PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — After weeks of controversy about a top elected official’s side jobs, Oakland County Executive David Coulter is unveiling sweeping ethics reforms.
That’s something other County leaders have been asking for as well, and now Coulter is calling on the Oakland County Board of Commissioners to adopt financial disclosure statements similar to those adopted by state lawmakers in 2023. But Coulters says he wants the transparency requirements to go farther by extending the rules to the spouses/domestic partners of Oakland County elected officials and Coulter’s appointees.
“Oakland County is better than this. I will not allow recent political discord and lack of transparency to undermine the trust our residents place in and us and the progress we are making,” said Coulter in a press release.
The announcement comes following several stories by the 7 Investigators, including investigations into the role Oakland County Board of Commissioners Chair Dave Woodward has played related to his side job as a consultant for the Sheetz gas station chain.
"I fully support Executive Coulter's proposal," Woodward said in a statement shortly after the announcement. "The Board of Commissioners stands ready to review and act on it quickly. I believe in doing what's right, always leading with integrity and holding ourselves to the highest standards as we continue to deliver for the people of Oakland County."
Coulter’s proposal uses the state of Michigan’s “Public Officers Financial Disclosures Act” as it’s base, but he’s also asking for additional requirements, including:
- Spouse/domestic partner reporting
- Household adult dependent reporting
- Assets/interests held by certain trusts related to a person required to report
- Requirement to amend financial disclosure midyear with any new outside income source greater than $10,000.
Coulter says he wants the financial disclosures to be kept by the County Clerk, and they will be available online.
Watch below: Did commission head use position to help along possible Sheetz in Waterford?
The county executive is also asking that the county create an Ethics Ombudsperson who can receive referrals from members of the public and other whistleblowers about allegations of conflicts of interest among county leadership and employees.
“Ethics and transparency are not about playing ‘gotcha’ – they are about building trust with the public,” said Coulter. "An independent ombudsperson will guarantee ethical concerns are handled fairly, above politics and beyond personalities.”
“I'm being 100% transparent and ethical,” Oakland County Commission Chair Dave Woodward told the 7 Investigators during an on-camera interview in August, as he maintained he does not have a conflict of interest with his outside jobs.
Even though Woodward makes $82,500 as Board Chair, he also owns two companies: Woodward & Associates L.L.C. and a political consulting business.
Through his Woodward & Associates, Woodward has been appearing at public meetings on behalf of the Sheetz gas station chain.
Site plans for a proposed Sheetz on Highland Road in Waterford Township included a curb cut onto the county’s airport exit road.
While Woodward has said “I haven’t been part of anything involving the county,” records reviewed by the 7 Investigators suggest otherwise.
Related Video: Oakland County commission head defends Sheetz side job, denies conflict of interest
Those records from late July show Oakland County Aviation Manager Cheryl Bush told another county employee that “We have agreed to allow egress access to Patterson Parkway to a neighboring landlord for development of a Sheetz gas and service station.”
Bush went on to say, “Chairman Woodward has been a strong proponent of this, along with support from [Deputy County Executive] Sean Carlson. (Honestly, this is strongly against my better judgment, but I have been overruled.).”
Even though Woodward has maintained he has no conflict with his Sheetz job, many of his fellow elected officials say they disagree.
“I don't think what Dave Woodward is doing is ethical, it's just not,” said Waterford Township Supervisor Anthony Bartolotta during an interview earlier this summer. Bartolotta said Woodward called him to set up a meeting with himself and representatives from Sheetz.
“I think it's outrageous. The people have a right to know if the person that they elected has personal conflicts of interest, financial conflicts of interest,” said Oakland County Commissioner Kristen Nelson (D-Waterford).
“With all the items in the press these days relative to the county, it's not putting the county in a good light,” said Oakland County Commission Minority Caucus Chair Michael Spisz (R-Oxford).
Spisz told the 7 Investigators he agrees that financial disclosure rules are needed. Woodward has thus far declined to disclose his other clients.
“How do you know as a member of the finance committee and a member of the board whether you're voting on things that [Woodward’s] actually financially benefiting from?” asked 7 Investigator Heather Catallo.
“We don’t,” said Spisz. “It's concerning. It should be concerning all of us as commissioners, for any of us to be in that position that we're voting or another colleague is voting on something that is potentially a conflict of interest.”
Commissioners Nelson and Charlie Cavell (D-Ferndale) say they left the commission’s Democratic caucus when their efforts to expand transparency and financial disclosure rules were shut down by Woodward earlier this year.
Watch below: Oakland County commissioners say they're facing retaliation over transparency push
“There is a pattern of bad behavior,” said Cavell. “We asked to be heard, to make our community stronger, and have people trust that government is working for them. And we were told no.”
There have been other things facing scrutiny in Oakland County government, including an investigation into how a $450,000 IT contract got awarded to a current county employee. After a whistleblower point out the conflict, the contract was cancelled, and a third-party review of how that happened has been under way.
Regarding the airport easement, Bush told the 7 Investigators in September that Woodward made introductions to her to the Sheetz representatives.
“I knew that Dave Woodword was interested in the project, but he has also expressed to me, always stay true to what is best for the airport,” said Bush. “He made introductions to the Sheetz folks.”
Nick Ruffner, the public affairs manager for Sheetz, released a statement to 7 News Detroit in the past that reads, "We want to emphasize that Sheetz is not engaged in any business, applications, or requests before the Oakland County Board of Commissioners. From the outset, we recognized the importance of maintaining a clear line between Dave’s public service and this part-time advisory role. We proactively took steps to ensure that no conflicts of interest exist and continue to uphold that commitment."
After the 7 Investigators started asking county officials about the easement at the airport, they announced they were not going to approve the easement/curb cut.
We have reached out to Chair Woodward and the Board of Commissioners for a response to the proposed financial disclosure rules; we are waiting to hear back.
Coulter says he has directed his staff to immediately finalize language with the Board of Commissioners so they can introduce a resolution at their next board meeting on October 16 and have a vote on it before the end of the year.
If you have a story for Heather Catallo, please email her at hcatallo@wxyz.com
