West Bloomfield Treasurer's Office Closes Wednesday Over 'Politics'

In a move that other officials have said is a first for West Bloomfield Township, Treasurer Teri Weingarden closed her office and sent office staff home on Wednesday.

According to a report by WDIV-TV, visitors to her office at Town Hall found a sign that said the office was closed for "political reasons". 

Township supervisor Michele Economu Ureste said the treasurer and her staff, with the exception of a recently hired deputy treasurer, were back in the office Thursday morning. 

"I sent an email to the Treasurer's Department letting them know there is no provision in our union contract that allows them to be at home and be paid," Ureste said. 

In response to a call for comment, Weingarden, who was elected in 2008, said she is "100 percent committed to the success of the treasurer's office and the township."

"I am looking forward to resolving the issues that caused the office to close yesterday afternoon," she added. "I know myself and the other trustees will work together on a solution that's in the best interests of the residents."

While she didn't specify what those issues were, Ureste said Weingarden "imploded" after a department head who had been "maligned" during the tenure of former deputy treasurer Jared Maynard declined to provide as much assistance as in the past. 

"If people want to graciously provide assistance above and beyond, and if that has changed because of her own actions, that is beyond my control," Ureste said. 

Weingarden's office has been under scrutiny since July, over questions about paperwork filed with Comerica Bank authorizing the treasurer and deputy treasurer to conduct banking transactions. On Monday, township clerk Catherine Shaughnessy also expressed concern about 450 pages of cash transactions, totaling about $3.5 million, that had not been recorded since June. 

"When the treasurer hired the former deputy treasurer (Jared Maynard), they changed the practice of doing any kind of journal entries," Ureste said Thursday. "We discouraged it." 

The treasurer also tussled with her colleagues in August over Maynard's hiring and salary. Trustees voted to cut his pay, and Maynard eventually left the position.