Commissioners: Wiley denies wrong-doing amidst OMA violation allegations

HILLSDALE — Speculation of “back door dealings” arose after a Jan. 2 Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners organizational meeting where the chairman was elected in the fifth round of secret ballot voting after a 10-minute recess where private conversations were held between a few of the commissioners.

Commissioner Mark Wiley has chaired the board for a decade and many of the commissioners voiced their opinions that it was time for change after the first two rounds of secret ballot voting failed to find a majority in agreement about who should lead the board in 2024.

The board deadlocked in a split vote in rounds three and four where Wiley failed to secure a single vote.

Then, after a 10-minute recess where Wiley held separate private conversations with Commissioners Brent Leininger and Brad Benzing, in the fifth round of voting Wiley secured a majority to be re-elected as chairman for his 11th year.

Joseph Hendee, a private citizen who regularly attends board of commissioner meetings, first raised the issue with the private conversations, claiming they were “round robin” violations of the Open Meetings Act, where board members use sub-quorum meetings to achieve the same intercommunication that could have been achieved in a full meeting.

Meaning "of whom" in Latin, the term "quorum" refers to the minimum number of members of a public body that must be present at any of its meetings to make decisions.

An informal canvas by one member of a public body to find out where the votes would be on a particular issue does not violate the OMA, "so long as no decisions are made during the discussions and the discussions are not a deliberate attempt to the avoid the OMA," according to the Michigan Open Meetings Act handbook.

Others questioned whether or not Wiley’s private conversations affected how Leininger and Benzing voted in the fifth round where he won.

Wiley denied those allegations outright.

In a telephone interview with The Hillsdale Daily News on Friday, Jan. 5, Wiley said the context of his conversation with Leininger was professional in nature, but not related to county business and Leininger confirmed that in an email to The Hillsdale Daily News.

Wiley said his conversation with Benzing, the board’s vice chair, involved possible appointments to the county’s planning commission and nothing more.

“I, at no time, asked Brent nor Brad to vote for me,” Wiley said.

Benzing did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue.

Both Leininger and Benzing were adamant that change was needed after the second round of voting failed to elect a chairman by majority and campaigned for their own election to the seat.

“I think we’ve seen lots of changes over the last few years in Hillsdale County,” Leininger said Jan. 2. “I want to thank Mr. Wiley for his many years, but I think it is time for a change.”

Wiley advocated for himself, declaring the commissioners needed continuity of operations with all of the ongoing work and projects happening in the county.

“As I thought about this the other day, Brent has done something no other commissioner has done in years before and that is to work with the finance director to come up with some forecasts and that’s why I think Brent should stay as finance chair,” Wiley said.

Wiley added that Ingles’ work as the facilities chairman needed to continue while the courthouse renovations stretched into 2024 and that Benzing needed to stay as public safety chair while conversations about upgrading emergency telecommunications to the 800 MHz network stretched into their 10th year.

“County government is a very complex, unique opportunity, particularly in Hillsdale County where we do not have a county administrator,” Ingles said. “There is a lot to what we do. There is huge value in commissioners having continuity and there’s also huge value in commissioners expanding their role and knowledge for a better understanding of what we do as commissioners.”

Wiley narrowly defeated Ingles in the fifth round of secret ballot voting, allowed under the commissioners’ bylaws for electing a chairperson, by one vote.

Ingles admitted that he spoke with Benzing during the recess in a one-on-one conversation.

“For me, certain discussions help to process information; sometimes I have questions,” Ingles said. “I am always aware and follow proper rules and procedures when speaking with a commissioner.”

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When asked about the perception of wrongdoing by having private conversations during the recess, Wiley admitted he could see how it could be taken out of context and lead to public mistrust, but that “there was never any malicious intent or sidebar dealing.”

Benzing was elected vice chairman after Wiley was sworn in Jan. 2.

The board took up regular business following the contentious voting to elect a chairman and set their meeting calendar for 2024. They also addressed organizational business related to their duties as commissioners.

— Contact Reporter Corey Murray at cmurray@hillsdale.net or follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @cmurrayHDN.

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Commissioner Wiley denies wrong-doing amidst OMA violation allegations