GREENWOOD TWP- Members of the Greenwood Town Board interviewed four candidates to fill the new hired township clerk position. Township voters decided last year to move to a hired clerk and treasurer, in response to ongoing conflicts between the two officers, as well as with the board. Elected clerk and treasurer do not take direction from the board, while those hired to fill those positions are employees under the direction of the town board.
After the vote last March, the board hired a treasurer, since the term of that official was expiring. The elected clerk served out the remainder of their term, according to the state process, but that term expires in March, so the job will be converted to a hired position.
The board asked a series of 12 questions to each candidate, and will be ranking them on their answers and experience.
The board will wait until their next regular meeting, on Tuesday, March 10 following the close of the annual meeting which begins at 8:15 p.m., to make a hiring decision.
Three board members, Lois Roskoski, Steve Bradach, and Paul Skubic conducted the interviews on Feb. 23 and 24.
The four candidates all had a mix of township, city, financial, and other relevant experience. Candidates included current elected clerk Debby Spicer, who has served three years as elected Greenwood clerk; Theresa Martinson, of Angora, who recently retired as the city administrator in Cook and is now on the town board in Angora; Jolene Mroszak, of Tower, who has a background in banking, tech, clerical, customer service, and running a front office; and Floyd Davidson, a relatively new township resident, who served for 17 years as a clerk for a small rural township in Steele County.
Only one of the applicants, Spicer, was familiar with the township’s online financial system (CTAS). Martinson used a system more common in small cities, Banyon, and Mroszak was familiar with other online accounting systems. Davidson, while he clearly had the most experience as a township clerk, said he had basically no computer experience since his township had done all their financials and reporting by hand.
All four applicants had experience with township and city elections. Martinson said she had just received an award from the state for excellence in the administration of elections.
Both Martinson and Mroszak talked about their organizational skills and attention to detail. Martinson’s previous job in Cook meant oversight over the city’s fire, ambulance, community center, liquor store, and airport. She also acted as the secretary/treasurer for the fire department, so was very familiar with that role. She also told the board of her grantwriting experience, including major grants received for infrastructure improvements and the community center.
Mroszak currently is the operations manager for a local IT company, Northwoods Professional Services, and also serves on the board of Vermilion Housing. She also is an active volunteer for the Tower-Soudan Lake Vermilion Events Board.
Spicer emphasized she was the current clerk and was “hoping to stay there.” Besides her time as clerk, she talked about her experience working at US Bank, and running the Wayside Café. She stressed that she lived only minutes from the town hall, and was available to be at the town hall outside of regular office hours, if needed.
Other business
After a closed meeting held after the first three interviews, the board terminated a fire department employee who had not met the requirements for attendance, training, and calls over the past year.