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SAUK VILLAGER NEWS- Requested this information
through the Freedom of Information Act. The Village
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SAUK VILLAGE | Village Trustee Derrick Burgess, a Mayoral candidate, blasted fellow Trustees on Tuesday night for remaining silent while the Village's water fund is being drained without accountability and proper oversight. According to a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by the Sauk Villager News, the administration of David Hanks has taken $1.8 million from the water fund, including over $600,000 in just the past 60 days!
At Tuesday night's meeting Burgess asked Mayor David Hanks and the Trustees he controls, multiple times “which trustees gave you their consent to withdraw money from the water fund and when, since there had been no meetings and no public vote requesting the withdrawals” Burgess asked. Trustees Cecial Tates and Kelvin Jones emphatically confirmed that neither gave any consent to move or borrow any money.
However, Trustee Rosie Baig, Trustee Lynda House, both mayoral candidates in the upcoming election and Trustee Ed Myers, who is running for re-election sat virtually silent with heads down as Burgess pressed the issue demanding an answer. "Who gave their consent to do this" Burgess asked multiple times. Still Hanks wanted to move on with the meeting as his allied Trustees played mute and dumb.
As you may recall, Burgess, Tates and Jones each voted "NO" to the Village's Budget in 2015 and in 2016 declaring them "unbalanced and irresponsible". Hanks and the Trustees he controls insisted the budget was balanced. End of story, let's move on, said Hanks after each annual vote of consent.
At Tuesday night's meeting Burgess asked Mayor David Hanks and the Trustees he controls, multiple times “which trustees gave you their consent to withdraw money from the water fund and when, since there had been no meetings and no public vote requesting the withdrawals” Burgess asked. Trustees Cecial Tates and Kelvin Jones emphatically confirmed that neither gave any consent to move or borrow any money.
However, Trustee Rosie Baig, Trustee Lynda House, both mayoral candidates in the upcoming election and Trustee Ed Myers, who is running for re-election sat virtually silent with heads down as Burgess pressed the issue demanding an answer. "Who gave their consent to do this" Burgess asked multiple times. Still Hanks wanted to move on with the meeting as his allied Trustees played mute and dumb.
As you may recall, Burgess, Tates and Jones each voted "NO" to the Village's Budget in 2015 and in 2016 declaring them "unbalanced and irresponsible". Hanks and the Trustees he controls insisted the budget was balanced. End of story, let's move on, said Hanks after each annual vote of consent.
The Village Board took action in November of 2010 to block the mayor from arbitrarily taking money
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Ordinance Passed by votes of Rosie Williams, David
Hanks, Ed Myers and Derrick Burgess November
9, 2010- But no such action required with the
current administration
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from the water fund and passed an ordinance
[1] requiring the Village’s General Fund to repay the Water Fund. Trustee Rosie Williams said at that time “that the Board is informed when funds are borrowed in order to keep a record of what amount needs to be paid back” according to the official village record.[2]
Hanks himself stated in November, 2010 “that it should be made clear that these funds were borrowed temporarily to meet payroll and it is the intent of the Board to pay those funds back” according to the official record. [3]
"When you don't have a balanced budget, then have to borrow $1.8 million dollars with no public votes by the Board of Trustees, I have a problem with that" Burgess said, "and so would the residents if they knew. Under Illinois law, a village can "borrow" money from another fund, however, the fund must be paid back before the end of the fiscal year," Burgess said.
"Our Finance Committee chaired by Rosie Baig doesn't report anything on this matter. But she can pontificate forever about things of minutiae. The Finance Director is commanded by David Hanks not to attend meetings so he can answer questions. But he (Hanks) believes we should vote on accounts payables without getting answers? He's out of his mind" Tates said.
Now the Village's water fund is owed $1.8 million from the Village's General Fund, over $800,000 has been drained off the water fund since the end of October, 2016 until the end of December (a 60 day period.
Burgess's demand for information regarding the accounts payable which totaled over $1 million dollars went virtually unanswered by Hanks as he could not answer where the money had come from to pay for employees' pay raises and retroactive pay for contracts that were voted on at a prior meeting. Burgess, Tates and Jones voted no on the accounts payable as Hanks refused to provide answers while Baig, House and Myers voted yes and Hanks broke the tie.
"When you don't have a balanced budget, then have to borrow $1.8 million dollars with no public votes by the Board of Trustees, I have a problem with that" Burgess said, "and so would the residents if they knew. Under Illinois law, a village can "borrow" money from another fund, however, the fund must be paid back before the end of the fiscal year," Burgess said.
"Our Finance Committee chaired by Rosie Baig doesn't report anything on this matter. But she can pontificate forever about things of minutiae. The Finance Director is commanded by David Hanks not to attend meetings so he can answer questions. But he (Hanks) believes we should vote on accounts payables without getting answers? He's out of his mind" Tates said.
Now the Village's water fund is owed $1.8 million from the Village's General Fund, over $800,000 has been drained off the water fund since the end of October, 2016 until the end of December (a 60 day period.
Burgess's demand for information regarding the accounts payable which totaled over $1 million dollars went virtually unanswered by Hanks as he could not answer where the money had come from to pay for employees' pay raises and retroactive pay for contracts that were voted on at a prior meeting. Burgess, Tates and Jones voted no on the accounts payable as Hanks refused to provide answers while Baig, House and Myers voted yes and Hanks broke the tie.
[1] Ordinance 10-047
[2] Village of Sauk Village official Village Board Meeting Minutes of November 9, 2010
[3] Village of Sauk Village official Village Board Meeting Minutes of November 9, 2010
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