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Shelby Twp. clerk retiring to become Auburn Hills clerk

By Megha Satyanarayana - Detroit Free Press Staff Writer
After a contentious year during which she was sued by the township supervisor and challenged by trustees on Freedom of Information Act requests, Terri Kowal is retiring as clerk of Shelby Township to become the clerk of Auburn Hills. Her retirement marks the end of 21 years of service to the township, the governance of which had become increasingly combative, political and sometimes wasteful of taxpayer dollars, she said. She'll begin work in Auburn Hills on Jan. 3 as an appointed official, leaving behind some responsibilities she had in Shelby Township as an elected official. . "It just hasn't been a pleasant work environment," she said of Shelby Township politics. "In 21 years, it's never been like this." Twice this year, her actions with regard to FOIA requests have been questioned. Kowal said she has 15 years of experience with Michigan's FOIA laws and teaches other clerks in Michigan how to handle their complexities. Ultimately, the township Board of Trustees voted in October to switch FOIA request processing to the township's Human Resources Department. In April, township resident Michael Ward asked for documents he hoped would aid his defense in a libel lawsuit filed against him by Trustee Lisa Manzella. Ward said Kowal fulfilled the request, but gave the results to Manzella before he got them. He said Manzella was able to use the information in the legal case before he ever knew what was in the files. "Nothing gives her the right to the documents unless she requests them," Ward said of Manzella. Kowal said it is only fair to give FOIA results to the requester and the subject of the request. "I always give a copy of the FOIA and the response. It's not illegal or unethical," she said. John Chamberlin, professor of public policy at the University of Michigan and an ethicist, said, legality aside, Kowal shouldn't have given the documents to anyone but the person requesting them. In another FOIA request a few months later, Kowal gathered e-mails from Treasurer Paul Viar. As she went through them to determine which were relevant to the request, she found an exchange between Viar and Trustee Paula Filar that seemed to hint that they were going to find someone to run against Kowal in the next election. She talked to Viar about the e-mail, and he later accused her of trying to use the information against him. "I gave the e-mail back to him," Kowal said of Viar. "There was no breach of confidentiality." Chamberlin said the best move would have been to take the e-mail to township Supervisor Rick Stathakis. But Stathakis and Kowal have had their share of conflict. In June, Stathakis filed a privately funded lawsuit against Kowal and Macomb County Clerk Carmella Sabaugh to stop the verification of recall signatures against him. Counting and verifying those 7,275 signatures were Kowal's duties as clerk and, although enough signatures were invalidated to end the recall drive, Shelby Township taxpayers footed attorney's fees in Kowal's short-lived defense. Kowal said she is ready to put this year behind her and focus on her role as clerk in Auburn Hills, where she will be, among other things, fulfilling FOIA requests. She said she is looking forward to public service without the pitfalls of being a public official. Full site | WAP site 2011 Detroit Free Press. All rights reserved. Terms of Service | Privacy Notice

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