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John Pelissero, senior scholar at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University and a professor emeritus of political science at Loyola University Chicago, said even in situations where there is no favoritism, public confidence can be affected when officials or their relatives work for contractors.

"There’s the appearance of something that may not be proper that may bother citizens in the township, and that is any time you have a vendor that does business with the township having a relationship with family members of somebody who is in a position to potentially vote or extend the vendor’s contract, the public may reasonably ask questions about whether there’s any quid pro quo here, was this an entirely objective process," Pelissero said.

John Pelissero, senior scholar in government ethics, quoted by the Detroit Free Press.