While not cited on the Village’s Annual Meeting agenda, Auger appears as Clerk on agenda items in packet for May 4 meeting in spite current appointed term expires April 30

The Village of Algonquin’s agenda was published late Friday morning for its upcoming Annual Meeting of the Village Board on Tuesday night, May 4 for its first in-person meeting since the pandemic.

The meeting begins at 7:30PM at the Ganek Municipal Center.

After Acting Village President Debby Sosine is sworn-in as Village President Debby Sosine, and the three trustees are sworn-in, the new Village Board continues approving the annual appointments of Village officials.

On April 6, per the McHenry County Democrats sample ballot with their recommendations published, no one ran for village clerk:

When Auger did not file petitions back in December to run for a full term in the April 6 election as village clerk, some speculated Auger would pursue the vacant trustee position when it is vacated by Acting Village President Sosine when she is sworn-in as Village President.

But with Auger’s name appearing as Village Clerk for agenda items requiring Board action Tuesday night, Auger’s 2nd appointment will take place Tuesday night, even if not listed on the agenda as it would need advice & consent of the Board of Trustees.

With Auger being reappointed Village Clerk, a vacant Trustee position still needs to be appointed by President Sosine with advice & consent of the remaining trustees.

But as Lakewood Village Trustee Tricia Babischkin mentioned at Thursday night’s Lakewood Village Board meeting, Algonquin waits 30 days before filling a vacant trustee spot on its board.

30 days? That’s not in the state statutes.

But it is in Chapter 2 of the Algonquin Municipal Code:

The Village of Algonquin is unique among McHenry County municipalities going above and beyond the Illinois Compiled Statutes governing appointments of vacancies in the Office of Trustee.

Sosine’s Trustee spot, which she’s held since first being elected in 2007, will be vacated when she is sworn-in Tuesday night as Village President, so the earliest date for her appointment of her successor as Trustee to present for advice & consent will be June 3.

The villages of Barrington Hills and Huntley have current trustees who will be sworn-in as village president in the coming week, but neither of those villages have 30-day rules.

And given how a lame duck appointment was made of one of the Lakewood trustees earlier this month, newly minted Lakewood Village President Dave Stavropoulos, stating last night the Lakewood Municipal Code was in need of updating, would likely include a similar 30-day rule to prevent future lame duck appointments by an outgoing village president?

From the desk of John Lopez: Given Lakewood’s history, such a reform would be prudent to codify.