Fred Roperti's Reflections

Can You Be Sued For Asking Questions?

Apparently our “new” township attorney, Carol Rosati, thinks you can. I’ve received two letters from Ms. Rosati (see below) that state that “you can be sued” and “you could be liable for treble damages,” for asking questions at the February 12, 2010 board meeting, then telling the Salem public about these unanswered questions in my newsletter.

Download Carol Rosati Threat to sue Roperti for asking Questions

Download Carol Rosati Threat to sue Roperti, 2nd Letter

 

I DID ask the board if they knew of Ms. Rosati’s involvement in the landmark case known as Sandstone v Novi, as well as Salem Properties v Salem Township and REIS/Shostak v Northville Township. In her letters threatening to sue me she confirmed what I said, that she was absolutely involved in each of the cases I mentioned.

 

So what's the problem??

 

Since she wasn’t at the meeting it would be an obvious conclusion that someone at the meeting “brought to her attention” the questions I asked of the board. There were only two types of people at the meeting, members of the public and Board members. How likely do you think it is that members of the public have the ability to bring something to our attorney’s attention? Then the only alternative is that someone on the township board made her “aware” of my questions, perhaps misrepresenting their content in the process. Perhaps that explains why Ms. Rosati found it necessary to “cc” (send a copy to) "Robert Heyl, Township Supervisor," and the “Township Board.” This letter, which completely misrepresented my questions and accuses me of lying, has been FOIA’d, and has been provided by the township free of charge.  Perhaps someone else might be liable for treble damages.  

 

Do you find it scary that Ms. Rosati, this township’s legal representative, would write a letter threatening a lawsuit when she apparently didn’t have first-hand or verified information of what the alleged offense actually was? As you know, complete audio of the meeting is readily available, I doubt the township would make her pay for it, and she can always look at my website for absolutely free.

 

Definition of Irony

Now here’s the kicker, and it might be comic if it weren’t true…see if you can follow this sequence of events -

This township board

 

…that just patted itself on the back for settling an ACLU lawsuit,

…that was brought against me as Supervisor for asking 2 residents to follow the meeting rules,

…that was brought by Bob Uherek (who is current Treasurer Paul Uherek’s father), and O'Neill Muirhead

…who both admitted during depositions to being out of order during the meeting,  

…who both admitted during depositions that they weren't thrown out of the meeting, but decided to leave of their own will,

…and now that same township board has hired a “new” attorney that is threatening to sue me, a township resident, for asking questions at a township board meeting, without being out of order.

If you're wondering why this lawsuit settled with any payment to the Plaintiff's at all, it's a simple matter of money. Many times the best solution for someone that hasn't done anything is to fold – I’ll pay you to stop costing me attorney fees, as the cost of settlement is less than fighting you in court. It’s no victory, and it’s nothing to be proud of, no more than the parents of the school bully who takes your lunch in exchange for not beating you up should be proud of the bully’s “work.”

 

 

Now the township decided to go the extra mile, and pass a resolution about what already is a fact – which is like having a police department pass a resolution that says, “we don’t agree with murder.”

 

Here’s the resolution, as passed, and it’s really a masterpiece of word art -

 

“The township acknowledges that it is a violation of the First Amendment for a township official to eject a citizen from a public meeting because the citizen has criticized the official's performance at the appropriate time of the meeting pursuant to the township's rules.”

 

Is it just me or is that masterfully written to lead you to believe that the plaintiff’s were not out of order, which they were, and admitted being so.

 

The township resolves to respect the First Amendment rights of its citizens and to recognize the right of the members of the public to criticize, consistent with township rules, township officials based on their performance without fear of any adverse consequences.

 

Do you think that the two letters I received which threatened lawsuit might be considered “adverse consequences” for “criticism of the township board?”

I wonder why more people don't want to get involved with the township - could it be that a lawsuit might be imminent if you ask questions that they don't like?

HOW MUCH DID YOU SAY??

When I saw the Board Packet online for the February 12th Board Meeting, there was a bill for $21,831 for the month of December submitted by Johnson and Rosati, our “new” legal firm.  There was no active litigation during this time as the arbitration was already won by Mr. Winters.  During this holiday period, there was a maximum of 22 business days which comes to an average of $992 each and every business day.  I considered this billing to be on the high side. 

I was already puzzled over the two letters I’ve received from Ms. Rosati, threatening to sue me because she didn’t like the questions I was asking at the Board Meetings. Since the first threatening letter was copied to the Board, I had already decided to find out if my funds as a township resident were being used to threaten to sue me! After seeing Ms. Rosati’s bill, I wondered how much Ms. Rosati may have charged the township to create her letters to threaten me, so off to the board meeting I went.  I did ask for permission to speak at the February 9th meeting despite the atmosphere (read WELCOME TO THE POLICE STATE here), and asked the following questions at the Feb 9 board meeting:

 

Good evening. I have several questions that I would like to ask the board regarding the approval of Legal expenses for the month of January. The billing for Johnson Rosati is nearly $22,000 for about a month's work. At $175/hour, the billing comes to about 125 hours of legal work. If the billing was for 4 weeks it comes to about 31 hours/wk. There was no litigation and it occurred sometime during the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. I guess one could say Merry Christmas. My questions are as follows:

> Please explain the basis and justification for the nearly $22,000 bill.

> Does the billing include the time for Ms Rosati to write the letter I hold in my hand threatening to sue me for the questions I asked at the last board meeting? One would conclude the purpose of the letter is to intimidate a resident.

> This letter was copied to the Supervisor and to the Board. I would like to know the names of the board members who had any discussions with Ms Rosati before it was mailed out.

> I would like to know the names of the board members who had no knowledge of this letter, before it was mailed out.

So now we have the police called on the residents and the new attorney hired by the board sending a threatening letter to a resident. Is this what is meant by the campaign promise: "If elected Supervisor, I will work hard to make sure the residents' rights are not trampled on, and they are shown courtesy and respect when dealing with Township Government?

Thank you.

I did not, and have not, received any answers to my questions. At that board meeting Trustee Brien Witkowski brought forth a motion to have the Carol Rosati's letter which threatened to sue me added to the agenda for discussion, but it was voted down 4 to 3, by  Supervisor Heyl, Treasurer Uherek, Trustees Van Fossen and Wallazy.  Why?  Are they trying to hide something?  Is this open and transparent government they promised during the election campaign?

Advice to Trustee Witkowski – since you asked questions about Ms. Rosati in public, just be careful so that you won’t also get a threatening letter.

WELCOME TO THE POLICE STATE

I attended the February 9th Board meeting to make some further inquiries about the curious goings on at Township Hall. Imagine my surprise at being greeted by two Police, a Deputy and a Sergeant. Just inside the doors to the meeting hall, they were a very visible presence to everyone attending the board meeting. Since Supervisor Heyl has made it a point not to invite the police officers to any board meetings to provide a status of monthly police activity, I asked the officers why they were there. They confirmed that they were requested by the Supervisor to be present at the meeting, although not for their report.

This seems to be a new and disturbing pattern…as you know, the police were called at the January 12 board meeting at the request of Supervisor Heyl and Treasurer Uherek when the public kept asking questions that were not being answered. Three Sheriff's deputies showed up at that meeting to intimidate the public, which by the way, we pay for.

Now at the February 9th Board meeting, apparently two armed police wasn’t enough to make Mr. Heyl feel in control. Several times he told the audience members to “shut up,” not to applause, or laugh when questions or statements were made that Mr. Heyl did not approve of. In fact, one resident approached the two police and complained that resident’s rights were being violated by Mr. Heyl and requested they take appropriate action. They said they couldn't do anything about it, I guess it's going to be up to us to demand the type of governace that we want. Please attend the February16th Town Hall Forum

Upcoming Events

Hi all -

I've been so busy since the First edition of Salem Township News hit your mailboxes, I think I've forgotten to breathe at times. Many meetings, phone calls, and emails. All are a joy to receive because I know that you care about our community and its future as much as I do.

The next board meeting is next Tuesday, February 9th. You may want to consider going to that, I will because I'm really interested to learn how our new attorney firm managed to spend and bill the township $21,000, with no active litigation, in FOUR WEEKS. 

Yes, that would be the same firm that was selected without following the Salem bid policy on November 24. Hmm, I wonder how the costs got so high when there was no active litigation, and there were several holidays - does our new firm work on Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, New Years and MLK Day? Perhaps our new attorney works on holidays, and charged overtime.

On the 16th of February, the township will be hosting an open forumn meeting where people can speak for more than 2 minutes (perhaps). I'm working on a solution to the problems that my Newsletter brought out, specifically, lack of meaningful information coming from the township to residents, failure to utlize appropiate bid policies and failure to inform all board members of activities undertaken by Board members, and failure to maintain campaign promises. I'm really pleased how the solution is shaping up, and I'll be ready to share it with you soon. My goal is to require all members of the Salem board to be accountable for their actions, so that further privately created newsletters aren't necessary - wouldn't it be nice if someone in government did their job with the best interests of the People in mind?

Anyway, here is the Agenda for the Tuesday, February 16th meeting -

SALEM TOWNSHIP

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SPECIAL TOWN HALL PUBLIC FORUM

February 16, 2010

7:30 P.M. – 9:30 P.M.

AGENDA

1. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

2. ROLL CALL:

BOARD OF TRUSTEE:

Bejin_____, Heyl_____, Trent_____, Uherek_____,

Van Fossen_____, Wallazy_____, Witkowski_____.

3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA:

4. PRESENTATION: Outline of forum by Moderator Salem Township

Supervisor Robert Heyl.

5. PUBLIC DISCUSSION ITEMS:

A. Neighborhood Watch

B. Public services: Police, Fire, Roads, Government etc.

C. Vision for Salem’s Future

D. Quality of Life, Expectations, Improvements etc.

E. Open Forum

6. ADJOURNMENT

Sunday Brunch

Enjoyed a lovely brunch at Fox Hills Golf Club Sunday morning. What a treasure Fox Hills is for Salem to have - along with owner-sisters  Kathy and Sandy. Even had a chat with Kathy while we were there. We also enjoyed the service provided by a very nice young lady, Chelsea.

I don't know how many Salem residents realize this, but because of the groundskeeping and conservation practices that Fox Hills initiated on their own, water entering their property leaves cleaner than it was when it entered. This is particularly impressive as golf courses have had a rather bad reputation as polluters (usually due to excess fertilizer run-off, and overly manicured expanses that add to fast run-off, which increases water temperature to unhealthy levels, and doesn't give contaiminets a chance to naturally absorb into the ground before immediately running into the stream).

Even if we as locals didn't know all this, Fox Hills has been recognized by the Audobon Society for their conservation efforts - the following is from the Fox Hills website, they said it better than I could...

Audubon Sanctuary Program

Fox Hills has been certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary through Audubon International since 1996 and was the third course in Michigan to receive this achievement.  Certification was obtained by completing certification in the following categories; Environmental Planning, Wildlife and Habitat Management, Chemical Use Reduction and Safety, Water Conservation, Water Quality Management, Outreach and Education. Environmental Projects Successful environmental projects completed during the past 12 years include: Over 28 acres of turf have been converted to natural areas or native prairie grasses. Over 10 years of water testing 78 nest boxes for bluebirds, tree swallows, and nuthatches. Native tree and shrub plantings to reduce pesticides. Wetland plantings to improve water quality. Buffer Zones to reduce chemical and fertilizer runoff Installation of Bat Houses to biologically control insects. ¼ mile nature trail Nesting Boxes The nest box program generates over 150 desirable bird specialties such as bluebirds, tree swallows, and nuthatches which consume insects.  The nest box program helped fledge 109 bluebirds and 143 tree swallows. Wildlife A partial listing of wildlife sightings at Fox Hills includes a variety of birds such as herons, orioles, red tailed hawks, pheasants, woodpeckers and cedar wax wings.  In addition, other animals such as fox, mink, muskrats, rabbits, frogs and turtles are commonly seen. Over 100 species of wildlife/birds have been observed on our property.