BLACKMAN TWP., MI – After retiring unexpectedly following backlash from a pay-raise vote, Blackman Township Treasurer Sherry Brockie’s resignation was turned down by the Board of Trustees.<br /><br />By a 3-2 vote, the board did not accept her resignation letter, meaning that Brockie is still the township treasurer. The decision was met with disapproval from several township residents at a special meeting Friday evening, March 21 at the Blackman Township Hall. <br /><br />“I’ve never seen such as a circus that I’ve seen tonight by (trustees) Bettie Brockie, Paula Clingerman and (Mark) Singer,” said resident Suellen Thomas, who received applause from the crowd. “No conscience whatsoever.”<br /><br />Trustees Brockie, Clingerman and Singer voted no on accepting Sherry Brockie's resignation, while Supervisor Peter Jancek and Clerk David Sercombe voted yes. Sherrie Brockie and Trustee Rick Johns were both absent. <br /><br />Sercombe said he was upset by the vote. He said if someone decides to resign, that should be respected. “I saw three people who did not respect that decision,” Sercombe said.<br /><br />Bettie Brockie, Clingerman and Singer declined to comment.<br /><br />Jancek said he will contact Sherry Brockie on Saturday, March 22, to see what her intentions are at this point. “We will make sure the business of the township continues,” he said.<br /><br />Brockie submitted her "retirement" letter to the township Tuesday, March 18, eight days after the board approved pay raises amounting ot almost $100,000 for her, Jancek and Sercombe.<br /><br />The board voted 4-2 for the raises, with proponents saying the officials work full-time and should be compensated that way. Sercombe and Jancek voted no on the raises, saying they knew the salary when elected and the raises weren't needed.<br /><br />The resolutions were not on the original agenda but were added after the meeting began.<br /><br />On Friday night, the room was filled with residents, several who voiced their upset about the pay raises being voted on without the public knowing beforehand.<br /><br />Jackson County Board of Commissioner Dave Elwell, who addressed the board as a Blackman Township resident, said he hopes the board revisits the pay raise issue soon.<br /><br />“It was hidden from public debate, scrutiny and input,” he said. “The amount of what was done was wrong in my opinion. The timing of what happened was wrong.” <br /><br />Resident Amber Keathley, who is a teacher at DaVinci Institute’s primary school, said she was disappointed in the township’s elected officials.<br /><br />“I can tell you, if one of my co-workers resigned, I would not vote to keep them,” Keathley said. “If they don’t want to be here, be gone.”<br /><br />Sherry Brockie, who has refused to speak to the Citizen Patriot, did not state in the letter why she retired. Deputy Treasurer Ashley Tarasiewicz also resigned on Tuesday.<br /><br />This is the second time in about four months that Brockie, who has been the township’s treasurer for 16 years, has turned in a retirement letter.<br /><br />Brockie submitted a retirement letter to the township on Nov. 29, intending for her last day to be Dec. 30. She later rescinded her retirement.<br /><br />Brockie said in the first letter that the retirement benefits that were outlined in the township ordinance were taken away from her and that she was not reimbursed for mileage, cell phone or township education-related expenses.<br /><br />“I’ve made it clear that the administration for the township was gravely underpaid and that not having the administration compensated fairly we allow the staff to run the township with little or no oversight,” Brockie said in the letter. “We’ve properly compensated staff but not administration. This is not fair to the taxpayers, by design we are elected to run the township."<br /><br />Meanwhile, a group of township residents is working to put a referendum on the August ballot to rescind the pay. The group, called Better Blackman on its Facebook page, has 30 days following the board's decision to collect 1,500 petition signatures for the referendum to be put on the ballot.<br /><br />The group started petitioning Saturday, March 15.