McHenry County Blog

Maybe I’m sensitive about the question because I was McHenry County Treasurer as a child way back from 1966 to 1970.

As you might guess, the question is arising in Grafton Township as the four trustees try to garner the power that Trustee Gerry McMahon keeps insisting belongs to the majority, of which he is a member.

By now, the four trustees have probably passed a resolution giving Trustees Betty Zirk and Robert LaPorta signature authority on township checks.  ( I was at the Crystal Lake Kiwanis Club’s Christmas Party tonight.)

At the last meeting and in his management letter, the auditor had pointed out that requiring two signatures was a good check and balance to implement.

So far, so good.

But the resolution being considered tonight says that if Supervisor Linda Moore, who, by statute, is the treasurer of all Grafton Township funds, doesn’t sign them within seven days of approval, the two township trustees can.

Setting aside that Moore is the one with the bond that would repay the township if anyone made off with some money, that procedure could take away the supervisor’s authority as treasurer.

It would be like the McHenry County Board’s proposing that two board members be given the keys to the county treasury, just in case Treasurer Bill LeFew didn’t want to do the job.

I’m certainly no attorney, but the section in the resolution stating that if any part of the resolution is found invalid, the rest remains valid seems to be more than boilerplate.

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The photo of the Grafton Township Board comes from last week’s meeting.

Related articles:

Auditing Grafton Township Style – Part 1

Auditing Grafton Township Style – Part 2

Longest serving Grafton Township Trustee Betty Zirk tries to convince electors at the April Annual Town Meeting to approve a new township hall. The motion lost on a 70-70 tie vote. Court action confirmed the over $5 million property tax liability was invalid.

Yesterday and the day before, McHenry County Blog chronicled what the Grafton Township trustees said about the John Rossi Township Board new town hall debacle.

You remember, illegally committing taxpayers to repay over $5 million in principal and interest for a new township hall on land purchased from the Village of Lake in the Hills on Haligus Road.

Part of the cost was to be paid for by selling the current township hall to the Grafton Township Road District, allowing area taxpayers to pay for the same building twice, a seeming Huntley tradition. (The Huntley Park District bought the old high school from District 158, giving park district taxpayers the privilege of paying for that building twice.)

Grafton Township Clerk Dina Frigo makes a point as Road District attorney Pat Coen patiently awaits his turn.

It was finally time for Pat Coen, Road Commissioner Jack Freund’s attorney, to speak.

Another picture of Road District attorney Pat Coen patiently waiting.

He had sat patiently through the kangaroo court we-won’t-show-you-the-censure-motion-until-after-we-vote condemnation of Supervisor Linda Moore.

The agenda subject?

“Discussion and potential action to approve payment of $700,000 road ordinance plus interest to date of loan.”

Pat Coen explains what a meeting of the electors is needed to reverse the previous township board's sale of the township hall to the Grafton Township Road District. Road Commissioner Jack Freund sits to his left.

Coen concluded that approval of the electorate was needed to “unwind” (a word virtually everyone uses to describe undoing the court-determined improper acts committed by the prior township board to build a new township hall) the selling of the current township hall to the Road District part of Grafton Township government.

“I can find nothing in the statutes that says unwinding is any different than conveying property,” the lawyer said.

He suggested calling a special meeting of the electors.

He was asked if he had made a mistake.

“I’m not admitting to any mistake,” Coen replied.

Coen pointed out that the entire loan–$700,000–would have to be repaid to Harris Bank. That included the cost of a salt shed.

Zirk wondered if the Town Fund would just “pay what the Town Fund owes.”

“I haven’t gone that far,” Coen replied

“66,000 had to go for the commission,” Zirk added, but didn’t mention who got the commission.

That commission to MJ Munaretto and Company was revealed exclusively in McHenry County Blog on July 7, 2009. Munaretto is a Republican County Board member who chairs the Finance Committee.  Neither the Daily nor the Northwest Herald have revealed this.

McMahon favored delaying until next spring’s annual meeting:

“Let it go. Let the electoral handle it (at the annual meeting).”

“Barbara Murphy, who has repeatedly expressed distaste at the length of time it is taking to resolve the problem countered,

“It’s costing a ton on this.

“We want to get done with this, excuse my word, crap.”

Shortly thereafter, LaPorta made this admission:

“We did the best we did with the information we had at the time.

“You think we did this illegally for crying out loud?”

Focused on completing the reversal of the actions taken to build a new township hall, Murphy pointed out,

“This is the second half of it.”

The first half was repaying the Harris Bank the other $3.5 million loan.

McMahon, the only trustee not in office when the decision was made added,

“Maybe we should sell the township building to the Road Commissioner. That’s what you wanted.

“I don’t see giving up the dream.”

McMahon supported a continuation of efforts to build a new township hall.

At this point, Supervisor Moore asked,

“Would you like to hear a suggestion?”

“No, not from you,” McMahon retorted.

“We need to negotiate with Jack,” Moore continued.

LaPorta suggested having a representative from the trustees and the supervisor meet with Road Commissioner Freund.

And, that’s what the Grafton Township Board decided to do.

Yesterday, McHenry County Blog started outlining what was mentioned about the court-determined illegal actions of the prior board–three of whose members were re-elected–in notes of the 7:30 PM to 12:15 AM Grafton Township board meeting last Thursday night.

The topic kept coming up in the discussion of the motion to add Township Supervisor Linda Moore’s name to that of newly-elected Trustee Gerry McMahon on the list of board members censured who have been censured.

Trustee Rob LaPorta, clearly the leader of the board majority, was among those to comment on the township hall lawsuit during the debate to move the censure resolution from the bottom to the top of the agenda:

“We were forced to hire an attorney because our names were on the lawsuit.”

McMahon returned to the court action brought by Grafton Township citizens, directing his comments to Moore:

“You started all of this by encouraging all this litigation against the township.

“You hurt the township. You should resign. You do not have a clue how to run a township.”

“We have to take responsibility for the decisions we make,” Moore replied.

“I admit I don’t think I made a good decision.

“Get over it.

“I don’t take kindly to your accusations,”

Barbara Murphy then said.

The reply from Moore,

“We can’t made decisions based on our legal (advice) alone. Just because a lawyer makes a recommendation doesn’t (mean it’s right).

“You believe what Mr. Kelly told you to do. Now, it turns out not to be the right thing to do.”

I have over four pages of notes on LaPorta’s reading of the condemnation resolution, but he was reading so fast, they are incomplete. After looking over the text sent to me by Trustee Rob LaPorta, I don’t see anything concerning the new township hall except Moore’s termination of Kelly as township attorney and her refusal to present his bill for payment.

But, my guess is those items stimulated the censure movement.

When it got to public comment time after the censure and paying of bills Tammy Lueth, a plaintiff in the suit to invalidate the board’s decision to build a new township hall, came to the podium with a stack of agendas and minutes.

“I’ve been through all the agendas for the last four years.”

She told of the decision at the annual meeting to approve the new township hall.

“You weren’t right.

“You took it upon yourself to appeal (Judge Michael Caldwell’s) decision. The Appellate Court ruled you guys didn’t do what you should have done.

“You spent more time bickering about $400 in chamber of commerce fees (than you did when it) took you six minutes to approve land acquisition.

“That was all brought about by the former supervisor (John Rossi) and some trustees.”

She added that she had to spend $12 in a Freedom of Information Act request to get minutes which ought to be on the web site.

Cutting Lueth’s comments short was McMahon, the only current trustee who did not vote for the new township hall and land acquisition:

“You’re into your three minutes.”

Trustee Betty Zirk, one of the three remaining trustees who supported the new township hall, pointed out the rules on the specificity of agendas changed in 2007.

“Now we have to be very specific,” she said.

McMahon returned to the undercurrent of the meeting:

“On some points you are right. What (attorney Jim) Kelly said to us was that he thought it was winnable.

“I’ve learned my lesson…

“I think you opened a can of worms and you hurt the township.”

McMahon then offer his opinion on the chances of passing the court-ordered referendum during next November’s general election:

“We can’t win a referendum. We will never get the PR out.”

The official part of the agenda when the discredited deal was next on the agenda.

Read about it tomorrow.

For the second time in four days, Grafton Township Trustees boycotted a meeting called by newly-elected Supervisor Linda Moore.

Moore was criticized by township attorney Keri-Lyn J. Krafterfer in a November 6th letter for not having included items on her agenda requested by Trustee Robert LaPorta.

They included

• Motion to approve Board rules that were originally submitted by Trustee LaPorta and approved by Trustees in a Grafton Special Meeting that Supervisor Moore did not attend (because of being physically indisposed, I was told).
• Discussion and motion to approve Senior Transportation Fees and Fee Change procedure.
• Inclusion of Huntley Chamber Bill and Attorney Kelly’s open bills on warrant and motion to approve full payment of.
• Motion to define, complete and approve FOIA stating Clerk Fergo as the person to assemble, report on, and delegate FOIA request completions.
• Motion to approve Grafton Township maintenance of Haligus Road property.
• Motion to approve ‘new location’ of Grafton Township Food Pantry inclusion on Grafton Township website and Posting in Grafton Township Offices.
• Motion for authorization to have assessor’s office research available office space within Grafton Township for consideration of a lease and/or purchase agreement.
• Distribution, review, discussion and motion to approve or reject township audit.

These items Moore included in her Monday meeting agenda, but complained at that boycotted meeting that Township Clerk Dina Frigo had removed them from the door of the township hall.

In a letter to Township Attorney Krafthefer, dated November 16th, said the removal “was witnessed by a reliable source.”

Frigo, who Thursday indicated she did not know where the missing trustees were, apparently knew they were not showing up Monday night and joined their boycott.

But Frigo did post a notice for a 7:30 PM Wednesday township meeting called by Trustees Betty Zirk and Rob LaPorta.

Many of the items listed above in LaPorta’s request to Moore were included, as well as others, including

• new locks for Frigo’s office
• paying bills that would have been approved at last Thursday’s meeting
• establishing a procedure for receiving and distributing the trustees and clerk’s mail
• establishing a township investment policy

The changes seems to have had the advice of an attorney.

Moore posted her own agenda for a meeting at the same location—the Huntley Park District at 12,015 Mill Street in Huntley—but starting a half an hour earlier at 7 PM.

At the 12-minute meeting tonight, Sun City resident Ralph Wehnes had some comments:

“Is this really a major problem with you and John Rossi?…It looks like something is going on that’s going to cost somebody a lot of money.”

“It already has,” Moore replied.

Commenting on Rossi, whom Moore defeated by 30 votes in the Republican primary election, she said, “I haven’t spoken with Mr. Rossi since I kidded with him about other people being able to do the job.”

Asked about the problems, Moore suggested,

“Three of the board were on the previous board. I think it’s a case of sour grapes.”

Moore also wasn’t happy at the new attorney’s having suggested in writing,

“Further, there is nothing to prevent the Township Trustees from boycotting the regular meeting with your proposed agenda and posting their own notice of a special meeting with an agenda including their items.”

The attorney wrote that it would be “happy” to prepare the agenda.

In a November 16th letter, Moore asked if “the clerk need(s) to follow the same rules you laid out in your recent opinion letter and include the supervisor’s agenda items on her agenda.”

Moore’s agenda items were not included in the Zirk-LaPorta agenda.

Moore also asked,

“If three or more trustees have a daisy chain telephone conversation and decide to boycott township meetings, twice in a row, does this constitute a violation of the open meetings act?”

Both sides of the dispute are sending the McHenry County State’s Attorney copies of their missives.

Four township officials, including all the full-timers, attended the Grafton Township meeting at Faith Community Church on Algonquin Road, but the four part-timers boycotted it.

Of the members of the township board, only Supervisor Linda Moore attended.

Barbara Murphy, Robert LaPort, Betty Zirk and Gerry McMahon were absent.

Township Clerk Dina Frigo, Road Commissioner Jack Freund and Assessor Bill Ottley attended the meeting.

Without a quorum of three out of five members of the township board, Moore adjourned the meeting.

To read what the township trustees did not want to discuss, click here.

At the last board meeting of Grafton Township, the one in which constantly interrupting, newly-elected board member Gerry McMahon was censured, there were comments from Trustee Barbara Murphy (the one seen on the far left of the table) that may portend for big happenings Thursday night.

I’ll quote her comments in their entirety, but, first, let me set the stage.

Township governments are two entities in one. There is the Town Fund. It pays for township assessing, public aid, officials’ salaries, etc.

Then, there is the Road District. It is run by the road commissioner. About the only control the township board has over the road commissioner’s operation is making sure he doesn’t spend more than is appropriated.

Township Road Commissioner Jack Freund had handed out a proposed rental contract which would have the separate Town Fund paying his fund $3,500 a month rent starting November 7th.

“Digest it and next month I will bring my attorney, if you’re ready.”

McMahon didn’t seem to have a clear grasp of the separateness of the two parts of township government.

“It’s like charging your son rent for the basement of the bedroom.“Why should one arm of the government pay another for something the township owns?

“I don’t get it.”

Senior Trustee Betty Zirk explained the situation:

“We had this offer for $1.2 million for our property.“Jack said, ‘I want to buy it.’

“So, Jack bought it. He paid the town (fund) $611,000. The agreement was we’d probably be out of the building by November 7th.

“The Road Commissioner owns all the property. If we want to stay we’re going to have to pay rent.”

“Are we signing for both the lessor and the lessee?” McMahon asked.

“The only thing we can do with Jack is is he has a budget. We have to make him stay within the budget,” Zirk replied.

“We really don’t have any control over it.”

Zirk had previously suggested that the township board look for rental property elsewhere.

“Well, then I agree with you,” McMahon replied, “…as quickly as possible. It’s time to look for other places to move.”

Road Commissioner Freund was getting a bit irritated as this point.

“The Road District paid twice for that property. Once when they bought it originally and once when we bought it from the township and paid the township a year and a half ago.”

Referring to the proposed $3,500 month rent, Freund said, “That isn’t even making the payments on this property I have to pay.”

Then Trustee Barbara Murphy entered the discussion:

“My own opinion—I say we do the unwind. Put it all back to where it was and start from scratch.“Frankly, in my own opinion, I’m tired of this garbage.

“I’m tired of it.

“I’m tired of it. (I want it done.)”

Newly-elected Township Supervisor Linda Moore put in her two cents:

This board never approved the ordinance to borrow $700,000.”

Moore also noted that,

“In the Town Fund, we have $600,000…We’ve got some unwinding to do just as we did with the three and a half million.”

She further pointed out that the loan was for 20 years, but that “the township can borrow for 10 years.

“Basically, we have not followed the statutes.”

McMahon interrupted, but Moore finished her thought:

“I am concerned that the public was not properly noticed. Unwind this and soon.”

At the beginning of the meeting, right after public comments and approving bills the board will go into Executive (secret) Session for the following purposes:

1.Sale of Real Estate to Road District
2.Pending Litigation

The next item on the agenda is

Action on Sale of Real Estate to Road District

There’s a whole lot more on the agenda for the 7:30 meeting, which will be held at Faith Community Church at 10,547 Faiths Way in Huntley. It is located west of Tom’s Vegetable Market on the north side of Algonquin Road.

Only reporter Pete Gonigam, who writes the First Electric Newspaper, attended last week’s Grafton Township meeting.

He writes of how the board, by a 3-2 vote censured newly-elected Township Trustee Gerry McMahon.  McMahon and Betty Zirk voted against the motion.  Township Supervisor Linda Moore and Township Tru

McMahon is the one who consistently interrupted his running mate, newly-elected Township Supervisor Moore.

The only other local public officials to have been censured are McHenry County Board members Donna Kurtz and Scott Summers.  They were not censured because of constant interruption of MCC board meetings.  They were censured for changing their minds on the advisability of putting their taxpayers in debt to pay for a minor league baseball team and announcing the change at a Crystal Lake City Council meeting considering the necessary re-zoning.

The photo you see above was taken from the video recording of the prior meeting.  From left to right you see the four Grafton Township Trustees, Barbara Murphy, Rob LaPorta, Betty Zirk and Gerry McMahon.

If you play this song while you are reading this article, it would be appropriate.

Johnny Paycheck’s “Take This Job and Shove It” pretty much sums up the message Crystal Lake attorney Joe Gottemoller gave to the Grafton Township Board last night.

Because Supervisor Linda Moore was absent due to having just had a myelogram, only her four political enemies on the township board were at the meeting.

Along with two lawyers, Joseph Gottemoller and Jim Kelly.

And a standing room only crowd.

Prominent Democrats were out in force. Both McHenry County Board member Jim Kennedy and Paula Yensen were in attendance.

Attorney Kelly was dismissed by Moore after she took office, but he’s still working for the four trustees. They voted to pay him “$5,724, the most recent portion of a total amount of $17,963.73 for services after May 18, 2009.”

The township trustees and Kelly went into secret session to discuss the lawsuit (Dan Ziller, Jr., et al. v. John Rossi, et al) that a number of the audience members had brought against the township to stop the building of a new township hall.

But Gottemoller’s resignation was the big story.

Right before the trustees went into Executive Session, he said,

“This will be my last meeting. I have spent a great deal of time and effort on this. Much more than I should have.”

He talked about all the local governments he had had contact with during his legal career.

“I have never been in front of of a board as dysfunctional as this one.”

He told of having had nine calls about the agenda for the meeting. He talked of the problems facing the township.

“I hope some day you will address them.”

He said most calls he had received were from people who were mainly interested in learning how to protect themselves from the other side.

“I don’t want my name to be associated with (Grafton Township).

“You’re spending thousands of dollars on legal fees, $25,000 in attorney fees since May 18th.

“Riley Township spent $500 its last full year.” (Riley is one of McHenry County’s smallest.)

“I hope sometime or other you’ll find a way to talk to each other.

“If we could just focus on the issues and not the personalities, it would be (a lot better).

Before the secret meeting began, Kelly revealed he had told the board in February that he wouldn’t continue as township attorney.

“It’s just outrageous we’re in this condition. I’m working on this issue (the lawsuit) only,” Kelly said.

As I was leaving, one person observed,

“They ought to sell popcorn.”

Tomorrow: What Joe Gottemoller wrote in his resignation letter.

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In the top photo you see attorney Jim Kelly on the left and Joe Gottemoller on the right. The four trustees can be seen sitting at the table in the second picture. Trustee Barbara Murphy is in the foreground. At the left of the photo is Trustee Bob LaPorta. To his left are Trustee Betty Zirk and newly-elected Trustee Gerry MaMahon, elected with newly-elected Township Supervisor Linda Moore’s help, but now on the other side of the political spectrum. All the officials are Republicans. Flanking attorney Jim Kelly in the next photo are prominent Democrats Mike Bisset, his wife, McHenry County Board member Paula Yensen, and McHenry County Board member Jim Kennedy (standing). The larger head shot is of Gottmoller. The smaller one is of Kelly while Gottemoller was explaining his resignation.

There were so many signs in Crystal Lake and Algonquin at the 4th of July TEA Parties.

In view of the Grafton Township Board’s having stopped the $430 a day hemorrhage to the Harris Bank for the $3.5 million loan on a 5-0 vote last night, it seems appropriate to emphasize this placard found on Route 14 in Crystal Lake on Independence Day. (Click to enlarge.)

The upper corners carry the message

NO
New TAX

Below appears

It is held by a man with his wife who understands that “

as Democratic U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neill once said.

One might fairly surmise that the two supported recently-elected Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore.

The names of the Grafton Township trustees are

• Betty Zirk
• Barbara Murphy
• Gerry McMahon (newly-elected with Moore’s help)
• Robert LaPorta

It also allows me to again observe that trying to make an impact on government is almost always easier the lower the level of government.

I’m still looking at photos that four people provided me of the TEA Parties, but, so far, I have found none protesting Mayor Aaron Shepley’s 75% Crystal Lake city sales tax hike.

I’ve seen nothing to indicate that demonstrators don’t want the Chicago Democrats’ 50% state income tax hike.

Too bad.

What a great opportunity to get through to state and local officials other than those of Grafton Township.

Here’s an all-purpose slogan that could be re-cycled.

We last left the Grafton Township melodrama the court hearing on Dan Ziller, Jr.’s request for an injunction to halt the building of a Grafton Township Hall.

The weekend before Judge Michael Caldwell ruled against the township, my computer’s hard drive crashed, putting me out of business for a week.

The township trustees seeking to build the town hall, which will cost over $5 million (including interest) over a twenty year period, apparently didn’t take the judge seriously.

Here’s what they put on the agenda:

• Approval of building/ construction of Township Hall at the Halagus Road property.
• Approval of an Ordinance authorizing and providing for an installment agreement for the purpose of paying for the cost of building and equipping a facility for use by the Township and authorizing and providing for the issue of $3,500,000 Debt Certificate.
• Approving and ratifying Ordinance No. 07-1708-0, an Ordinance authorizing and providing for an installment purchase agreement for the purpose of paing for the cost of building and equipping a facility for use by Grafton Township and providing for the issue of $3,500,000 in Debt Certificates.

Ziller’s attorney Jim Bishop went to court today.

Because newly sworn in Grafton Township Supervisor Linda Moore dismissed Township Attorney Jim Kelly when she took office Monday, re-elected Township Trustee Betty Zirk and newly-sworn in Trustee Jerry McMahon, who was elected with Moore’s support, hired Kelly with their own money to represent their position that the township hall should be built.

The two trustees, plus ex-Township Supervisor John Rossi were in the courtroom.

Moore, who because she is now township supervisor, was added as a defendant in the suit.

Previously, she was on Ziller’s side of the case.

After arguments from both attorneys, Caldwell enjoined the township board from taking up the three contested three items on the agenda.

They were “tap dancing around” his previous order was the way the judge put it.

He told the trustees that any violation could result in their being held in direct criminal contempt of court.

There is a wild card in this deck.

Now that Moore is a defendant, what is to stop her from agreeing with those asking the township hall not be built.

I image Moore might be asking some lawyer other than Bishop that question at some point.

There was a township board meeting tonight.

It will be interesting to find out what happened, don’t you think?

In the midst of this chaos, what would happen if an opponent of township government found some lawyer to draft a petition to abolish Grafton Township?

After all, it would only take a couple of hundred signatures to put the question on the ballot.

I would point out that in Southern Illinois township government does not exist, but road districts do. I assume the men who are road commissioners down there are elected like township road commissioners are up here.

If Grafton Township were voted out of existence, county government would take over the assessing and other township duties.

How do you think people watching this township board that wants to build a township hall that will cost them over $5 million without asking their permission would vote?

Just asking.

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Dan Ziller, Jr., is in the head shot on the top right of the article.

Grafton Township Trustee Betty Zirk is seen explaining the new township hall at the annual meeting. Fellow Trustee Jerry McMahon is seen below in a photo taken at the annual town meeting.

Below the township map is Linda Moore posing with Milford Brown, a candidate for the Huntley Fire Protection District at Moore’s Huntley Expo booth. You can see her campaign theme: