HANKS & WILLIAMS NO TRANSPARENCY

OPINION EDITORIAL
SAUK VILLAGER NEWS

The administration of Sauk Village Mayor David Hanks and his lead Bobble Head Trustee Rosie Williams continue to do everything they can to prevent the public from obtaining information.  Including invoking the taxpayer funded attorney to do their dirty work instead off issuing a simple "form letter" that they could obtain from the Attorney General's web page!  What is more disturbing is that instead of being open, honest and transparent, this dynamic duo have led an effort to keep Village business closed off from the public, conducted in the back office and veiled in secrecy.  Without even mentioning the numerous other occurences about "consensus" votes via email to the village trustees instead of conducting actual recorded votes at public meetings, but we're talking about this budget that they put together with chicken wire from the Hanks farm!  Hanks plops it down and asks the Trustees to hurry up review it and let's ram rod this piece of crap down the taxpayers throats before they taste it.  Mayors in successful communities do not have a budget process so closed so cloaked and so stupid as David Hanks.

This year's budget is yet another example of this administration's lack of transparency.  Hanks submitted his secret clandestine budget to his so-called Budget and Finance Committee on April 12th.  Rosie Williams is the chairperson of the Budget and Finance Committee and her co-chair Trustee Ed Myers.  A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on April 12th for a copy of the documents submitted to the Budget and Finance Committee by Hanks was refused.  The Village, through their paid legal team, denied the FOIA request claiming that this was a "draft" and therefore this was "exempt" under FOIA. 

The Illinois Attorney General was asked to intervene and issue an opinion on this matter, since the Village's Ordinance #15-012 which created the Budget and Finance Committee states "The Village's Finance Director shall make ever effort to submit to the Finance Committee, on or before March 15th of each fiscal year, a proposed budget for the next fiscal year..."  Any document submitted to a public body, like the Finance Committee, is a public document subject to the act we contended in our response to the Village's denial.

The million dollar question to all of this?  What the hell are they hiding in the first place?  Why not put out for the public to see what numbers you are proposing in your budget?  Over the last several days we heard your numbers discussed in an open meeting!  Then your arrogant head Bobble Head Rosie Williams was heard saying during the meeting "oh look he has a copy of the budget already...".  Well newsflash know-it-all Rosie Williams, the budget I had and was following was from last year that you voted on!  It clearly wasn't balanced then as you voted YES to and from what I heard neither is this budget which you will vote YES to and offered no solutions to the many many problems that the Village faces. 

CHIEF CHANGES HIS MIND & COMPUTER EQUIPMENT STILL NOT BEING USED

SAUK VILLAGE |  Police radio traffic from CalCom yesterday indicated that their phone lines were down, but apparently rookie Sauk Village Police Chief Robert Kowalski didn't get memo from CalCom.

Longtime resident Judy Cast, said she had heard CalCom on her police scanner, called this out at Tuesday's Village Board Meeting.  Initially Mayor David Hanks and Kowalski denied that the phones went down, but later during the meeting after Kowalski walked out into the hallway and was seen on his phone, came back in and corrected himself.

To confirm the fact that the phone lines were down, calls were made to CalCom's Dispatch center and nobody answered the calls for nearly 30 minutes.

This has not been the first hiccup with CalCom and Sauk Village.  It has been previously reported that CalCom could not dispatch calls for two hours in October and that earlier on they could not properly dispatch the Sauk Village Fire Department by properly toning out fire calls.  Sauk Village had it's own dispatchers since the 1960s.   Hanks rushed through the approval of the CalCom contract following the April election when two of Hanks' allied Trustees whom he controlled did not win and voted to approve the contract with CalCom during the lame-duck days of their terms.  Village Trustees allied with Hanks who voted for the CalCom contract are Rosie Williams, Ed Myers and Lynda Washington.

The State of Illinois mandated that dispatch centers serve populations of 25,000 or greater to save money, however, CalCom still is not within the State mandate.

Also Cast blasted the fact that the Village spent over $200,000 on computer equipment for the Police and Fire Departments so that it could work with CalCom's dispatch software and to date the equipment still is not functioning.  None of the money was included in the Village's budget, nor in the Village's appropriations ordinance according to some Village Trustees.  Hanks voted to break the tie in 2015 to pass the Village's budget. 

"This did not save the Village money, who are they kidding" Cast said.

NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH BECOMING LYNDA WASHINGON'S POLITICAL PAWN?

LYNDA WASHINGTON-HOUSE

SAUK VILLAGER | Village Trustee Lynda Washington, who announced last year she is running for Mayor, is having many problems with the members of her Neighborhood Watch Committee who do not agree with her.  Some members of her committee are calling the Neighborhood Watch Committee a "political pawn" of Washington to further her campaign for Mayor in 2017. 

One member of Washington’s committee helped volunteer for the recent Easter Egg Hunt, which was sponsored by the Parks and Recreation Committee, a committee that Washington herself co-chairs with Trustee Kelvin Jones.  Washington, who showed up late for the event last Saturday didn’t even bother to help out during the event yet one of her Neighborhood Watch members did and now is off the Neighborhood Watch Committee as a result.

In a phone interview with Rachel Eastman, who has served as the Secretary for the Neighborhood Watch Committee finds herself at odds with Washington.  “The Neighborhood Watch Committee has become way too political, and not at all what it was originally about” Eastman said.  The catalyst for this drama was the recent Easter Egg Hunt according to Eastman.  “All this because I helped Parks and Recs.  I should still be able to do what I want no matter who’s running for mayor.  I don’t have to waste my time with Neighborhood Watch, I can start helping Parks and Rec and the Beautification Committees, maybe they will value me” Eastman said.

“She (Washington) takes zero responsibility for what she does.  Mayoral material I think not” Eastman said.  “I was kicked off the committee because I actually helped the Parks and Rec Committee with the Easter Egg Hunt, a committee that she (Washington) is suppose to be co-chair, and yet she did nothing for” Eastman said.

Eastman also said that tickets for the "live play" being put on by Washington and the Neighborhood Watch Committee are suppose to be selling for $10 each and she was not having any luck selling them, while Washington has been giving them away according to Eastman.  “I have put a lot of time and energy into the Neighborhood Watch program for Sauk Village, the back to school book bag giveaways and to be treated so badly because I was helping out Parks and Rec.  Lynda is suppose to be co-chair for Parks and Rec and yet she didn’t do a thing to help with the Easter Egg Hunt” Eastman said.

“I’m not going to be a part of her (Washington’s) campaign and not used like that” Eastman said.  “There are other members who feel the same way”.

Eastman still plans to stay involved and will continue to volunteer despite Washington’s actions to remove her.  “How do you fire a volunteer” Eastman wondered.  "So if someone wants to be a part of Neighborhood Watch but happens to volunteer for things Lynda (Washington) doesn't like then too bad, it's her way or you're out" Eastman said.

Attempts were made to reach Washington for response went unanswered.

FINANCE TOPS TOWN HALL MEETING

Trustee Derrick Burgess

SAUK VILLAGE |  The finances of the Village topped the discussion at Wednesday's monthly Town Hall Meeting.  Trustee Derrick Burgess hosts a monthly Town Hall meeting on the third Wednesday of each month at which residents can discuss matters of the Village without time limits as are imposed during Village Board meetings.

Latasha Harris started off the questioning and asked Burgess "what is the state of the Village's finances"?  It was revealed that the Village's actual deficits have not really come down much at all.  Mayor David Hanks made public statements that the village's "deficit" has come down by $2 million, however, Burgess confirmed that is not the case.  According to the Village's annual audit report the village's "net financial position" changed by $2 million which he attributed to the Village not taking depreciation on assets and the addition of the Air Strippers.  "Had nothing to do with brilliant financial management" Burgess said.

It was also revealed that the Village' accounts payable aging report (the amount of bills piling up) has actually increased since 2012.  Burgess confirmed that the aging report numbers have gone up since 2012 according to the audit report.  The Village has been carrying unpaid bills to the tune of $1.1 million according to the audit report. 

Residents also learned that the change over for the Village's dispatch service to CalComm did not save the village much money at all this last year.  The additional costs for computer equipment and other expenses, not budgeted for in 2015-16's budget last year pushed the dispatch expense far higher than the Hanks Administration anticipated.  Burgess along with Trustees Cecial Tates, and Kelvin Jones voted no on the budget.  "You could see that the budget was not balanced when you looked at the numbers.  I made proposals and tried to give the other Trustees information so we could make an informed decision." Burgess said.  "I will wait to see what the Budget and Finance Committee and the Village Administrator have to say about the budget this time.  I don't expect that this budget will be truly balanced until they address our outstanding bills and our interfund deficits" Burgess said following the meeting.

"The proof is in the numbers" Burgess said following the Town Hall meeting.  "Don't take my word for it see the audit report for yourself, the numbers do not lie" Burgess said.

Residents also voiced concerns about noise at night across the street from Candlelight Village mobile home park.  One resident stated she has lived here for 6 years and the noise continues all night long.  Truck trailers are being dragged and one cannot sleep she said.  The same resident voiced concerns about the matter at Tuesday's village board committee of the whole meeting.  Hanks will be advised to look into the matter to see what the company can do to mitigate the excessive noise during the night hours.

HANKS NOT TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT VILLAGE MONEY

SAUK VILLAGE |  Bills keep piling up at Village Hall these days.  The Village currently has outstanding bills totaling $831,315.79 according to a Freedom of Information Act request we filed and received.  $381,000 is more than 120 days past due according to the Village’s Accounts Payable Aging Report dated March 8^th.

 

Mayor David Hanks has been tapping the Village’s Water and Noise Mitigation Funds to pay its employees and other expenses, even though he claims there is a “balanced budget”.  Hanks did not budget any money to be borrowed from the Water or other funds.   According to our Freedom of Information Act request, as of November 20, 2015, $1,266,175 had been withdrawn and as of March 8^th,  the amount owed was still at $1,247,367.  Hanks recently paid back a paltry $350,000 to the water fund. 

 

In 2015, Village Trustee Derrick Burgess called Hanks’ proposed budget “unbalanced and irresponsible”.  “The constant need for inter fund borrowing clearly shows that this budget was not balanced.  When we are forced to repeatedly borrow money to pay bills because of Hanks' over estimating revenues and under projecting expenses, that is not balanced”, Burgess said.  Burgess criticized Hanks budget last year for not taking into consideration the accounts payable aging report.  “How can you call this balanced when you aren’t budgeting your bills?” Burgess said.  Burgess voted no for the 2014-15 Budget and for 2015-16 Budget along with Trustees Cecial Tates and Kelvin Jones.  Trustees allied with Hanks, Rosie Williams, Lynda Washington and Ed Myers helped him to pass the unbalanced budget since he's been in office as mayor.  Hanks had to cast the tie-breaking vote to approve the unbalanced budget in May, 2015.

 

“This is irresponsible.  He (Hanks) said that we historically have had to borrow $500,000 from the water fund to pay payroll.  $1.2 million is not $500,000, let’s get that straight.  This administration is not being open, honest, or transparent with the  residents” Trustee Cecial Tates said following a recent Village Board meeting. 

 

All information is taken from the Village's Audit reports from 2009 to 2015

The Village’s recent audit report shows the Village owes virtually $1.1 million in outstanding bills from 2014 to 2015.  Hanks erroneously and proudly stated at a recent board meeting that the Village’s deficit had been reduced by $3.2 million; however, the audit reveals that the Village still has enormous deficits in the various funds which have not been reduced. 

 

The Village’s audit report also reveals that the accounts payable aging report has skyrocked under David Hanks from 2012 to 2015.  When he took over as acting-Mayor in November, 2012 the Village owed $748,536 in outstanding bills.  This amount increased slightly to $800,715 by April 30, 2013 and ballooned to $1.1 million by April 30, 2014 and stayed the same as of the most recent audit at $1.1 million. 

 

Hanks has said on more than one occasion since 2013 that he has reduced the outstanding accounts payable aging report from when he took over as Mayor in 2012.  However, village audit reports clearly indicate otherwise. 

 

“This is not being honest with the people’s money” Tates said.  "Doing what is right with the taxpayers money should not involve politics, just common sense which is apparently not too common these days" Tates said.

SAUK VILLAGE FINANCIAL MESS - WHERE THE HELL IS THE MONEY GOING?

This is the eight and the final in a series of revelations of the 2014-15 Audit Report.  The Village was delinquent in filing their audit with the Illinois Comptroller (due December 26, 2015).  The Audit report (see attached link at the end of this report) reveals the status quo with the Village finances continues with 3 years into David Hanks’ Administration.

SAUK VILLAGE |  When it came to the “Watergate Scandal” where money was spent from the Water Fund for a grass cutting scheme not included in the Village’s Budget in 2014.  Trustee Derrick Burgess exposed that scandal because of his tenacity and the questions he asked.  Burgess, at that time was the only Village Trustee who dared ask the Hanks Administration how money was being spent.  Burgess criticized the Hanks Administration for irresponsible spending of water funds without the Village Board’s approval at that time.
 
The Village applied for and received a grant from the State of Illinois and one of the items the grant would cover was for mowing lawns for vacant homes.  The glitch was that the Village had to pay for the project beforehand and get reimbursed later.  None of this was discussed during the Budget process and no funds were budgeted for the program.  The Hanks administration and the Housing Commission had people out mowing lawns with no way to pay those doing the service and scrambled to take money from the water fund without the Village Board's approval.  The grant was suspended by the State of Illinois due to the financial fiasco of the State.

This past week, it was learned that a former fire fighter mowed some lawns under the program in 2014 to the tune of $650, but the Village incorrectly reported that this individual was paid $65,000 and now the Internal Revenue Service wants $27,000 from this person for taxes and penalties.  The IRS is investigating the matter.

Now let’s take a look at the 2014-15 Audit Report Management letter which found some very irresponsible actions reported.  The following is an excerpt from the letter:

14.   Grant Tracking (Repeated from Prior Year)

The Village lacks an adequate system to track grant revenues and related expenditures.  We recommend that the Village create a system to track grant revenues and related expenditure, to ensure that both revenues and expenditures are properly recorded in the correct period.

(Editorial Note:  Trustee Derrick Burgess made this very recommendation to Mayor David Hanks and to the Village Board during the Budget hearings in the summer of 2014.  Burgess suggested that Grant monies not be allocated under the departmental line items, however, Hanks scoffed at the idea in a two hour diatribe before they passed the budget by a 5 to 1 vote, Burgess the only NO vote; Trustees voting yes: Rosie Williams, Lynda Washington, Ed Myers former Trustees John Poskin and Jeff Morden)

15.   Sauk Village Housing Commission

The Village did not properly establish the Sauk Village Housing Commission (the Commission) as an agency fund of the Village.  The Commission was established during fiscal year 2015, and meets the criteria for recognition as an agency fund of the Village due to the nature of the relationship between the Village and Commission.  We recommend that the Village give appropriate consideration to the nature of potential agency and other fiduciary relationships that may occur in the future, to ensure their proper recording in the Village’s financial statements.

(Editorial Note:  The Hanks Administration is running the Housing Commission, whose sole purpose is for enforcing Fair Housing laws, as a “Housing Authority”.  Many are of the opinion that this violates Illinois law and that the Housing Commission has overstepped their legal mandate and authority.)

16.   Sauk Village Housing Commission- Cash Handling

During fiscal year 2015, a cash withdrawal was made an automatic teller machine (ATM), from the Sauk Village Housing Commission bank account.  The Sauk Village Housing Commission is an agency fund of the Village.  Per management, the withdrawal was made by a commissioner of the Sauk Village Housing Commission.  We recommend that the Village discourage the use of ATM transaction, and instead reinforce the need to process all transactions through the internal controls of the Village.

(Editorial Note:  Wow!  This is truly amazing!  No other community allows non-bonded people to be a signer on an account and none allow one to have an ATM card so they could clean the account out.  This is ripe for fraud, misappropriation of funds when people are permitted to do this)

An expert on Illinois Municipal Finance, intimately familiar with Sauk Village’s financial history reviewed the Village’s audit and management letter and stated the following:   “I don't believe any of these are just normal issues.  In a well run environment, none of these issues should occur.  There should always be a system of "double-check" in order to eliminate any possibility of wrongdoing.  We have many of these safeguards in place to prevent fraud and provide transparency with taxpayer’s money.   What I don't get is the lack of attention being paid to account receivables.  What exactly does everyone working at Village Hall do?  Why is it that the Finance Director has no backup from existing staff? What does this so called Village Administrator or the Mayor do? (by the way the Finance Director  seems to have a lot of authority according to this report)?  This report is pathetic!”

SAUK VILLAGE FINANCIAL MESS - You can't pay? Village wants to charge more!

This is the seventh in a series of revelations of the 2014-15 Audit Report.  The Village was delinquent in filing their audit with the Illinois Comptroller (due December 26, 2015).  The Audit report (see attached link at the end of this report) reveals the status quo with the Village finances continues with 3 years into David Hanks’ Administration.

SAUK VILLAGE |  When it comes to the finances of the Village clearly there has been a lack of attention to detail, especially when it comes to investment, assets and the Village’s public utility.  At last night’s Village Board meeting David Hanks’ political lackey and Village Administrator J.W. Fairman recommended raising the reconnection fee for water when the Village shuts the water off due to nonpayment.   The reconnection fee currently is $25 if paid before 3pm or $75 if paid after 3pm according to Community Development Director Sherry Jasinski.  Fairman wants to raise this to $250.  “When people cannot afford their water bill in the first place, how in the hell can they afford an additional $250 to have it turned back on” Trustee Derrick Burgess said following the meeting.

With all that said, the Village seems to have its own problems managing the water fund receivables according to the Village’s audit management letter.  The following is an excerpt of that letter:

17.   Outstanding Utility Bills (Repeated from Prior Year)

We noted that various residents have long-outstanding unpaid utility bills, and that receivable balances are escalating.  We recommend that the Village review its policies and procedures with regard to the collection of utility receivables.  Implementing these policies and procedures on a timely basis could improve cash flow.

(Editorial Note:  Is increasing the water reconnect fee a way we have reviewed the policies and procedures regarding collections?  If people could not afford to pay their outstanding debts and the village allowed them to accumulate a “high balance” then logically, they need to work out arrangements with the user.)

16.   Capital Asset Capitalization Policy (Repeated from Prior Year)

The Village does not have a formal written capitalization policy.  We suggest that the Village develop, and the Board approve a form written capitalization policy.

(Editorial Note:  Really?  This is a repeated finding by the Auditors!  Way to take care of the Village’s Assets!)

18.   Investment Policy

The Village’s investment policy does not address interest rate risk, credit risk, concentration of credit risk, and custodial credit risk. We recommend that the Village update its investment policy to include, at a minimum, the foregoing risk considerations.

An expert on Illinois Municipal Finance, intimately familiar with Sauk Village’s financial history reviewed the Village’s audit and management letter and stated the following:   “I don't believe any of these are just normal issues.  In a well run environment, none of these issues should occur.  There should always be a system of "double-check" in order to eliminate any possibility of wrongdoing.  We have many of these safeguards in place to prevent fraud and provide transparency with taxpayer’s money.   What I don't get is the lack of attention being paid to account receivables.  What exactly does everyone working at Village Hall do?  Why is it that the Finance Director has no backup from existing staff? What does this so called Village Administrator or the Mayor do? (by the way the Finance Director  seems to have a lot of authority according to this report)?  This report is pathetic!”