Independence Township threatens to cancel emergency services contract with Clarkston

The hiring of a brand new assessor in Clarkston has led to complicated communications with Independence Township in northern Oakland County over their intergovernmental agreements, which embody police and fireplace providers within the metropolis.

Clarkston Metropolis Supervisor Jonathan Smith informed the Metropolis Council Tuesday evening that he obtained a textual content message from Independence Township Supervisor Chuck Phyle on Sept. 23 stating his intention to cancel the three-year settlement signed by the 2 municipalities in June.

It got here a day after the council voted 7-0 to rent Kim Fiegly Assessing to evaluate providers for Clarkston.

“Supervisor Phyle texted me to say that as a result of we chosen Kim, the town could be terminating the agreements with police, fireplace, public works and Deer Lake Seashore,” Smith mentioned. “He texted me that.”

That textual content from Phyle was adopted by “I’ll ship an official message from (metropolis legal professional) Dan Kelly.”

In an announcement to The Oakland Press on Wednesday, Phyle appeared to alter her place.

“Independence Township is reviewing all intergovernmental contracts with the Metropolis of the Village of Clarkston to make sure equity, compliance and protections for residents of each communities,” Phyle mentioned. “Because the township supervisor, I’ve each the authority and duty to provoke these evaluations when the phrases seem to battle with the fiscal or authorized obligations of the township. Any remaining motion to switch or terminate a contract will, as at all times, be submitted to the total board for approval.”

Smith of Clarkston informed the council that there was a gathering between Phyle, Kelly and Clarkston Metropolis Legal professional Jerry Fisher on Oct. 2 to debate the cancellation of the settlement.

“I hoped it was only a huge misunderstanding, nevertheless it wasn’t,” mentioned Smith, who was additionally on the assembly. “He urged that the town might not afford to be a metropolis and that we must always contemplate merging with the city.”

Smith and Trustee Amanda Forte met informally with Phyle after a township assembly Oct. 7 to seek out out what the difficulty was with hiring Fiegly, Independence Township’s former Director of Evaluation.

“He famous that Kim wouldn’t be capable of work with their (Independence Township) constructing division due to the best way she left issues,” Forte mentioned. “We requested if there had been a significant incident and he mentioned ‘no’ and we requested if she had been fired and he mentioned ‘no’ so he did not give us any particulars as to why that may be an issue.”

“He cannot give any motive why we would not do enterprise with somebody who is totally impartial of them,” mentioned Trustee Erica Jones. “It is nothing {that a} publicly elected official ought to do.”

It seems that Fiegly left her place on the council as a result of Phyle was on her method to overburdening the evaluation division to cowl the council’s prices.

In April, the Oakland County Board of Commissioners permitted a value improve for evaluation providers supplied by means of the county, main a number of communities to think about bringing in their very own assessors.

Fiegly mentioned Phyle began speaking to these communities about signing up along with his division for his or her evaluation providers.

“Mr. Phyle requested me for different authorities contracts to go up a revenue accounting division for Independence Township,” Fiegly mentioned. “He sought as many municipalities as attainable that the province had alienated. He tried to generate profits from different municipalities to offset his personal (evaluation) prices.”

She mentioned he had been in touch with Commerce, Springfield, Orion and Oxford townships, however knew the quantity of labor it could entail would overwhelm her division.

“I agreed to take over one or two small items for him, nevertheless it obtained a lot larger, to the purpose the place we could not do it with out compromising the standard of service,” she mentioned. “It was in my greatest curiosity to bow out and go away.”

Fiegly resigned in April, opened her personal agency and submitted one in all 4 proposals for the Clarkston evaluator place.

The three-year proposals got here from: Kim Fiegly Assessing – $22 per package deal, AAS Assessing – $23.68 per package deal, WCA Assessing – $27.16 per package deal and Oakland County – $32.11 per package deal. Independence Township has since contracted with AAS for his or her providers.

Clarkston would have paid Oakland County a median of $32.24 per parcel if that they had agreed to a proposed three-year contract for county evaluation providers from 2026 to 2028.

The specter of police and emergency providers being pulled from Clarkston due to her hiring didn’t cease Fiegly from signing the contract Tuesday. She knowledgeable the state that her firm is now the town’s assessor.

“I did numerous analysis with the town and I mentioned, ‘I do not wish to harm you,’ they usually mentioned this has nothing to do with you and you are the one we would like as our evaluator,” Fiegly mentioned. “I grew up on this neighborhood. I’ve 40 years of actual property data right here and that is one thing I might give again to the village.”

By not going together with Phyle’s plan, she mentioned their dynamic modified.

“(Phyle) went from promoting us as the perfect ranking company to me as incompetent,” Fiegly mentioned. “He’s retaliating and offended at me and taking it out on (Clarkston), however he has no authority to inform the village who they’ll rent.”

Fiegly obtained nothing however reward from Clarkston Treasurer Greg Cote.

“Kim Fiegly is a start-up firm the place Kim has greater than 30 years of expertise. Kim grew up in Independence Township and is effectively positioned to serve this neighborhood,” Cote mentioned on Sept. 22, the place she obtained board approval. “If a resident want to communicate to an evaluator, Kim, who was born and raised on this neighborhood, indicated that she would come into the workplace and clarify the explanation, so I consider Kim is greater than able to performing the duties we’re asking.”

“She is very regarded within the discipline and has nothing however the highest fame,” Smith mentioned.

Clarkston has three intergovernmental agreements with Independence Township for police providers, fireplace providers, and constructing providers (together with constructing and code enforcement providers).

The police settlement requires Clarkston to pay 2.7% of the town’s complete prices for police providers and an administrative charge of $300 monthly.

The hearth settlement obliges the town to pay the municipality the identical price because the municipality costs its residents: 3.37 million.

The town has contracted with Code Enforcement Companies, a division of Ann Arbor-based Carlisle-Wortman Associates, for development providers since 2017.

The Deer Lake Seashore Settlement required Clarkston to lease the seaside to the municipality for $1 per 12 months, with the Independence Township Parks and Recreation Division providing a number of providers together with swimming classes, a ship launch and open swimming to residents of each municipalities. The municipality would preserve the charges collected to offset the prices.

Trustee Jones mentioned Clarkston could be considerably impacted if the settlement was canceled.

“It impacts the precise emergency providers that may be supplied to our neighborhood,” she mentioned. “(Phyle) is endangering the protection of residents. That is basically a breach of contract. We signed a contract for these providers in June and people contracts have gone into impact.”

Fiegly additionally acknowledges the results of leaving the town with no fireplace division.

“Whenever you begin threatening to remove the fireplace division in a historic neighborhood with houses from the 1800s, that is fairly drastic,” she mentioned.

Jones mentioned the potential for “folding” Clarkston into Independence Township was unrealistic.

“It may’t occur legally due to the best way our constitution is worded. A township cannot take over a metropolis,” she mentioned. “(Phyle) desires the model affinity of the Clarkston identify for Independence Township.”

Initially revealed: October 15, 2025 at 1:36 PM EDT