SHANNON SHULTERS
By Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Swanton Village Administrator and Interim Fiscal Officer Shannon Shulters tendered her resignation effective mid-September during a special meeting of the Swanton Village Council Monday evening.
Shulters has served as administrator for four years, interim fiscal officer since the resignation of Holden Benfield in March, kept the village operating through the loss of its offices in a January fire, and spearheaded the yearslong effort to take control of the collapsing former Elks building downtown.
During Monday’s meeting, she read her resignation letter, which laid out the challenges she said face the village and caused her burnout and decision to leave.
Shulters said she is proud of what she accomplished and has always done the best job she was capable of doing.
“Unfortunately, dedication without boundaries eventually becomes exhaustion,” Shulters said.
“Over the past several months, I have reached a level of burnout that I can no longer ignore. Time is one thing none of us ever gets back, and this position has required me to sacrifice an extraordinary amount of mine.
“I have missed time with my family, evenings, weekends, holidays, and countless personal moments because I believe the village came first. While I accept those sacrifices for a season, they cannot become a permanent expectation.”
She said one of the greatest challenges facing the village is not a lack of qualified, interested professionals, but its inability to remain competitive in the employment market, saying they were “attempting to fill 2026 positions with 2019 wages.”
Shulters further said that, while she took over the fiscal officer position willingly to ensure the village continued to operate successfully, her extra work became an ongoing expectation.
She said that the $3,000 monthly bonus she received for the work was still not enough to compensate her for filling two executive-level positions.
“More importantly, no amount of temporary compensation justifies asking one individual to indefinitely carry the responsibilities of two full-time executive offices,” she said.
Shulters went on to say that conflicting direction and changing priorities from council have unnecessarily complicated her position.
“I have been expected to implement decisions only to then later be criticized for following those same directives.
“It is incredibly difficult to effectively manage an organization when expectations continuously shift and accountability is expected without consistently providing the authority and trust necessary to lead,” she said.
Shulters said her most disappointing realization was that it took her submitting her resignation in order for the problems she outlined to be taken seriously.
“She said none of the signs leading to it, such as her workload, day-to-day challenges, or exhaustion, were recognized before she felt her hand was forced.
“No employee should have to reach the point of complete burnout before their workload and struggles are acknowledged,” she said.
Shulters said her last day at work would be August 31, with her official final day on September 14 due to sick and vacation time, but left the door open for the village to change her mind. However, she said it would take “significant and meaningful change.”
Among her requirements to stay are “compensation that allows the village to recruit and retain qualified executive staff,” the hiring of a permanent fiscal officer, “clear and consistent direction from council,” respect for her personal time and work-life balance, and the trust and authority needed to effectively manage village operations “without constant contradiction or second-guessing.”
Particularly challenging will be the second item, as Mayor Neil Toeppe reported earlier in the day that the village’s second attempt to hire a fiscal officer was fruitless, and that a third round would be forthcoming.
“We thought we had one, but after a bit of a background check, we passed,” Toeppe said.
At the end of her comments, Shulters fought back tears as she thanked the village staff who supported her through all her work.
“To the employees of the village, thank you for your dedication, resilience, and friendship. Serving alongside you has been an honor.
“Mayor Toeppe, thank you for believing in me four years ago and entrusting me with the opportunity to lead this organization.
“To the residents of Swanton, while you might … not have always seen eye to eye with me, thank you for allowing me the privilege of serving your community, as it has been an honor that I will always be proud of,” Shulters said.
Following Shulters’ comments, Councilman Noah Kreuz shared his support for her, reading a statement calling the evening’s meeting one of the most difficult he’s had to attend as a member of council.
Kreuz said he was saddened by the direction of the council, and that he joined because he expected to be part of the singular goal of doing what is best for the residents.
“Instead, we’ve become increasingly divided. We’ve allowed distress to replace teamwork. We have spent more time questioning and involving ourselves in the day-to-day operations of village staff than focusing on the policies and the discussions that truly belong to this council,” he said.
Kreuz said the council’s responsibility is “to provide leadership, establish policy, exercise oversight, ensure accountability, and make decisions to improve the lives of our residents,” while hiring skilled professionals to manage village operations and trusting them to do so.
He said council’s interference with those staff has made it difficult for them to do their jobs.
“Tonight we are losing someone who I believe is the finest village administrator Swanton has ever had. She is not someone who simply works seven to five.
“She is devoted to this village every hour of every day. She answers calls after hours, works weekends, solves problems before most people even know they exist, and constantly looks for ways to improve our village,” Kreuz said.
He said the village will feel her loss “for years to come.” “I hope every member of council reflects on this moment,” Kreuz said.
“We cannot continue down this path. If we continue to drive away dedicated employees because how they are treated, we will all bear responsibility for the future of this village.”
Councilwoman Dianne Westhoven recommended council meet with Shulters to specifically discuss the five requirements she gave to reconsider her resignation, asking Shulters to bring proposed solutions.
Kreuz rebutted the recommendation, saying council members should meet in executive session to come up with their own solutions they could then present to Shulters rather than put another task on her.
In response, Shulters added that what she was looking for wasn’t more money, but more time.
Prior to Westhoven’s comments, she tearfully explained that she had been missing out on time with her children and missing her daughter’s volleyball games trying to keep up with the workload.
Before Shulters announced her resignation, council members voted to approve Shulters’ monthly interim fiscal officer bonus for the month of June.
FIRE SERVICE CONTRACTS
Mayor Neil Toeppe asked council members to consider a pair of resolutions related to upcoming fire contract negotiations with local townships.
He pointed out the village was currently supplementing the fire department budget from the general fund in order to provide them with fire service.
“We need to find a way to determine if we can generate some of those revenues internally rather than using our general fund to supplement these other communities,” Toeppe said.
In order to make those determinations, council members approved on an emergency basis the two resolutions brought by Toeppe.
Both items were requests to the Fulton County auditor’s office to certify the total current tax valuation of the village and provide the amount of revenue that would be raised by a new four-mill or a new three-mill levy for emergency services.
The four-mill levy, if pursued, would be split with two-thirds going to the fire department and one-third going to the police department, while the three-mill would go exclusively to the fire department.
If the council does choose to move forward with one of the measures, it would appear on the upcoming November ballot.
The next regular meeting of the Swanton Village Council will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 20, at The Venue on Main, 124 N. Main Street, to be preceded by a meeting of the council’s committee of the whole at 6 p.m.