A brouhaha over $8,250 in unapproved spending and $236 in credit card bills for gasoline could leave Carolyn Bennett, executive director of the Oxford Downtown Development Authority, without a job next week.
‘I’m not saying I did this correctly,? said Bennett, who was hired in January. ‘I’m saying I did it wrong. I made a mistake.?
Following a special Sept. 4 DDA meeting, the board’s four officers had a private discussion with Bennett during which they informed her she could either be suspended or terminated at the DDA’s meeting on Monday, Sept. 17.
‘We thought it was fair to give her a heads-up (instead of) blind-siding her at the meeting,? said DDA Chairman Kevin Stephison.
When asked if he was in favor of termination or suspension, Stephison replied, ‘That is a decision I’m going to keep private. I don’t want to prejudice anyone else’s decision process.?
Policy issues
At this point, it appears the main issues that prompted Bennett’s uncertain employment status were the unauthorized $8,250 purchase of 300 polo (or golf) shirts from Creative Embroidery for volunteers working Celebrate Oxford and use of the DDA credit card to charge $235.60 worth of gasoline, which is considered a personal expense.
‘There are additional reasons, but at the present juncture I’d rather not play this out in public since I haven’t had a chance to meet with the full board to discuss some of the issues,? Stephison said.
The purchase of the volunteer shirts ‘violated two policies that (Bennett) herself was insistent that we, the DDA, adopt? earlier this year, according to Stephison.
The first policy states that any purchase greater than $5,000 requires approval of the full DDA board. The second states that any purchase over $5,000 requires three bids presented to the board.
‘She was aware of those policies before she made these decisions,? Stephison said
Bennett freely admitted she violated the policies by ordering the shirts without the board’s approval.
‘I knew I had done wrong (when the issue was first raised at an Aug. 20 meeting). It’s not like I didn’t know it,? she said, ‘I never tried to cover it up. I simply overlooked the board’s approval. My fault entirely ? nobody else’s.?
Bennett said the board’s approval was ‘overlooked? because she was ‘overwhelmed? by the task of organizing Celebrate Oxford by herself on top of performing her regular director’s duties.
‘I just forgot it,? she explained. ‘In all the 500 things I purchased (for Celebrate Oxford), I just forgot this one.?
She noted that last year there were two people organizing the event. This year, an assistant events coordinator, Nina Butler, didn’t start work until July 17 ? two weeks prior to the event.
In the end, Bennett said the board should look at what was done with the $8,250 ? $1,500 of which was a sponsorship from Oxford Bank.
‘It’s not like I took the money,? she said. ‘What I did was spend it on volunteers.?
‘I think it’s a good investment for volunteers. It’s $27.50 per volunteer. It’s a great thing for people to have a nice T-shirt. I hope those people are very pleased with what they got,? Bennett added.
As for the gasoline purchase with the DDA credit card, Bennett admitted it was a personal expense.
‘It was personal because I, in fact, am the one that used the gas,? she said.
Because the DDA does not have its own credit card policy, Stephison said the village’s policy is in effect. It states, ‘The card shall not be used for personal use, cash advances, the purchase of standard merchant category exclusions (e.g. liquor or tobacco items), or for the purchase of any type of personal entertainment.?
‘Reimbursement can be requested for gas and mileage, but to just use the credit card to put gas in your car doesn’t meet the requirements of the village credit card policy,? Stephison said.
Bennett said she promptly reimbursed the DDA before it ever became an issue.
‘I repaid (it) immediately, not when it was brought to my attention (later),? she said.
Bennett noted she’s ‘never charged? the DDA for mileage in the past, which she should have been doing ‘all along.?
‘I should have been charging mileage,? she said. ‘Every time I go to Pontiac or to Farmington or to Lansing, any place I’m mandated to go, I should charge mileage to the DDA. That’s exactly what I should do.?
Everything out in the open
Bennett said she was asked to write a memo to the board requesting a closed session at the Sept. 17 meeting to discuss personnel matters relating to the above issues.
‘I left it as Carolyn’s discretion since it’s a personnel issue,? Stephison said. ‘She can request closed session, but I haven’t seen a letter from her yet.?
‘I’m not going to do it,? Bennett told this reporter. ‘I think it needs to be open. I don’t think what I did was fire-able.?
‘They asked me to keep it confidential. But you know what, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I think everybody should know exactly what’s going on here,? she noted. ‘I want everyone downtown to know what’s going on. Because I know I have some supporters downtown.?
Stephison wished to note, ‘The officers never asked her to keep it confidential. We informed her of her right to have a closed session since it’s a personnel issue. We said if she wanted one, she could send me a letter, but we at no time told her that this needed to be confidential.?
More than meets the eye
Bennett feels as though what’s really going on here is a plot to get rid of her because she was the one who pushed for a forensic audit of the DDA’s finances, which hasn’t happened yet due to a disagreement over whether or not a budget amendment is necessary to fund it. One of the audit’s specific goals would have been to find out if the entity has been receiving all the funds it’s entitled to.
‘I think I’m being railroaded,? she said.
Overall, Bennett’s disheartened by the constant dissension in the village government.
‘They fight over everything. It’s not productive,? she said. ‘People aren’t working together here.?
It’s this never-ending fighting that’s preventing downtown Oxford from growing and prospering in Bennett’s opinion.
‘What’s the point of fighting all the time?? she said. ‘It doesn’t do any good for anybody.?
Bennett feels like the fighting is keeping her from doing the best possible job she can for the community.
‘I feel like I’m being sabotaged on every corner,? she said. ‘I want to do a good job here,? but ‘if I don’t have support from people then I can’t be effective, we can’t do the things we want to do.?
‘I can see why people quit.?
Despite all the headaches, Bennett wished to note that ‘I really do love my job and I really do love working for the DDA board. They’ve been great to me.?