Monday afternoon, the McHenry County Conservation District Board reached a compromise which its members hope will satisfy the concerns of the McHenry County Board and its Chairman Jack Franks.
Friday, the Finance Committee of the County Board voted 4-2 not to approve the district’s budget.
While praise was offered for the line-by-line questioning of County Board member Chris Chritsensen, a sizable minority of MCCD’s Trustees wanted to hear the opinions of the County Board members not on Finance Committee as well.
Chairman David Kranz thought the way to do that was to figure out how to put the budget before the entire County Board.
The problem is that Board Chairmsn Jack Franks has refused to put the budget on the agenda.
There is a way to call a special meeting, but the last time around, a quorum of thirteen members did not attend, so the meeting was adjourned for lack of that quorum.
Not having the MCCD budget on the agenda of the County Board “is unprecedented,” former County Board member and now MCCD Trustee Peter Merkel said.
“For some reason, the Board has let the Chairman dictate the process.”
MCCD Trustee Vern Scucci repeatedly tried to convince his fellow Trustees that provoking a fight with the County Board was a bad idea in the long run.
He pointed out that even MCCD won in the short-run, it would lose in the long-run.
Frustration was expressed by several MCCD Trustees at not being given credit for keeping the tax levy constant for over half a decade.
Eventually, discussion centered on telling the County Board that the budget would be reduced the $206,000 sought by the Finance Committee.
A motion was made by Benjamin Washow to reconsider the budget, cutting it by the $206,000 at MCCD’s next regularly scheduled meeting, which is Thursday night.
It received unanimous approvsal.
County Board Liaison Bob Nowak said he would convey that intention to the Board at its Thursday morning Committee of the Whole meeting during member comments.
The MCCD Board’s hope is that compromise might convince Franks to add the district’s budget to the agenda of Tuesday’s County Board meeting.
Scucci said he hoped that agreement could be reached that would protect next year’s MCCD budget, as well as obtaining approval for this year’s.
In attendance besides liaison Nowak was District 5 County Board member Paula Yensen.
The problem with the MCCD Board is the problem with every special purpose government board.
Our government is supposed to be a system of checks and balances, and that means the legislative body is a check on the executive.
In a local government, the legislative body is the board.
What is the executive? It’s the staff.
But the people who want to be on these special purpose boards don’t see their role as watchdog, protecting the taxpayers from the executive, which always wants more government.
Instead they see their role as cheerleader, protecting the government from the taxpayer.
In the case of MCCD, the fault, of course, lies with the County Board, which appoints nothing but cheerleaders instead of people who see their job as being skeptics and watchdogs.
Thanks again Jack, for fighting to lower our taxes!
Wilson hits the nail on the head.
Same thing with townships.
Boards are yesmen, rubberstamps who want to be supervisors down the line, so no waves are ever made.
Looking for late 60’s, 400 cu in plus, of planet warming Detroit engineering, Will consider anything else that gets 600-900 ft per gallon of dinosaur juice.
Please submit photos and specs.
BTW, the solution is NOT to make the board elective.
I already have 58 elected officials I’m supposed to monitor as a good voter, and that’s at the local level.
It doesn’t even include state reps or senators or congressmen or U.S. senators.
The solution is for the County Board to start appointing people who watch out for us instead of cheerleaders and apologists who defend everything MCCD does.
Jack Franks brings forward to the board or committee someone to fill a vacancy.
However, the County Board Members have no idea who applied for these positions.
Until the County Board starts demanding to know who applied and their resumes the Board is being duped.
Jack Franks is stacking the deck in all these appointments!
1969 Camaro ZL1 or 1969 Lincoln Continental Mark III would work.