With the forensic audit close to being finished, Manteno’s finances came up at several points during its last board meeting on May 4.
Trustee Todd Crockett addressed the notion the village does not have any money, which was in response to public comments.
“In our general fund, we have almost $6 million. I know when Mayor Nugent left, I believe we had between $8 and $9 million in our fund balance,” Crockett explained, adding, “We are just trying to be good stewards of the money that we do have.”
“So, it’s not a matter of us not having money. It’s a matter of us having to look at how we’re going to continue to provide services and maintain a fund balance. One thing we should be proud of as a board and a community is that we don’t have any debt,” Crockett said.
He went on to explain that many villages that are Manteno’s size have debt.
Trustee Joel Gesky echoed Crockett’s comments and added no one has ever told John Deere they couldn’t come to Manteno, which also stemmed from a public comment.
Later, Trustee Mike Barry supported Crockett’s statement and said the village needs to be cognizant of how it spends money but complimented the board’s ability to work together, especially with regard to the budget.
“I think during the past month and a half, you and I have worked pretty good together,” Barry said.
In other finance news, the forensic audit is almost complete, and a draft was presented to the village, Barry reported at the meeting. The final version should be complete within the next couple of weeks.
At the last meeting, the board opted to withhold a payment for $38,640 to the forensic auditing company, Greene Forensic Accounting. The payment previously withheld was not to pay it completely, and instead was to pay it up to 80 percent, Barry clarified.
“I think at one of our last meetings, we mistakenly thought that was the last bill, and we talked about not paying the last bill until the audit was complete, but it wasn’t the last bill,” Mayor Annette LaMore said.
“I don’t know that it was a mistake. I mean we now have a copy of a drafted report from them, but up to that point in time, we hadn’t gotten anything from them. I wanted to see some progress. We’ve had some progress now,” Gesky said.
At that point, Crockett noticed there were no bills to be paid on the agenda and wanted to know why.
“I was called into a meeting with the mayor on the 22nd of April, and we had a phone call with the forensic auditor. I was told, along with Trustee Vaughn, the forensic audit documentation needed to be my priority. So, there have not been any bills that have been paid,” Village Treasurer Sheila Martin said.
The board voted to approve the payment for Greene Forensic Accounting, which was added to the agenda. Also approved was a $1,500 donation to the historical society.
Spengler named new School Resource Officer
Manteno Schools will have a new face in the district next school year. Officer Joshua Spengler reported he would be taking the position as the school resource officer. The current SRO is Aaron Tobeck.
“It’s an honor to be able to step into it. It’s a new path,” Spengler said.
“He’s done quite an amazing job, and the impact he’s had is definitely going to be missed,” Spengler added.
Gesky asked how long it would take to replace the officer, which is dependent on if they get a lateral transfer or a new hire.
“It’s been advertised, and they’ve got till maybe June 1 to get applications in. We’re looking for new hires, as well as lateral entry. If we would get a lateral entry, that would obviously speed things up considerably. Otherwise, new hires take months to get them to the academy and field training,” Chief Alan Swinford noted.
“We usually get pretty fortunate and get a pretty good list of applicants,” Swinford added.
Cut your grass or get fined
Village Administrator Chris LaRocque explained the village is working its way through 15 grass violations. Grass and/or weeds cannot be taller than 8 inches, or it is considered a nuisance and in violation of the village’s ordinance.
The village informs residents who have violated the ordinance with a notice, and if they don’t respond within five days, the village will mow the site. The cost of mowing, plus additional fines, could be assessed for each day it is in violation. The fine is not less than $50 but not more than $750, according to ordinance 07-21.
LaRocque said they have three foreclosures in the village, and it can be difficult to contact the owner because banks frequently change ownership.
“Unfortunately, we do have limited funds for the village to go in and mow them. We pay a company to do that. Then, we put a lien on the property, but we just can’t do that every week for all the properties we have that are in violation,” LaRocque said.
Public Works Updates
Construction on the pavilion at the Square on Second is in progress. Walls and trusses are up, and they are working on finishing the roof, Public Works Supervisor Jim Hanley said.
Additionally, concrete has been poured for a soccer shed at Heritage Park, and they are working on getting the bounce pillow, fountain, and splash pad opened for the season.
Gesky had concerns about parkway trees being affected by blight. Hanley obtained two estimates, but they weren’t received in enough time to add them to the agenda, plus they didn’t consider options for multiple types of trees, which Gesky wanted to see.
The village approved the installation of a sidewalk on village-owned property in the alleyway between 192 S. Locust and 155 E. Baker Street, to maintain continuity in the sidewalk.
The village also approved the request of a sidewalk for the parking lot by Riverside. The village always requires sidewalk installation with lot improvements, but since it’s state-owned property, the permit approval was required. It would not be an expense to the village.
Nay, Nepotism
Additionally, a resident brought up nepotism within the village during public comments and said Gesky’s wife working for the village was nepotism.
“I had zero to do with my wife being hired or not being hired by the village. Okay? I didn’t sit in on the interview, and I have not sat in on the interview for any of the people who are hired inside village hall,” Gesky said.
It also was alleged the village administrator was related to the former mayor, and Gesky asked LaRocque if he was. LaRocque replied he was “100 percent sure” he was not related to the Nugents in any way.
Gesky also asked the treasurer, Sheila Martin, if she was related to anyone, and she said “no.”
“Let’s stick to the facts when we’re going to make comments about things because it just muddies the waters. We’re trying to work together, and there’s no nepotism there. My wife worked there. That is a fact. She is related to me, but I don’t supervise her and don’t have anything to do with her job or her appointment,” Gesky added.
Gesky thanked everyone who was able to come out and celebrate his son, who was recently drafted by the Green Bay Packers.
“It was great to see a town come out and be supportive. And I know some people have even come up to me today and said at least I’m not wearing green and gold, but uh it was pretty cool to hear ‘Go, Pack, Go! over at Sammy’s.”
Gotion: Do it our way or else
Barry provided an update on Gotion. The village has monthly meetings with the company to ensure that any progress is done in accordance with requirements.
“Two Thursdays ago, Joel and I had a meeting with Gotion in the village hall, and I believe you [Gesky] and I were 100 percent on the same page with it. The meeting got a little bit loud. It had to get loud,” Barry said.
“We pretty much told Gotion, there’s a line drawn in the sand. You’re going to do it our way, or you’re not going to do it. It’s real simple,” Barry said.
Barry said he believes they get their point across, and Gotion will respond appropriately.