GREENWOOD TWP- Interim treasurer Tammy Mortaloni got an upgrade at Tuesday’s town board meeting here, when the board voted to hire her as the township’s new treasurer. The board decision was made possible by the town’s voters, who opted by a wide margin last month to adopt Option B, which allows townships to hire, rather than elect, a treasurer and clerk.
Mortaloni has worked in finance throughout her career and graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a degree in finance and marketing. She previously served as deputy treasurer and as the fire department’s administrative assistant. She also has done grant writing for the township and fire department. The board had appointed her interim treasurer last month before advertising to fill the new permanent position. The new position pays $45 per hour, up to 20 hours a month.
Mortaloni lives on Echo Point and also is the treasurer for the Penguins Snowmobile Club.
Supervisor Steve Bradach, who was on the hiring committee, said they had interviewed four candidates, all qualified, and three of them had experience with the township’s accounting software. Mortaloni was the highest ranked candidate, and the vote to hire her was unanimous.
The job was posted for up to 20 hours a month, but the board approved additional hours, if needed, as Mortaloni works to get the township’s financial statements reconciled between the clerk and treasurer’s accounts. The board also noted that the position may require additional hours, over the 20 specified, at the end of the year, to finalize year-end reporting.
Mortaloni said she had already started working over the financials from 2024, but still needs to review records from 2022 – 2023. She said the clerk and treasurer were accounting for investments differently during this time period, and that she would be able to clarify the numbers.
“We know where we are now,” she said. “But I can’t do a Schedule 1 until 2022 and 2023 are balanced. We are doing okay.”
The board had failed to approve their Board of Audit in February because the books did not match. The board will hold another Board of Audit on Tuesday, May 13, following the regular meeting. The township got an extension from the state to file their Board of Audit on May 15.

Door locks
The board tabled any decision on upgrading the door lock system at the town hall until June, on a 4-1 vote with Chairman Lois Roskoski voting against. The township will receive their first half of 2025 tax levy payments in June.
The township received two quotes for electronic locking systems and noted the quote from Arrowhead Locksmith Service appeared to be the lowest, but would still cost as much as $12,000 depending on how many doors received the upgrades. The electronic locking systems would use a key card or fob, which would be programmed for individual employees and could be deauthorized as needed. The locks are battery operated so still work in case of a power outage, and the doors can also have keyed entry.
The board discussed how this would work for people renting out the hall, and how many doors actually need the system, and what doors could remain keyed.

Employee files
The board is still concerned about possibly missing employee file information and incomplete employee files. The files are apparently located in different parts of the town hall and Roskoski said she and clerk Debby Spicer are working to consolidate them.
“Today a bunch of files showed up in Debby’s office in a box under her desk,” she said. “Not sure how they got there.”
“This is alarming,” said Roskoski. “This is a reason we need those locks.”
Former fire department member Jet Galonski said information, including his letter of termination from the fire department, is missing from his file.
“Some of us firefighters are thinking about coming back,” Galonski said. “We want you to say we were fired illegally and put that in for a grievance.”
Fire department members were previously dismissed from the department after they sent a letter to the board saying they would not respond to calls unless the board allowed them to select their own fire chief after the previous chief and assistant chief were relieved of their positions. These members had also left their turn-out gear in the town hall in protest.

Sheriff report
Roskoski reported on an incident at the town hall on March 17 when then-deputy treasurer JoAnn Bassing called the sheriff after a verbal altercation with clerk Spicer. Spicer had told Bassing that she was no longer deputy treasurer and shouldn’t be in the office, though after calling Roskoski was told that Bassing was still technically in that position until the election contest period was over. Bassing was also upset because the password on the treasurer’s computer had been changed, so she couldn’t do the work she had planned on completing. At some point in the conversation, Spicer said either “gee” or “maybe” “I should have shot you.”
Bassing had recorded the incident. The sheriff’s department report noted that after listening to the recording, the officer felt that Bassing had “completely baited Spicer into an argument and attempted to get her to say something threatening,” according to the sheriff’s report, suggesting at one point, “Why don’t you just shoot me? Are you going to shoot me?”
The report noted that Spicer’s statement in response was “very tongue-in-cheek and not a comment delivered with a threatening tone.”
Roskoski noted that the computer password was changed a week early because that’s when the computer tech person was able to come and do it.
“We need to stop this type of behavior,” said Roskoski. “I am fed up with the whole thing. It really needs to stop.”
The township does have administrative guidelines for employees already in place.

Fire department
The board approved adding Brianna Lofquist, a current EMR, as a new firefighter, contingent on passing a background check and taking the required firefighter training classes.
Gilbert said the department needed to replace outdated wildland fighting gear, and that Bois Forte could cover the costs of the three sets needed for band members, but the department would still need to purchase three additional sets which will cost $975 each. The department will also need to look at updating interior firefighting gear. This gear is only authorized for use for 10 years. The board also approved having the SCBA equipment tests and the annual pump testing, as well as repair of one portable pump. They also approved annual service on the three fire boats.
The fire department is holding a clean-up day on Saturday, April 26 starting at 9 a.m. and volunteers are welcome to help clean out the fire hall and storage areas.

Other business
In other business, the board:
• Heard from Jet Galonski, who urged the township to keep the existing gas range, noting it’s value, if new, was over $35,000. He told the board if all 10 of the pilot lights stayed lit, the stove would be easy to use. The township had turned off the gas to the stove a few years ago, because of issues with the stove’s reliability. Clerk Debby Spicer, who used to run Wayside Café, noted that leaving the pilots burning would add a lot of heat in the town hall, which might be welcome in the winter, but would heat up the building significantly in the summer. A committee has been formed to look into getting the town hall kitchen back up to commercial code, so it could be used for community events and fundraisers.
• Will have the recreation committee look into options for purchasing benches to be placed along the bike trail, and the possibility of having the benches sponsored/donated.
• Tabled the idea of hiring a maintenance employee.
• Will call for bids on reroofing for the four town hall structures. Supervisor Craig Gilbert said he had done an inspection of the roofs with the owner of Vermillion Roofing which showed one roof in immediate need of reshingling, and another in need of immediate patching. He noted that roofing materials are expected to rise in price significantly by next summer. A rough estimate of the cost to do all four roofs is around $90,000 – $115,000, Gilbert said. Gilbert said they would call for 35-year shingles. The current roofs are all between 20 and 25 years old. Gilbert said the board also needs to deal with replacement or repair of several windows in the town hall, which have significant rot.
• Heard that the two outstanding OSHA complaints filed by Jeff Maus were dismissed by the state.
• Will call for quotes on lawn mowing for this summer.
• Approved a $100 donation to Cook Timber Days. The board passed on donation requests from the North Woods School robotics team and the Cook Friends of the Park, saying they did not meet the public purpose test required.
• Gilbert reported that the arsenic filtration system substrate was being replaced, and they are setting up a testing schedule.