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Macomb County Files Lawsuit Against Clerk After Impasse On Building Move

MOUNT CLEMENS (CBS DETROIT) - Macomb County Tuesday filed a lawsuit against its own county clerk -- over her attempts to block a planned move into a new office building as part of a $65 million renovation project.

Karen Spranger has concerns over where vital records will be stored in the new Talmer Building in Mt. Clemens.

"I had an 'A' plan, a 'B' plan and a 'C' plan - they all were very workable but it wasn't workable with the executive board - it broke down - we're at an impasse. Hopefully a judge will see what rights I have and what rights the executive branch has," said Spranger.

"So it comes down to who actually has authority to make decisions," said Spranger.

The plans for the overall project have been in the works for over two years.

Macomb Deputy County Executive Mark Deldin, explained why they opted to take Spranger to court:

"We were unable to reach a compromise as late as the last couple of days she was ordering parts of her staff that 'you are not moving -- you are not packing,' so we felt that we needed to take action because we don't want to cost the county - specific to this project - more money," said Deldin.

All parties are scheduled to be back in court in the morning. The planned move for Spranger's office is set for this weekend.

Spranger was elected to the office in November.

The judge ordered both parties to tour the Talmer Building ahead of their next court appearance.

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