Kendall County

76 Pages·2014·41.85 MB·English

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©Copyright 2013, Kendall County Record Inc.
©Copyright 2014, Kendall County Record Inc.
Board members may have to pay back per diems
State’s attorney talks investigation results with special county panel
By Matt Schury “These were the actual words used— “Round—R-O-U-N-D planning—I have and I had a very hard time discerning
‘round planning’” Weis told the board no clue.” some of the language that’s in there,”
“Round planning” toward the end of presentation to the He added that he gives Ferko a lot of Weis said. “That’s an example, I don’t
That’s one of the more puzzling committee. credit for deciphering written per diem know what to do with that meeting.
reasons a Kendall County Board member “You tell me what meeting that goes requests that can at times be cryptic. Going forward—create a form that has
claimed an $84 per diem for attending a to because I have no idea,” Weis said. “I had to try to read these documents continued on page 7
meeting, according to the recent findings
of a forensic audit looking into how board
members were compensated.
Kendall County State’s Attorney Eric
Weis spoke to the County Board’s Per
Diem Ad Hoc Committee for about an
hour Thursday regarding the findings of
a forensic audit that has taken almost two
years to complete.
While Weis didn’t get into the specifics
of which board members owed money and
how much they might have to pay back,
he did give the five member panel an
idea of what types of violations had been
occurring.
Weis broke the potential issues up into
those he saw as straightforward violations
that he suggested the committee pursue
restitution for, which he dubbed as
“red” and those that were a little more
ambiguous that he dubbed “yellow.”
Weis said that all 11 of the board
members mentioned in the audit and under
investigation had a violation that fell into
the red category.
Current Kendall County Board members
under investigation include Chairman
John Shaw, John Purcell, Dan Koukol,
Elizabeth Flowers and Jeff Wehrli. Former
board members included in the audit
and investigation include Anne Vickery,
Nancy Martin, Bob Davidson, Suzanne
Petrella, Pam Parr and Jessie Hafenritcher.
The “round planning” meeting
mentioned by Weis was in his yellow
category. The remark was written on a
voucher that a board member turned in
The Land of Oz comes to the Yorkville Middle School this Friday and Saturday night when 62 Yorkville students in fourth
to Treasurer Jill Ferko’s office sometime
through sixth grade perform “The Wizard of Oz.” Among those rehearsing for the event are, left to right, Kendall Miller, a
between 2008 and 2012, the time frame
Yorkville Intermediate School fifth grader, as the Wicked Witch; Ryan Boyd, Yorkville Intermediate sixth grader as Glinda;
for which the auditing firm reviewed per
and Piper Senft, a Bristol Bay Elementary School sixth grader, as Dorothy. Tickets are $5 in advance from www.showtix4u.
diem payments.
com or $7 at the door. Performances are at 7 p.m. each night. (Record Photo by Eric Miller)
Aldermen look at future funding of streets program
Options include bonding or spending as they go over next several years
By Tony Scott The final decision will be worked into infrastructure fee on residents’ utility bills “It seems like every year we’re doing it
the city’s new budget when it’s approved helps to fund approximately $1 million in now,” he said. “The problem, long term,
Funding the Road to Better Roads sometime in April. annual costs for the program. though, is there’s some big problems
program in Yorkville might include an “Is there a way to fund this without Kot said that when the fee was instituted, coming that, there’s no way we can fill the
increase in fees to help pay for street raising rates or fees?” Alderman Larry he received calls and emails that were bucket to pay out the dollars that are doing
repairs. Kot asked City Administrator Bart Olson. “negative for the most part.” to be needed. So we have a planning issue
The City Council at its Jan. 28 meeting “I don’t think so,” Olson replied. “Most “I’m very reluctant to raise fees or add with funding this thing.”
looked at two options: should the city bond of our expense in the water and sewer new fees,” he said. Koch said the city could put a
for the costs, or should it do a pay-as-you- fund is going to be related to debt. We Alderman Ken Koch said he was also referendum for a bond issue on the ballot
go plan that would differ every year? have a lot of debt; it’s fixed. We really wary of increasing fees or rates. to help fund the program “to see if people
can’t refinance it just given the terms of really want their roads fixed.”
“There’s really not the bonds at this point. We have a lot of “Now we have “That will tell us where we’re at,” he
capital projects coming down the road that said.
much else you can aren’t related to Road to Better Roads.” some money, but we Alderman Diane Teeling said the city
Those non-program expenses include a should have “figured out what it was
do.” $1 million water main relocation as part of don’t have enough.” gonna take before we instituted a fee.” She
the Route 71 improvements, Olson said. also said she was against raising fees.
Bart Olson “The answer is no – there’s really not Diane Teeling “Now we have some money, but we
much else you can do,” Olson said. don’t have enough,” she said.
City Administrator Alderman
Currently an $8 monthly road
continued on page 2