Voting to pay the bills: What's the big deal?

At last weeks meeting, there was a major issue facing the village when two trustees would not vote to pay the bills. When the board doesn't successfully vote to pay the bills, the bills cannot be paid, legally. That's a problem for the village and a problem for our vendors. As a village, we need to ensure that we pay our vendors to ensure they continue to provide services and to prevent incurring late fees.

So why are trustees willing to let the village face such fees and loss of service? Trustee Ponio has never voted to pay the bills...not because he doesn't want the bills to be paid, but because he wants to to be able to review the bills before voting to approve them. Trustee Ponio's issue with voting the night of the bill consent agenda is that the bill sheet is provided just moments before we (trustees) are asked to vote to pay them giving us NO time for proper review and for any questions to be answered about the bills if any questions arise. Ponio has been asking for more time to be provided to review the bills so he knows what he is approving, and if there are any bills he has questions about, there is time to pull it or ask the Finance Director.

The simple solution is provide the bill sheet in advance; Trustee Ponio wants at least 48 hours prior to the vote; I think the request may not be feasible, but one day--one full day--in advance shouldn't be too much to ask for and if trustees know they will be asked to vote to pay bills on Thursday night, picking up the bill sheet on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning should be a compromise that I think is feasible; if there are bills that are not able to make it to the monthly bill sheet in advance, then perhaps we need to vote bi-monthly versus monthly. The bottom line is, we do not want to incur late fees, lose confidence in our vendors, and not pay our village bills, but I cannot blame a Trustee who does not want to pay bills without having the ability to review what he is voting to pay for; the same as one wouldn't pay their credit card bill without reviewing the bill; we want to ensure everything on it is a charge we incurred and the interest rates are as agreed upon and ensure there is no errors. Some may think Ponio is being stubborn, but I know this man; he is an honest and stand up man whose word is golden and his vote is the same--meaning, if he wont vote to pay bills and even at the risk of incurring late fees, it's because he stands for what he says: open and honest government. He has every right to review the bills with ample time before being asked to vote. Many others, myself included, have assumed that the bills are legitimate, based on trust of the Finance Director, and I also assume any discrepancies are caught by the director, but maybe that is an assumption I should not make because ultimately, I am voting to pay something that I haven't really reviewed.

Perhaps instead of some rolling their eyes and thinking Ponio and others are being difficult, realize that they are not going to say "OK, I vote to pay" without knowing what they are paying and find a way to fix the problem; give the board information in advance. Trustee Saville, not wanting the village to incur late fees did eventually reconsider his vote and then agreed to vote for the bills. However, I think this matter should be a lesson to the Mayor and to the rest of the board; ensure the information is there in advance. This is not new--it's been an ongoing issue for years for some trustees but no policies or resolutions have been created to suit the needs of the trustee...so much could be accomplished if we were all working together to ensure everyone is getting what they need to do their job as a representative of this village. Til then, I sadly think we will continue to have a divided board and divided village.

Website and IT Consulting Contract in FullAs prom

As promised, attached is the contract between Baxter & Woodman and the VOIL. The only page omitted for the privacy sake of the provider was the Terms and Conditions. Terms and Conditions may be public information but I am not the authority on that so I have omitted it.

Click on each to enlarge.

Northern Moraine Reclamation District Bill Increase (NMWRD)

While viewing the video from last weeks board meeting, during public comment, a resident asked the board why the sewage bills increased so much; he stated his went up as much as 35%! I too had seen my sewer bill and my eyes bulged out at the amount due; why was it so much higher than before? While the video was difficult to hear because of the combined ongoing problems of the air conditioner kicking on, mic's not working or not being used, whichever the cause, I could not hear the entire conversation, only bits and pieces and since I was not present at the meeting, I could only rely on the video provided by CBGIL; however, what little I did pick up, there was some question as to whether or not the increase had anything to do with the recent de-annexation of the NMWRD from the village.

Can't blame this increase on the de-annexation or the legislators who were responsible for the issues that led up to the district leaving the village. I spoke to an employee today regarding my own bill and how much it increased. I asked point blank if it had anything to do with the de-annexation and the employee was emphatic that the increase is due to annual increases they face from vendors such as ComEd and the cost is passed on to the customer.

As Americans energy costs increase, we are probably going to see similar increases in all utilities and services. If the now infamous or notorious, whichever way you look at it, Cap and Trade bill passes in the senate, our own President, Obama stated our energy costs would triple. This increase will no doubt have a domino effect on nearly everything, increasing costs. I'm not sure the regular American family can endure much more cost increases for staples such as electricity, water, and sewer, not to mention the rising cost of health insurance, food, fuel, etc.

So as far as the increase in the sewer bill, we can not blame the de-annexation for our increase.

Blog Nazi: Full Disclosure

Borrowing a reference from the popular sitcom, Seinfeld, I have been attacked by what I consider, in my opinion, the village "Blog Nazi," none other than Trustee Verciglio. Verciglio has repeatedly asked me to apologize for my blog and has over the last week suggested I remove certain language from my blog. I appreciate that he is an avid reader of the blog and website, however, that's all he is; he nor anyone else shall dictate my blog and website. His statements and suggestions which border an ultimatum in my opinion, have come in the form of email. He is not the only elected official who has attacked me for my blog, but he is the most aggressive in my opinion and in my opinion to wants to control me in the boardroom and on my blog. His attacks don't end with me; he recently suggested that village resident, Mr. Ptak apologize at the next board meeting for "misinforming" the public. It is this kind of mean arrogance that has divided this village. If a resident is misinformed or doesn't understand something, it is in my opinion, a knee-jerk reaction for certain elected officials to attack and demand apologies and recants etc... The village officials or employees can correct residents and ensure they are properly informed, but to ask a resident to apologize: the nerve! If the majority of this board and our Mayor is concerned about residents being properly informed, they can make moves to be more transparent, beginning with full disclosure via our village website; instead their focus, in my opinion, is on how to control me and the bookends with board policies; and the new FOIA law! Oh my, apparently it is an issue for some that the village may as well open up our file cabinets. Why do some in the government think public business is not the public's business?

This is what the hotly contested appointed trustee concerns himself with? If there was any wonder why three trustees contested the appointment of this trustee, I hope it is clear now.

The pot calling the kettle black

I just reviewed the Finance & Administration committee meeting. I could not attend this meeting due to ongoing health issues so there can be no accusations by anyone that I didn't bother to attend the meeting--I physically could not attend it. Now that we have cleared the air on that, let me give you, the public my reaction.

One of the issues I found in the hour long discussion on Board Policies is that the chairperson of this committee found that Board Policies to be priority for this committee (in my opinion) verses say, oh, village finances and how we can cut costs which should in my most humble opinion, include a mandatory policy that our village seek competitive bids for all projects and services the village purchases regularly except in the case of an emergency. I have not heard any valid reason for not bidding out work.

One of the major issues I have with these board policies is that in my opinion, they do not address the faults or shortcomings of all trustees; only it seems that the discussion was based around "they"; over and over I heard the reference of "they" not "we" leaving one to believe, in my opinion, the board policies are to keep trustees Rabattini, Ponio and Saville in line with what the Herrmann slate deems appropriate, not necessarily to create policies that fairly address all issues that concern all trustees and would eliminate much conflict. If these policies were meant to improve the communication and progress as a village, why then are there no policies to ensures nothing will come to vote without at least a public deliberation one week before voting? This has been a long ongoing problem with this board, yet nothing was put in these policies to address this problem. Second, there is nothing in the policies that requires trustees discuss all business with all trustees; for example, when censuring a trustee, no exclusion of any elected official as was the case in the censure of Trustee Saville; Trustee Ponio was excluded from discussions to censure Trustee Saville; why? as former Trustee Garling put it "you wouldn't have agreed" Also absent from policies was the promise to obey our own ordinances. A few months ago, then Trustee Garling posted executive session information on his blog, and to add fuel to the fire, what he posted was a settlement offer regarding ongoing litigation. There is an ordinance in which the ed, butlast board created to fine anyone who records what goes on in executive session; I think taking confidential material and publicizes it constitutes in my opinion, a "recording" publicizing a settlement offer is a gross violation of the litigation process, a violation to the litigator and of the ordinance, yet no action was taken against Garling including fining him for breaking the very law he voted for and no board policies were drawn up to address this sad and unprofessional act.

It is clear that this board does not get along and if you read between the lines, you also will see that too, and that's OK, we don't have to get along outside of the boardroom, but what's fair is fair and Trustee Mascillino decided to write up policies in which were based on, in my opinion, non-Herrmann slate elected officials whom have conducted themselves unbecoming to their standards, yet left out any flaws in their own behaviors as elected officials. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, isn't that right? Or in other words, it's like the pot calling the kettle black. I want to see policies added that will ensure future adherence to our ordinances, no exclusion of trustees and public deliberation at least one week prior to voting on anything that is not an emergency. I have many more ideas and will share them with the board PUBLICLY. I do not believe in opaque government on any issue--everything should be discussed open and support a transparent and honest government.

7-9-09 Board Meeting Available @ CBGIL

http://www.cbgil.com/meetings.html

7-9-09 Agenda Available @ CBGIL

http://www.cbgil.com/meetings.html

7-7-09 Finance and Administration Meeting Available @ CBGIL

http://www.cbgil.com/meetings.html

New Feature on CBGIL website

Currently under construction and scheduled to launch June 13, 2009 is a new Village Contracts & Spending website page on CBGIL.com. The need for transparent government is important to me and to the citizens of the Village of Island Lake. This new page will include electronic versions of the monthly bill sheets, 2009-10 (and future) budget, public contracts and spending by the village. In the meantime, I have already begun creating an electronic version of the monthly bill sheets. While the new page is under construction, you can find the bill sheets electronically on the CBGIL "Village Budget" page.

CBGIL will post the bill sheets each month so residents can easily view in an electronic format what expenses the village is incurring and paying for. The same information is available for public view in hard copy format, however, to provide full disclosure to all residents as conveniently as possible, CBGIL will provide this information as a public service.

It is my hope that our village will soon employ a webmaster/website builder and will make these documents available as a policy of transparency. However, in the meantime, please feel free to visit www.cbgil.com.

Contract for Web/Computer Consulting

For all those who have been following the blog, you know that I have been waiting to receive a copy of the contract between the village and Baxter & Woodman regarding computer consulting services. I did finally receive a copy of the contract.

In reviewing the contract, it is my observation that there was no contract to build a website, only to make updates as needed. 1,000 hours was contracted out for this service, among other services which totaled $23,916. Let me be very clear: I am not insinuating that B&W underperformed or did not meet their contractual obligations.

My issue is that this was a $24k contract with no bid! This is unacceptable! While this contract has expired, I've been told that the village (who is the village?) is in negotiations. I'm not aware of those negotiations or what they entail but regardless, I think we should put this work out for BID! We must seek competitive bids for the products and services our village purchases. There may be advantages to re-signing this contract with B&W, given our established relationship with them, however, we must ensure we are getting a good, competitive price and that is done by PUBLIC BID! We are a public entity and there is no excuse in my opinion that this contract should be renewed without a competitive bid from at least two other sources. An apples to apples comparison of services and pricing. Gone- should be the days of no bid contracts for regular services and products without a contract. This is YOUR money, folks! You should know how the village is spending it.

Below is a snapshot of the services offered and pricing. Full disclosure of the contract is pending. Click on the picture to enlarge.



t.

REVISED: Village 4th of July parade; Happy Independence Day

Village of Island Lake is holding a 4th of July parade and celebration to follow.
The parade begins at 10 a.m. at Kemper Valve (Burnett road). A picnic will be held following the parade at Veterans Park. It will be held between 11-2 offering free food, free games and activities for kids and adults. Also, a DJ and patriotic ceremony are planned.






Happy 4th of July all! The celebration of the birth of the greatest nation on Earth. This may be a good time to reflect on the men and women serving in the military, no matter where they are stationed, they are serving us. Also, think of the American soldier who has recently been kidnapped in Afghanistan. Think of the sacrifices so many have made so we may live more free than any man on Earth. Think of the citizens in Iran, protesting and demanding their voice (votes) be heard; a voice so loud, it is heard over the death of its protesters as life is something they are willing to give up in order to ensure a better future for their family and country. This is not too different from what our forefathers did when fighting for independence from English King; freedom to pursue their religion of choice without persecution; freedom to speak freely, and to form a government that would be the envy of the world, still, over two hundred years later.

While watching and enjoying fireworks where ever you decide to go, think of how the tradition began. As Francis Scott Key wrote the words of our national anthem during the war of 1812, as he watched a battle over the harbor, bombs bursting in the air, men fighting and in the end when the sun dawned, the American flag was still standing. I often wish I could have lived during the American Revolutionary period; not for the political turmoil, war and unrest, but the brave souls and hearts soaring for freedom and justice for all. I love our country, the way it is and I don't want it to change.

Let's all be thankful that we live in this great country. And while you may be experiencing some tough times, think of the people living in countries less fortunate than ours; less fortunate in their wealth, health, and freedom and lack of rights to the pursuit of happiness. liberty and justice. Salute our flag, salute our servicemen and women and love your family and appreciate the moment.

I will be celebrating, as I do every day for my fortunate luck to be alive in the United States of America. I love you America: Happy birthday!

July Watercooler

What can the Village of Island Lake do to improve traffic and transportation?

While many ideas have been put out there over the years and currently the intersection at Darrell & Burnett is getting a much needed improvement and enhancements, what additional transportation needs are residents looking for? While the VOIL should seek as much funding as possible, we should do so wisely and with a plan. Simply throwing darts at grants to see what comes back probably wouldn't serve us best.

Békés, Hungary." style="border: medium none ; display: block;" width="300" height="262">Image via Wikipedia

There are some specific improvements I would like to see, but I want to know what you, the people think. So residents, please answer the question: What improvements or enhancements would you like to see the VOIL pursue? Keep in mind, roads such as Rte 176, River and Roberts Road are not village roads, however, in working with the state and county entities we as a village could prioritize where we search for funding and projects based on the needs and wants of residents.

Notice: Finance and Administration Committee Meeting

Attached is the agenda for the upcoming Tuesday, July 7 public meeting of the Finance and Administration meeting.

All Trustees and Public are of course, welcome.

Click on picture to enlarge.

ALERT: Thursday, July 2 Board Meeting CANCELED

Due to the lack of a quorum, this meeting has been canceled.

Agenda for Thursday July 2 Committee Meeting

Click image to enlarge it.