Vandalia residents demand professionalism from Board of Trustees

VANDALIA, Mich. -- Tensions inside the Village of Vandalia government spilled into public view during a three first village board meeting of 2026. Residents brought accusations of misconduct, claims of unjust firings and witnessed an on-the-spot resignation of a trustee.

Residents used public comment to air concerns about Village President Evan Hickman, accusing him of unprofessional behavior and alleging he has fired village staff and trustees without cause.

ABC57 has received multiple tips over the past month alleging dysfunction within the village government, including claims that Hickman fired employees to replace them with family members.

Earl Prestly, a village employee of six years, said he believes he is the latest employee to be fired unfairly.

“I feel like it's a slap in the face to be let go this close to my retirement,” Prestly said. “The president wasn't willing to work with me.”

One resident raised an additional concern that the full scope of village business was not being made clear to the public.

Former Village President Beverly Young questioned the village’s compliance with transparency requirements, pointing to missing information on the village website.

“I've been asking the same question, if only it could be checked out, so we can clear this up,” Young said. “Four months is missing on the website, which is a clear violation of the open meetings act.”

The board did not comment on the missing minutes or agendas. ABC57 has reached out to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office for comment regarding possible violations of open meetings laws but has not yet received a response.

As residents continued to voice frustration over the president’s leadership, Trustee Karen Young unexpectedly resigned during the meeting.

“I will be resigning from my position as a Village of Vandalia trustee,” Young said. “During this last year, it has been extremely difficult dealing with the lack of respect from the Village President.”

Following the heated adjournment, board members encouraged residents to attend future meetings in hopes of resolving ongoing issues. However, Hickman declined to respond to any of the concerns raised during the meeting and instructed other trustees not to comment.