Reporting by Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
