The second installment from Lakewood Village Trustee Paul Serwatka about last week’s meeting:

Reporting on Oct 11 Village Board Meeting Part 2

Continuing on in my report from our October 11, 2016 village board meeting, the 2nd issue I wanted to discuss involves what I believe is, at best, yet another example of the complacency and lack of oversight that I continually see in current fellow board members.

Issue 2 – The Consent Agenda 

In every board meeting, the first matter of business covered is the “Consent Agenda.” The first item listed in every Consent Agenda is The Official Minutes from the previous meeting, followed by customary bills and financials, and often times another miscellaneous item or two.

The approval of these items, collectively, is voted on with a single vote, without formal discussion – With the presumption, of course, that each of the items has been reviewed by each of the trustees prior to the board meeting.

In this meeting, there were 4 items on the Consent Agenda. The first, as always, being the Official Minutes of the previous meeting.

A vote was called to approve the Consent Agenda… Trustee Santowski, and Iden voted YES. Trustee Thomas abstained from voting as she usually does. And I voted NOT to approve, at which point all eyes were cast at me.

President Smith then cast her YES vote and the Consent Agenda, including the Official Minutes of the previous meeting, were officially approved.

The problem with this (and the reason I voted NO) was because the Official Minutes did not exist in the Consent Agenda. Nor did they exist anywhere in our board packet. Though they are customarily the first page included after the agenda, they were not included in this packet at all.

I confirmed this with Interim Village Manager, Shannon Andrews, after the meeting and she has, subsequently, informed the other board members of their blunder.

So, we now have official, board ratified, Village Board Meeting Minutes that no board member has ever actually seen!

Now, is this a big deal in and of itself?  Probably not…

Do I believe they were trying to get something into the record in these minutes that otherwise may not have been gotten in?  I hope not… But, it’s certainly possible!

Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I would equate this to being as rudimentary as not brushing your teeth or combing your hair before you leave for work in the morning. It’s just not the sort of thing that you forget to do… unless, of course, you just have some really bad habits. And then, what is the likelihood that everyone you work with also forgets to brush and groom themselves?

On the other hand, it begs the question: “If the entire board of trustees present can pretend to have read this document and vote to approve it – what else might they being voting on that they haven’t actually even seen, or read, or informed themselves on?

If this item were skipped/forgotten/overlooked by a single board member in an isolated incident, then I would agree, it was a simple mistake, not worth mentioning. “Could happen to anybody”, so to speak…

But, when the entire board present, approves documents that they’ve never even seen, that do not even exist, it can be somewhat disconcerting! PARTICULARLY, when it becomes apparent that it is not at all an isolated incident… or when it is intentionally covered up… – or when it pertains to items a bit “bigger deal” than just Official Meeting Minutes!

Flash-back to August 9, 2016 (THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!)

For those who read my report back in August, this might be reminiscent of our August 9, 2016 meeting, where trustee Santowski made an official motion to have a line item (pertaining to a previously awarded secret bonus to village manager, Catherine Peterson) stricken from the Consent Agenda. (For those not familiar with the secret bonus I refer to, you can read more about it HERE.) 

You may recall that, at this meeting, trustee Santowski made the motion to have this “item” stricken from the Consent Agenda.  As is customary, he cited the line item “from the packet”, “read it” aloud, then requested that it be stricken.

I interjected, stating that I did not see that line item in the board packet. President Smith and trustee Furey both assured me it was there, while the remaining trustees sat silently. I then emphatically stated that I had been through the packet four times and this line item was nowhere to be found. President Smith and trustee Furey, again, both insisted it was there. Trustee Santowski’s motion was then put to a vote and the motion was passed.

As you may recall, the next day, it was confirmed by village manager, Peterson, that this line item, in fact, did NOT exist! It was NOT listed anywhere in that Consent Agenda or the entire board packet!

– Trustee Santowski made the entire thing up!

– No other board member or staff member called him out for it!

– President Smith and trustee Furey went so far as to repeatedly cover for him!

So, here, a trustee pretends to read aloud an item from the agenda that did not even exist!

Every other board member (myself excluded) falsely and repeatedly confirms it’s existence, (be it by verbal affirmation or by their silence) and then we come to confirm that the item they read and affirmed, in fact, did NOT even exist!

This should absolutely frighten you!

I have since repeatedly, and publicly, asked for an explanation as to what it was that trustee Santowski was reading and motioning to have removed.

I have repeatedly and publicly asked what it was that President Smith and trustee Furey emphatically claimed they saw in that packet.. and I have repeatedly and publicly asked why no other trustee spoke out… (For those not familiar with this incident, you can read more about it HERE.) 

To date, we have only been told that this entire mysterious debacle was a simple “mistake…” a “miscommunication…”  an “error…” 

I do apologize for the unpleasant trip down Memory Lane, but, I truly believe it’s critical that we all see, and remember, the many instances of wrongdoings, misdeeds, and bad decisions by current board members, and that we come to recognize the undeniable pattern of bad behavior by those who currently govern over our village.

In Part 3, Tomorrow, I’ll explain how President Smith and the board has requested that I pledge to no longer sending these communications to you.

Again, I thank you for taking the time to stay informed. I hope you will pass the information along to other Lakewood neighbors and encourage them to stay informed, as well.