Serwatka Lays Out His Take on Tuesday Lakewood Meeting

Lakewood Village Trustee Paul Serwatka reports on the last Lakewood Village Board meeting:

Paul Serwatka

Paul Serwatka

Reporting on our July 12, 2016 Village Board Meeting, there is one particular issue that I wanted to call to your attention.

While, on one hand, this is yet another example of the power residents can wield by staying informed, engaged and taking action when called upon to do so – it is also a glaring example of the very real need to stay informed, engaged and to hold in check, those we elect to govern over us.

A Brief Recap

In my June 20th email, I informed residents of the closed meeting that was called to privately discuss the performance and pay increase of Village Manager, Catherine Peterson. I explained how trustees Santowski, Iden, Thomas, Furey and Davis all voted to close this meeting to the public while I cast the only vote to keep the meeting open and allow residents to stay.

I also explained how Ms. Peterson’s $170,000 salary package far exceeded the national average and, in fact, neared the very top of the range for Municipal Managers nationwide – this, while our small village nears the bottom range regarding its size and scope.

This information notwithstanding, these same trustees then voted to award our village manager a $5000 bonus (4.2% of base salary) for the year.

After voting 5-1 in favor of awarding this bonus, trustees were reminded that because this bonus exceeded 3% of base salary it would need to be publicly disclosed – to which the question was then asked: “What is the maximum bonus amount that could be given without having to give public notice?”

As I reported, the answer to this question was calculated to be $4000 and it was then agreed by all trustees, myself excepted, to grant Ms. Peterson a $4,000 bonus and forgo public notification.

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The Outcome

Subsequent to my email notifying residents of what took place in this closed meeting, McHenry County Blog also covered this story by sharing my email. (Story can be found at the following link:) http://159.89.184.83/2016/06/28/serwatka-criticizes-lakewood-administrators-bonus-attacks-prevailing-wage/

An impressive number of emails & phone calls, as well as blog comments, were received as residents made it known that this type of behavior would no longer be tolerated.

A few weeks later, arriving in my public email box, was the following email from Village Manager, Catherine Peterson:

“Honorable President and Board of Trustees,

During the past month or so, it has become increasingly clear to me that my performance evaluation and merit increase are a distraction — both externally and internally. Therefore, I respectfully request that expenditure be pulled from the bill (payroll) list for tonight’s meeting.  Should this action not occur, please know I will return the check to the Village of Lakewood.

Kindest Regards.

Catherine”

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I have confirmed with Village Manager, Catherine Peterson that she is, in fact, choosing to forgo accepting the $4000 bonus. The line item for this bonus will be removed.

Moving Forward/A Word of Caution

While this may be viewed as a small “victory” by some, my real concern remains as it has been all along – the continued intentional actions of this board of trustees to – in my opinion – act in bad faith toward the residents they are supposed to represent.

The only way we, as residents, can successfully hold our board of trustees in check is to continue to stay informed and engaged… to encourage our neighbors to become informed and engaged… and to increasingly answer the calls-to-action when needed.

The more residents we band together, the more resounding our voice will be! Only together, can we take back our village!

I hope you will share this email with neighbors who may not be part of my email distribution list – and, please encourage them to join my list, as well.

As always your thoughts, questions and concerns are always welcome and always valued.

Recent Board Packets are located below, for your review.

June 14, 2016 Board Packet:

http://www.village.lakewood.il.us/vertical/sites/%7BA79C7536-A08B-49AC-8F3D-38ACEDC9A6CC%7D/uploads/Board_Meeting_6-14-16.pdf

July 12, 2016 Board Packet

http://www.village.lakewood.il.us/vertical/sites/%7BA79C7536-A08B-49AC-8F3D-38ACEDC9A6CC%7D/uploads/Board_Meeting_7-12-16(1).pdf


Comments

Serwatka Lays Out His Take on Tuesday Lakewood Meeting — 5 Comments

  1. paul ,im glad I showed up at that meeting,

    hopefully more people will start making these meetings to see this boards behavior!!

  2. Paul is demonstrating real leadership.

    Paul is just controlling what he can control and building his own army.

    Clearly, this is a victory for the taxpayers of Lakewood.

    Good Work Brother.

  3. “the continued intentional actions of this board of trustees to – in my opinion – act in bad faith toward the residents they are supposed to represent”

    I share in this opinion 100%.

    The behavior of this board is nothing short of shameful.

  4. oh but you should be there to here them talk about how pridefull they are!!! GAG ME

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