Amanda Forrester / news@whmi.com

Putnam Township held a special meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss allegations raised against the Township Supervisor, Tom Chambers.

During the special meeting, Township Clerk Valerie Niemiec alleged that Chambers had come into her office and yelled at her, making the female employees in the building who witnessed the incident feel unsafe.

She said a Livingston County Sheriff’s deputy had been in the building Monday and Tuesday, costing taxpayers $560 per day to help make employees feel safe enough to come in.

According to Niemiec, she, Treasurer Pat Carney and another Bob Press, who serves as a Trustee Code Enforcement Officer, were talking about Fire Chief Curt Ruf who was injured the prior week on Feb. 11. She responded to an email from Chambers regarding QuickBooks, telling him that people had discussed it following a meeting, and she was talking with Carney if he wanted to come to her office to talk about what was discussed.

Niemiec then said that Chambers came to her office shortly after the email was sent and “he started shouting accusations directed at me accusing us of running the Township without him, having a meeting without a roll call or agenda and demanding in an uncontrolled shouting voice that we bring him up to speed on what we were talking about.”

Press left when it was pointed out by Carney that four board members created a quorum, the minimum number of board members needed to make a meeting official.

Niemiec said that Chambers was the only person with a raised voice. She also said he had “crazy eyes,” swearing and that he was pointing while in “striking distance.”

Chambers was the only one with a raised voice, while Niemiec and Carney spoke in a normal tone to de-escalate, she said. Carney allegedly put his arm between them in an attempt to get Chambers to step back. Chambers did eventually leave the office.

Eight employees and several members of the community were alleged to have heard the incident, and the employees wrote statements that were added to the police report.

Niemiec said that there had been other instances in the past involving Chambers, leading female employees to not feel safe working in the building.

Chambers said there were two sides to the story but declined to share his side.

He did say that there were alternative solutions that didn't require him to be barred from the office.

"We've been given suggestions today, and we're not exploring the alternatives," he said. "I'm wondering why. Why aren't we taking steps, why is this a one and done?"

County attorney, Mike Homier, said he was told there was a police report filed, along with eight statements, but he hadn’t seen the report himself. He spoke with the prosecutor, but no charges were filed as of Tuesday afternoon. One of the complaints was criminal and the other wasn’t.

Niemiec and Carney introduced several motions, including requesting 48 hours notice when Chambers plans to work in the building so they can arrange for a Sheriff’s deputy to be in the building until Foster Swift, the law firm handling the investigation and compiling recommendations, completes their work. In the event that they are unable to have a deputy in the building, employees would be able to stay home and be paid. All the resolutions were passed.

Several people, including Carney and members of the public, recommended that Chambers get “treatment.” Chambers neither agreed or disagreed to the suggestion, but said he wasn’t sure what kind of treatment they were talking about.

Chambers agreed to a modified work schedule, but said there were days that he would need to come into the building to ensure he was able to do his job. Homier also said that elected officials couldn’t be barred from the building that would prohibit them from completing their jobs.

Someone requested another special meeting to discuss the recommendations from the law firm, who are tentatively set to begin interviewing staff later this week or next week as part of their investigation.