Trustee Responsibilities
- Trustees have an equal voice in legislative and administrative governmental decisions.
- Trustees investigate and study important issues before the board and participate in decisions and deliberations by voting.
- Trustees are appointed by the Supervisor to serve on various committees, commissions, and boards.
- Trustees receive a per-meeting stipend for serving on the Board; they are not salaried or otherwise compensated. The Supervisor, Clerk and Treasurer serve on the Board of Trustees as part of their statutory duties, and are not separately compensated.
How May Members of the Public Address the Board of Trustees During Their Meeting?
The public is always welcome to address the Board of Trustees during public comment periods. A public comment period, limited to three (3) minutes per speaker, and related only to agenda items, will be on the agenda near the beginning of the meeting. A second public comment period will be scheduled near the end of the agenda, limited to five (5) minutes per speaker, but may be on any topic.
A speaker may only speak one time during each public comment period unless the Supervisor grants an additional period.
Individuals wishing to address the Board during a public comment period may do so by raising his or her hand when the Supervisor asks for citizen comments and waiting to be recognized.
There is no requirement for a speaker to identify him- or herself, other than to disclose whether he or she is a Sandstone Township resident. If a speaker represents an association or group, he or she must identify the entity he or she represents.
Groups of attendees are encouraged to designate a single member to speak on behalf of the group.
Speakers’ comments shall be directed to the Board not to the audience. Board members will not ask or answer questions, or engage in discussion with members of the public during public comment periods. Unless specifically scheduled as such, Board of Trustees meetings are not "townhall-type" meetings intended to provide an open, "back-and-forth" forum for Board/public interaction; rather, they are meetings of the Board of Trustees "in public" (as required by the Michigan Open Meetings Act) where the Board considers, deliberates, discusses and decides matters related to their legislative responsibilities regarding township business.
If an individual wishes to submit written comments or handouts, he or she may submit them to the Clerk, and the comments will be distributed to the Board.