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outside auditors from Plante Moran for
problemswithdeficiencies in bank recon-
ciliations and the handling of drug forfei-
ture funds. The auditors described the
township procedures as weak and high-
lighted a discrepancy of $37,606. The file
also reportedly contained comments criti-
cal of township accounting practices and
cited problems with the bank reconcilia-
tionprocess
Plante Moran auditors reported that
beginning in 2012 the township began
receivingmore significant amounts of fed-
eral awards through the Federal
Equitable Sharing program. After con-
ducting a required financial audit man-
dated by the Federal Office of
Management and Budget in December
2012, Plante Moran reported the deficien-
cies and described the township record
keeping procedures as “materially weak.”
The township drug forfeiture fund bal-
ance went from $146,000 in 2011 to $1.2
million in 2012.
“We recommend that the Township
identify an individual with appropriate
federal program skills to oversee compli-
ance with the Federal Equitable Sharing
programs…and provide ongoing training
for this individual…alternatively, the
township could select someone more
familiar with the police department oper-
ations…” the report stated.
“As these circumstances changed, the
township did not institute a system to pre-
vent noncompliance or detect and correct
noncompliance…” PlanteMoran auditors
reported. In January, the application for
Economic Vitality Incentive Program
(EVIP) funding administered through the
Michigan Department of Treasury sub-
mitted by Plymouth Township was rid-
dledwith falsehoods and erroneous infor-
mation. Among the incorrect statements
on the grant application submitted was
the claim that the city and township cur-
rently share a fire department which has-
n't been the situation for more than two
years. The township also claimed to have
eliminated a recreation director in an
effort to consolidate expenses. The town-
ship did not have such an employee.
Township Supervisor Richard Reaume,
who as the chief township official, signed
the application, vouching for the accuracy
of the statements, said that the applica-
tion is an ongoing document and that
updates to erroneous information are to
be expected.
The annual 2013 township audit was
due on June 30, 2014, but according to the
Michigan Treasury website, has not yet
beenposted.
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ICHIGAN
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August 21, 2014
Audit
FROM PAGE 1
P
LYMOUTH
- W
AYNE
Judge recuses herself in HalloWayne charges
New principal named
at Salem High School
Charges against HalloWayne
organizer Christopher Sanders
will be heard in a court outside
Wayne following the voluntary
recusal of 29th District Court
JudgeLauraMack last week.
A preliminary examination
for Sanders was scheduled for
last Tuesday at the Wayne court.
Mack recused herself from the
hearing based on her familiarity
with Sanders, a long-time com-
munity activist. Sanders, free on
a $1,000 personal bond following
his arraignment last month, is
charged with multiple felonies
including uttering and publish-
ing, forgery, larceny by conver-
sion, identity theft and embezzle-
ment of funds from a charitable
organization. All are five-year
felonies.
The charges stemmed from
the HalloWayne event last year
when it is alleged that Sanders
forged the signature of the win-
ner of the pumpkin carving con-
test and deposited the $1,000
check into his personal bank
account. Sanders has denied all
the allegations but said he will
make no comment until his court
hearing. He has also said he
expects to be completely exoner-
ated of all the charges.
Sanders, 45, was an unsuc-
cessful candidate for city council
in 2011 had also submitted his
name for the recent appoint-
ment to fill the vacancy. The
charges came only days before
the appointment was to be made
prompting Sanders to withdraw
his name. Sanders is also cur-
rently embroiled in a lawsuit
with City Councilman Skip
Monit alleging that comments
Monit made at a city council
meeting in November of 2013
falsely labeled Sanders as a
child predator and inferred he
was a pedofile. At the meeting,
from the council table, Monit
said that he heard that children
at the HalloWayne event had
been inappropriately touched by
Sanders.
Sanders strongly protested
the comments and inference and
subsequently filed suit against
Monit, whose legal fees are being
paid by the city which Sanders
has not named in the lawsuit.
Monit has been called for a dep-
osition in the suit, which is still
pending inWayne County Circuit
Court. Sanders is seeking dam-
ages in excess of $25,000.
Sanders also refused com-
ment on this lawsuit saying only
that he fully expects the court to
find inhis favor.
Sanders is represented in
both legal matters by Canton
attorneyRonRuark.
Kimberly Villarosa, who has spent her
entire educational career at the
Plymouth-Canton Educational Park, has
been named principal of Salem High
School.
She started her educational career at
Canton High School in 1995 as a business
education teacher and taught there until
2007. As a teacher she served on the com-
mittee that designed Plymouth High
School, developed and implemented
three advanced computer courses, and
designed and led staff development.
In 2007, she was named assistant prin-
cipal at the Plymouth-Canton Educational
Park in Canton, a post she has held until
her promotion to Salem principal. While
assistant principal, she led the special
education program that included 600 stu-
dents with varying disabilities, supervised
87 teachers and 17 paraprofessionals in
several different disciplines in the
Plymouth-Canton Educational Park and
she also developed the master schedule,
maintained budgets and led the curricu-
lum development for the World Language
Department at all three high schools and
five mid-
d l e
schools.
" K i m
has had
an out-
standing
record of
success-
es as an
assistant
principal
and is
well-pre-
pared to
take that
next step
to be our
S a l e m
principal," said Dr. Michael Meissen,
superintendent, Plymouth-Canton
Community Schools.
Villarosa has her bachelors degree in
business education from Eastern
Michigan University, and a masters of
business administration degree from
WayneStateUniversity.
Kimberly Villarosa