Larry Emery Recaps Term as Algonquin Township Trustee

Information from former Algonquin Township Trustee Larry Emery:

Larry Emery

Thank you all who were involved again for your patience, help and work over the last 4 years. It helped me greatly in the understanding of the process, information, and requirements as I executed my responsibility as a trustee/citizen.

The overall perspective of financial review is favorable based on control of expenses, early payoff of long term debt, and flat or reduced Budgets over all four years from 2014-2018 and 2013-17 for Levy.

This is based on the boards approval cycles establish because of May start of each new board.

Note on audit service.

Updates were made yearly as board requested for additional info and changes made as updates by state were required each year.

All imbalances of line items were balanced by administration within adjustments from other lines and approved by board each year.

The areas of continued focus for the 2017-2021 board includes the following basic topics of:

Transparency, Current and future Shared Expenses Rules, Four Year Planning of Capital Outlays (and expenses that overlap years),

Recommendations, and a recap of the last four years of the Budget, Levy, and Expenses.

The elected official’s wages approved effective May 2017-2021:

  • Trustee, Clerk and Assessor flat all 4 years.
  • The Road Commissioner reduced 5% yr 1, then flat yr 2-4.
  • The Supervisor was reduced 20% yr 1, then flat yr 2-4.

The 2013-2017 wages approved by previous board all at: Yr 1-0%, Yr 2-0%, Yr 3: +1.5%+, Yr 4: +1.5%.

A. Ten-Point Transparency Checklist and framework of establishing standard for township (using model from www.illinoispolicy.org/spotlight) Info is available if FOIA. Need to be all on website (www.algonquintownship.com).

  1. Elected & Administrative Officials: Contact Information:  Done
  2. Meeting Information: Calendar (Future) Minutes & Board Packets (Past): Need packets, Info Ok
  3. Public records: FOIA submission & FOIA Officer Contact Information:  Done
  4. Budgets: General Fund and Special Projects: Done
  5. Financial Audits: Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports:  Needed to be added
  6. Expenditures: Checkbook Register and Credit Card Receipts:  Needed to be added
  7. Salary & Benefits: Wages, Salary, Overtime, Health, Dental, Life, Pension, etc.:  Needed to be added
  8. Contracts: Employees, Unions, Private Contractors, Vendors:  Needed to be added
  9. Lobbying: Taxpayer-Funded Lobbying Associations:  Needed to be added
  10. Taxes & Fees: Sales, Property, Income, and Miscellaneous Taxes, Fees:  Needed to be added

B. There should be discussion on the following possible Shared Expenses Rules between all offices.

  1. Accounting/Legal/printing
  2. Telecommunications/software/support
  3. Cleaning/Supplies
  4. Special Levies-reserve vs. trend need, quote for service (SS, Retirement, Insurance, and Audit)

C. Town, Road, Assessor, and clerk should provide a Four Year Planning of Capital Outlays for the board. Discussion and understanding of the need with estimated cost/benefit should be included so these major expenses are not a surprise and a consensus can be made before the commitment to purchase.

  1. Equipment/Construction
  2. Grants
  3. Building

D. Here are a few additional recommendations for board to pursue.

  1. Based on current legislation being presented at the Illinois state level, discussion and planning should be made to consolidate the Road and Bridge with the Town [Fund].
  2. Budget/Forecast/Expense Tool to analyze the last four years of expense for trend and potential future needs, realignment, and/or elimination. Should use the “Open the Books” logic to compare similar units.
  3. Workshop Session for board and other elected officials for team building, goal setting, and analytical measurement review of key indicators.
  4. A cash flow analysis for cash reserve for all Fund Balances should be created by Road Commissioner and Supervisor and reviewed by board monthly or quarterly (Dollar amount and Months of Reserve)
  5. Continued work on intergovernmental agreements on similar expenses that make since to improve overall service and/or reduce expenses. Example-Senior Transportation with County and municipalities.

6. Possible forensic audit (every 4 years or so) to get into details to confirm legality and planned expensesto results anticipated.

E. Four Year Budget, Levy, Expense Recap

  • Key Overall Township Key Notes 2017 vs. 2013
  • Budget: -8.4%
  • Levy: -7.0%
  • Expenses: -3.0% (Adjusted less loan payoff and one time pension accounting charge-$1,000,074). The town, R&B, E&B all had flat or reductions in all categories every year except, 2016-17 E&B for boards four year term.

Budget and Levy Recaps for Algonquin Township for the years 2013-2017.


Comments

Larry Emery Recaps Term as Algonquin Township Trustee — 20 Comments

  1. Two additional desirable transparency measures:

    – Searchable board agenda packets with the ability to copy information form the document and paste it to another document (to consolidate information).

    – Video taped board meetings indefinitely archived on the property taxing district website and Youtube.

    Two examples of organizations who have recently implemented such transparency measures:

    The Village of Lakewood added searchable board agenda packets with the ability to copy and paste.

    Crystal Lake High School District 55 added videotaped board meetings.

  2. Yes I don’t think it would be legal to combine the offices or the funds as references D1

  3. Emery may be good and honest …. he almost certainly is, in fact.

    But many townships are dens of iniquity and cheating to the max …i.e., http://www.wjbdradio.com/local-news/2017/04/07/former-east-st-louis-township-official-sentenced-for-fraud

    But no matter how Emery spins it ….. TOWNSHIPS ARE OBSOLETE and a useless drain of taxpayers money ….MANY COUNTIES IN ILLINOIS HAVE ABOLISHED USELESS TOWNSHIPS …Here’s the latest one axed: https://patch.com/illinois/evanston/evanston-township-headed-toward-abolishment

    Taxpayers want them abolished, but the nepotistic township pension rats won’t hear of it!!!

    http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/naperville-sun/ct-nvs-naperville-townships-folo-st-1111-20161110-story.html

  4. Of course the powers that be want you to abolish all your local government. When the huge one fails (It already has – just no one is bothering to bury it), you will have nothing to fall back on. Remember their ultimate goal here is to have the world be ungovernable. The eight-thousand or so rats that are running this show are crumbling governments right and left and you will be looking at your local block party as the ruling entities very soon.

  5. Old Man, those that support small , like townships know there is room for improvement, we just need the negative dude’s like you to prove townships should be abolished.

    Be our, tax payers hero and help Bob Anderson with the numbers abd facts to prove that.

    Action talks, lip service not so much.

    Cindy, what you just posted has some merit.

    Big gov is inefficient gov

  6. Many counties in Illinois have not abolished townships.

    No county in Illinois has abolished townships.

    Chicago abolished townships.

    Chicago is a City not a County.

    The Township form of government never existed in several counties.

    Those townships are in the southern part of the state.

    The settlers who formed government in those counties came by way of Kentucky, the Ohio River, and the Mississipi River.

    Illinois was first settled from the south.

    Townships were prevalent in the northeastern United States (northern and eastern states) at the time of the settlement.

    There are exceptions.

  7. Evanston Township in Cook County was recently abolished was abolished.

    There were two notable aspects of Evanston Township:

    “And the process was simplified by the facts that city alderman also serviced as the township’s trustees and that the city and township shared the same geographic boundaries.”

    Evanston Now

    State Task Force Hears Evanston’s Consolidation Story

    August 25, 2015

    by Bill Smith

    http://evanstonnow.com/story/government/bill-smith/2015-08-25/71991/state-task-force-hears-evanstons-consolidation-story

  8. Guess we’ll find out the applicable firing laws when the Illinois Labor Relations Board certifies a bargaining unit but a collective bargaining agreement is not yet in place.

    ++++++

    Illinois Labor Relations Board

    Certifications of Representative

    Case Number – S-RC-17-051, Majority Interest

    Employer – Algonquin Township Road District

    Labor Organization – International Brotherhood of Operating Engineers Local 150 (IUOE Local 150)

    Date Certified – April 10, 2017

    Prevailing Party – IUOE

    Number of Employees – 11

    Unit Description – Highway Worker, Laborer, Foreman, Mechanic

    Presumably highway maintenance employees are not Rutan exempt meaning politics shouldn’t be part of the firing decision.

  9. Well he’s off to a great start, getting the township embroiled in lawsuits. Smart

  10. Mark the researchers hero, what has Evanston’s levy and the past townships levy done since since that change.

    Not much different since there were no township roads.

    Just Ass and Sup levy really.

  11. Honest?

    That is incredibly GOOD news!

    Way to go, Andrew.

    You are now a real hero.

  12. A 3rd notable aspect the Evanston Township dissolution is that it had stopped maintaining roads prior to the dissolution.

    The City of Evanston had taken over maintenance of the roads formerly maintained by the township.

    ++++++++

    Better Government Association

    Poof! An Illinois Township Vanishes

    September 17, 2014

    by John Slania

    http://www.bettergov.org/news/poof-an-illinois-township-vanishes

  13. Chirikos lost election after stating that property taxes aren’t so bad around here.

    His abnormally low assessment in 2014 made his p-tax then $3726.

    After public outrage, his assessment went up, and taxes went to $6307 in 2015.

    Up again in 2016: $8854 tax bill.

    It is essential that those who spend public money are paying their fair share so that they can empathize with the condition they inflict upon others.

    Thank you Andrew.

  14. D1 might be talking about the bill that the house just passed last month.

    HB607 is in Senate now.

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