Dorr Township offices will be open for 40 hours per week and the exact times will be determined by office manager Vicki Fifelski.
The Dorr Township Board voted 4-3 Monday night to make that change, from being open three days a week. At first, Supervisor Jeff Miling proposed having offices open to the public from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, but Clerk Brian Boot offered the amendment that eventually was approved on the split vote.
Leading the charge against the proposal was Treasurer Jim Martin, who asserted the township doesn’t have enough personnel to handle the change without costing more money in pay.
“We don’t have the budget or the staff to fill the clerk’s and treasurer’s offices,” he said.
He noted Miling’s proposal increased the number of public office hours from 1,309 to more than 2,000 in a year, a leap of better than 60 percent.
Miling countered that Fifelski already is working 40 hours per week and he’d like to see the public have better access to township offices and officers.
The supervisor, clerk and treasurer are paid salaries, and some of their work is done away from their offices. Martin said because they can’t be in the office 40 hours a week, their deputies and the office manager will have to fill in during their absences. Yet the public may need to see the three elected officials.
Miling said Fifelski very easily can handle people paying bills and she certainly could take messages when people need to see the supervisor, the clerk or treasurer.
“I just don’t see that we’re gaining anything here,” Martin said. “I don’t see the need to be open more than 1300 hours.”
He added that the board seemed to base more open office hours entirely on the availability of Fifelski.
Trustee John Tuinstra agreed, waxing philosophically, “I’d rather see us make decisions based on data, not just hunches.”
But Miling asserted, “Personally, I don’t see where this is going to make any difference in pay.”
Martin, Tuinstra and Patty Senneker voted against the proposal. Miling, Boot and Trustees Dan Weber and Josh Otto voted in the affirmative.
