West Bloomfield board to ask governor to remove Treasurer Teri Weingarden

Township board wants Weingarden removed after law firm's investigation finds 'incompetence'

WEST BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – West Bloomfield Township's board voted Monday night to ask the governor to get rid of its elected treasurer for incompetence.

"This is difficult. I don't want to be here. The board doesn't want to be here. The treasurer doesn't want to be here. Nobody wants to be here. Characterizing this as a witch hunt, however, is inappropriate," said board trustee Dr. Howard Rosenberg.

After a month-long investigation into how business is being done in the treasurer's office, the law firm hired to investigate found serious issues including a $2 million investment deemed inappropriate -- which did not meet state of Michigan standards -- and daily duties not being adequately performed.

"In my opinion, the treasurer might consider that this is not the right position for her, and she might consider stepping down," said Supervisor Michelle Economou Ureste.

The concerns over how Treasurer Teri Weingarden is or is not doing her job reached critical mass Monday night. Weingarden said she wouldn't go over each point in the 80-page report but made it clear she feels this is political.

"We all make mistakes, and they make mistakes, too. But I guess playing nice and being fair hasn't been serving me well on this very malicious board. So going forward at meetings I'm going to start bringing up some of the concerns I have with the finance department, not by name, and the clerk's department, not by name, because I think those employees are fabulous, but they do make mistakes, too," said Wiengarden.

She has no plan to step down. She is asking the board to pay for an attorney to help her fight the removal proceedings.


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