KALAMAZOO, MI -- A property transfer between the Kalamazoo County treasurer and a nonprofit closely connected to the chair of the county board is being highlighted for potential investigation by state police.

Emails provided to MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette by Commissioner Mike Quinn show Kalamazoo Corporate Counsel Elizabeth White is raising questions about the treasurer's office investing tens of thousands of dollars into properties before transferring them to private owners. The county's legal representative told commissioners that she asked the Michigan State Police to investigate a deal with a nonprofit that contracts work for Chair Stephanie Moore and is run by her mother.

White declined to comment on the situation.

Kalamazoo County Treasurer Mary Balkema said it is not uncommon for her office to rehabilitate homes in distressed areas. Moore called the MSP investigation a "witch hunt," spurred by an ongoing feud with White.

"There is an extreme amount of infighting in Kalamazoo County," Moore said. "The toxicity within the administration is horrid."

Balkema transferred 603 Ada St. to Mothers of Hope in February after investing more than $45,000 to rehabilitate the home. Mothers of Hope paid $7,500 to the county's tax reversion fund one month after it acquired the property, according to board member Dorphine Payne and Balkema.

In a Sept. 10 memo sent to commissioners, White said it's not clear if that payment had anything to do with the Ada Street transfer. Records kept by the city of Kalamazoo show the house was transferred to Mothers of Hope for free.

"(White) saw some things that raise some eyebrows and more questions," said Commissioner Kevin Wordelman. "That's what needs to happen. I don't know if anything illegal happened or if there is any quid pro quo or corruption. All we can do is ask those questions and expose it to the light of day."

White said the county should not grant property to anyone without compensation, according to memo. The Ada Street property, which was associated with drug activity, was obtained by the treasurer in 2016 through a tax foreclosure.

It was previously owned by an African-American man who sued Balkema, Kalamazoo County and the Kalamazoo County Land Bank for housing discrimination. He was awarded a $2,500 payment from Kalamazoo County after settling the lawsuit in 2017.

The property owner damaged the home after the settlement, according to a Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety incident report.

Holes were kicked through most walls; sinks, counters and cabinets ripped out and windows were broken. Additional work was needed to repair the roof, install new appliances and make the home safe for occupation.

The county paid for repairs with $12,500 from an insurance settlement and $7,500 from Mothers of Hope. Around $25,000 in rehabilitation work was paid through its tax reversion fund.

Without that investment, Balkema said, the home would have been demolished or become a public safety hazard. The treasurer said Ada Street has a high rate of foreclosure and crime.

Mothers of Hope provides recovery services to families suffering from substance abuse. Payne said the organization was initially skeptical about taking the property, but agreed after several months of discussion.

"When you leave (properties) abandoned, drug pushers and abusers move in," Payne said. "It creates a lot of problems in the neighborhood."

Quinn said White indicated she is looking at two additional properties rehabilitated by the treasurer before being transferred to another entity.

Quinn said he and other Democrats are concerned about potential conflicts of interest due to Moore's association with Mothers of Hope.

Gwen Lanier, Moore's mother, founded Mothers of Hope in 1999. State Rep. Jon Hoadley and City Commissioner Don Cooney serve on its board.

Public tax records show the organization earned $136,600 from contributions, gifts, grants and fundraising events in 2016. A quarter of that revenue went to pay Moore for consulting work.

Moore was paid $34,326 as a program coordinator and consultant in 2016, all of which came from grants, she said. Records show Moore devoted an average of 15-20 hours per week to her position with Mothers of Hope, as much as Lanier and other organization directors.

Payne said Moore was not involved in any discussions regarding the Ada Street property.

"In my opinion there is absolutely no conflict there," Moore said.

Moore has performed consulting work since 2009, according to her LinkedIn profile. She said she does not make decisions on behalf of Mothers of Hope.

Moore said White has had it out for her since she spoke out against the firing of Kalamazoo County assistant corporation counsel Amber Beebe.

A grievance alleging Beebe was terminated illegally was filed with the county board chair on April 1. Moore refused to sign a document stating the county denied allegations in the grievance, criticizing county administrators for being biased against African-American women like Beebe.

Moore has since called for the Board of Commissioners to review White's performance evaluation process.

Balkema objected to the MSP investigation in a Sept. 19 email to commissioners, the same day WMUK published a story about the property transfer. Balkema said she was not contacted by White and criticized Quinn for leaking the Sept. 10 memo to the media.

"I believe I an entitled to due process on this issue," Balkema said in the email. "Forwarding confidential memo's to the press further erodes confidence in this governing board and compromises a police investigation. Having the state police called on a county wide elected official without any notice by the corporate counsel is unprofessional and disrespectful."

Moore requested an independent investigation into Quinn for forwarding emails to the press.

Wordelman said his colleagues should have questions about the transaction.

"We had corporate counsel bring some issues to light, and rightly so, and a commissioner takes it to a reporter because he felt like this issue needed to be subject to public transparency, but then the response is just pure anger and personal attacks," Wordelman said. "People are afraid to speak up and tell truth. When the board is distracted with personal issues and commissioners attacking each other, we're not doing the public's business and we're not focusing on the jobs we were elected to do."

"It seems plausible" that the property transfer could be a payoff for a vote in 2017, Quinn said, though he admitted his suspicions lack hard evidence.

Moore became board chair two months before the Ada Street property was transferred to Mothers of Hope. The Democrat became the first African-American to become chair without a single vote of support from her own party.

Moore gave the deciding vote to make Dale Shugars chair in 2017. In exchange, she was made vice chair that year and became chair with votes from GOP commissioners in 2018.

Balkema is also a Republican.

Moore flatly denied that the Ada Street property deal had anything to do with her support of Shugars in 2017.

"I believe that is the most hateful and untrue and just completely biased statement that Quinn and any other so-called progressive could make," she said.