JACKSON, MI – Jackson Clerk and Treasurer Andrew Wrozek, Jr. will continue to work in both capacities at least for another year.<br /><br />Jackson City Council members voted 5-2 on Tuesday, Feb. 25, to extend Wrozek's appointment through March 2015. Mayor Jason Smith and Councilwoman Kimberly Jaquish, 2nd Ward, voted against the extension.<br /><br />Wrozek, who has served as the city's treasurer for more than three decades, began working as both treasurer and clerk since March 2013, after former clerk Lynn Fessel retired.<br /><br />City Manager Patrick Burtch said last year the city opted to hire a records and elections coordinator instead of a new city clerk after the consolidation. The consolidation saves the city about $90,000 annually. Carmen Ryan was hired as records and elections coordinator last year.<br /><br />Both Smith and Jaquish said they voted against Wrozek's extension because they feared it "could" pose a conflict of interest, and wanted interim City Attorney Bethany Smith to look into it.<br /><br />"I don't see any issues with incompatibility of offices," Bethany Smith said at the meeting Tuesday. "Giving the law a cursory glance, (Wrozek's appointment) doesn't breach it."<br /><br />Councilwoman Laura Dwyer Schlecte, 4th Ward, called for the vote and said Jackson would be one of nearly 40 Michigan cities that have combined the clerk and treasurer positions.<br /><br />Jaquish questioned how Wrozek as clerk could provide financial statements to himself without a conflict present.<br /><br />"I'll be voting 'no' because the clerk provides some documents to the treasurer every year," she said.<br /><br />Wrozek corrected Jaquish after her statements.<br /><br />"I haven't been provided documents (from the clerk) in 31 years," he said.<br /><br />Jason Smith and Jaquish both said they wanted the city's attorneys to look into the matter further.