FORENSIC AUDIT ORDERED BY PENSION FUND FOLLOWING ARREST OF TREASURER

SAUK VILLAGE |  The Sauk Village Police Pension Board met in an emergency meeting yesterday at Village Hall.  Village Treasurer James Griegel, who also sits on the Pension Board was not present for yesterday's meeting.  Griegel was arrested last week for purchasing heroin for sex and later admitted to writing checks from the Pension Fund according to Sauk Village Police Chief Robert Kowalski's statement to the media.  Griegel has been placed on "unpaid administrative leave" according to media reports and no calls for his resignation have come from the Mayor David Hanks.

The Pension Board consists of retired Sauk Village Police Sergeant Ted Sanders, current police members Sergeants Rebecca Sailsbery and Scott Langan and also resident William Bishop along with Griegel.  The Board is separate and autonomous from the Mayor and Village government, however under Illinois law the Village's Treasurer serves on the pension boards. 

Pension Board Members went into a closed session and came back out voting to approve a forensic audit of the entire Pension Fund according to Pension Board Attorney Cary Collins.  The vote was unanimous.  Sanders, who serves as Board President, will be contacting the auditors for the pension fund, Mulcahy, Pauritsch, Salvador and Co to obtain the costs for the audit.  Sanders will report back to the Pension Board at their regular meeting January 21st.  The Pension Board also voted on a Resolution to remove Griegel from the Pension Board's bank accounts and added Bishop as a signer to the account.

The Village has not been making regular contribution to the pension fund, required under Illinois law.  The Village owes the pension fund over $2 million according to audit reports.  The State of Illinois will begin allowing, this year, Pension Boards to appropriate state monies intended for villages General Funds to make up the shortages owed by villages to their pension funds statewide.  Village's have been balancing their budgets with funds intended for pension funds.

HANKS HALTS PENSION PAYMENTS

Mayor David Hanks

By Joseph Wiszowaty

SAUK VILLAGE |  David Hanks made good on his threat to stop payment to the Police Pension Fund.  Hanks notified the public at Tuesday’s meeting that he has notified, through the Village’s attorney, Pension Board Attorney Cary Collins that the Village will not make any payments, including the $1.7 million it has owed the pension fund over the last four years, until the Pension Board gets their audits completed.

 

Hanks borrowed a move out of former Mayor Lewis Towers' play book.  “I have also notified Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart that they (the Pension Board) have not completed their audits” Hanks said.  Hanks said that the pension board has had the same amount of time as the Village to get their audits complete but has “refused to do so”.  The Village still has not completed their audit reports and is currently delinquent for one year still and is due for the 2013-14 fiscal year now as well.  The state of Illinois did not withhold payments to the village for not completing their audits for 4 years.

 

In the past, the Village’s auditors would notify the pension board that they were completing the village’s audit and would also audit the pension fund.  That practice stopped under Lewis Towers and apparently remains the practice under Hanks’ administration as well according to Collins.

 

It is uncertain if the Police Pension Fund Board will sue the Village over the matter since the last 4 years the Village has balanced the budget with the money intended for police pension contributions.  Hanks cited no law which would allow him arbitrarily to withhold funding to the Police Pension fund, and it is also uncertain if Hanks will withhold the amount deducted from police officers pay from being put into the pension fund.

TAXPAYERS COULD FACE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PENSION MESS

By Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  The Sauk Village Police Pension Board met Thursday afternoon  and while the Pension Fund is solvent and earning money the Village taxpayers could be on the hook for millions of unfunded liabilities because the Village officials are not contributing.  The Village has not made their contributions to the Police Pension Fund in over 4 years, including this year according to Village Treasurer James Griegel.

Longtime resident Judy Cast, who is a widow of the late Sergeant Alan Cast, attended the Pension Board meeting looking for answers.  “I have FOIA’ed (Freedom of Information Act Request) this information and I do receive my late husband’s pension.  I don’t understand why this group has not had an audit.  This group with all these intelligent people in here, why don’t we have an audit” Cast asked.

Pension Board Attorney Cary Collins, attorney with Collins and Radja, who has served as the Pension Board attorney for about 25 years explained  “Usually the village has someone (doing their audit) and that person will come in and do our (the pension board’s audit) for a fee.  Presently no one has told us that they are doing the village’s audit and would be willing to do our audit” Collins said.  “We’re required to do it (the audit)” Collins said to which Cast responded “but it’s not being done”.

“How much is the village supposed to be putting into the pension fund” Cast inquired during the meeting.  Collins responded stating that the Pension Board files with the state Department of Insurance a financial report who in turn provides an actuarial study, the Pension Board submits the study to the village, the Pension board also provides the village board with an additional actuarial study from another source as a second opinion along with a request for a tax levy.  The Village is suppose to act on the Pension Board’s recommendation and levy (or collect) the property taxes to fund the pension. 

Cast continued to ask questions.  “How much does the village owe the pension fund”?  Cast submitted this in her original Freedom of Information Act request she stated to the Pension Board.  “I just got an estimate from the auditors here for the last four or five years the amount is approximately $1.7 million” Griegel reported to the Pension Board.

Collins indicated to the Board that the Pension Fund must be “fully funded” by 2040.  “So what happens is that shortfall carries over which increases the annual tax levy requirement” Collins said.  “You pay me now or you’re going to pay me later, later is going to be a lot higher” Collins said.  “They have shorted us over the years.  That shortfall rolls over each year into the ‘unfunded liability’” Collin said.  The current “unfunded liability” to the Police Pension Fund is nearly $6 million.  Collins summed it up by saying “When they (the Village) shorts us it’s like kicking the can down the road”.

“At one time this pension fund was 100% funded” Collins said.  Collins suggested that many municipalities plugged up financial holes in their budgets by underfunding their pensions.  The Village’s pension is currently only funded at about 52% according to financial reports.

The Police Pension has not been audited in several years and will be engaging the services of MPS (Mulcahy, Pauriitsh, Salvador & Company LTD) out of Orland Park, Illinois to perform and complete their audit reports.

Pension Board President and former Sauk Village Police Sergeant Theodore “Ted” Sanders said when he came and saw the mess that the pension  was in he wanted to come back and do something to make things right.  “We’re currently exceeding our target of actuarial projections and overall the pension fund is in good shape” Sanders said.  But Sanders and the Pension Board expect the village to do their part and will work hard to ensure that the pension fund remains solvent.

The Pension Board consists of Griegel, Sanders, who is President of the Board, Sergeants Scott Langen and Rebecca Sailsbery and resident Pat Couch.  Both Salisbury and Couch were not in attendance Thursday.

 

Original material, copyright 2014 Sauk Villager News; all rights reserved.