Hiring process under fire

Another payroll firm, another questionable contract Vernon — When and how? Those are the two big questions when it comes to the payroll contracts in Vernon these days, as the Ameripay fraud brings out more issues about township procedures. When the owners of Ameripay were arrested in May, Vernon was forced to find a new payroll company. They did that in August, when they took on the services of Action Data Services. The question now is whether they were properly hired. According to state law, any contract over $3,150 must be put out for a bid. The contract that is awarded must be approved by the council through a resolution. As of Oct. 8, even though a contract had been in effect since July, and was signed by the township manager and clerk, it has yet to receive council’s approval. According to Vernon’s township attorney Michael Witt, that’s because the contract isn’t up to the state’s standards, and must be revised by the contractor. In fact, according to Witt, Action Data’s attorneys are in the process of reviewing the contract to make sure that it follows all state statutes. “If they can’t or won’t meet all of the requirements, they simply won’t be our payroll company anymore,” he said. Witt admits that questions about improprieties with this contract rest on the shoulders of the township’s leaders. “There is an agreement to provide service. That agreement was signed. Proper procedures weren’t followed. We know that and we are working to resolve it.” At the most recent council meeting, Councilman Richard Carson questioned why the council wasn’t apprised of the issues surrounding the contract, but Witt didn’t have an answer for him, only replying that he didn’t know. He does know that haste might have been part of the reason. After the fall of Ameripay, “we were scrambling so hard to get this done. Ms. Carlton’s main concern was that our employees’ payroll not be interrupted,” Witt said referring to the concerns of Township Manager Melinda Carlton. “We were told now,” said Councilwoman Valerie Seufert. “But we learned our lesson from what hadn’t been done in the past.” Throughout the meeting, several members of the staff and council implied that the mistakes in the process were due to the fact that the staff was unaware of the state statute.