Thornton Township services set to resume but with caveats
Officials managed to pay vendors and secure insurance policies Tuesday, moving the needle on reopening the township. But the township’s still without budgets, setting up the next big financial issue for the board.
Thornton Township services are set to resume after the board unanimously approved bills for vendors and insurance Tuesday.
It lapsed last month, forcing the township to scale back critical services like senior care and the food pantry. Tuesday was the first time in nearly three months the board was full, after electors filled a vacant seat last week.
The meeting is now marked, however, by a melee toward the meeting’s end involving a pastor, Supervisor Tiffany Henyard, and her partner Kamal Woods, also head of the township’s at-risk youth program.
It was a packed agenda. On the docket were critical items like $2.2 million property tax refund, budgets, a tax levy, a forensic audit, and independent investigations into the outreach and youth services divisions.
Votes were split, reflecting a polarized board. Trustees Chris Gonzalez, Carmen Carlisle, and Wiedeman voted similarly. Henyard and trustee Darlene Gray Everett voted similarly, with Everett seemingly looking at Henyard during roll call votes. Insurance and bills were the only items all trustees agreed upon.
Tax refund
A $2.2 million property tax refund failed. That caught Henyard’s ire. Dollars would have been “refunded from our general assistance fund,” she explained. Wiedeman, Gonzalez, and Carlisle dissented. Henyard and Gray Everett supported it.
Bonuses
The board rejected bonuses for employees, with Wiedeman offering context and disclaimers for her decisions that evening.
Wiedeman wants to keep bonuses “on the table. I just feel like we need to get through budgets, first,” she said. “My vote tonight does not reflect conversations moving forward.” She, Gonzalez, and Carlisle voted down the measure. Henyard and Gray Everett supported it.
But the bonuses could have been a financial lifeline for employees to catch up on bills or household costs after the insurance lapsed caused services to stop, halting work, Henyard countered. “This could have been without work, without income for two weeks,” she said.
Forensic audit
Last fall, Henyard, Gonzalez and Carlisle helped approve the receipt of forensic audit proposals into credit card spending from Carlisle and former Henyard aide Keith Freeman.
Carlisle backpeddled from the audit she approved, Henyard noted, with Carlisle voting down a proposal from EideBailly. “I don’t trust you or Keith Price. Resubmit this and send it out to people on the board. I don’t trust your administration,” Carlisle said.
Gonzalez and Wiedeman also voted down the measure.
Credit cards for IT and senior services
Credit cards for the two individuals overseeing the information technology and senior services divisions would “give people the right tools to run their operations,” Henyard said. “What I love about each person having their own card, [is] they are responsible for what they use in that particular department,” she said.
The motion failed. Gonzalez, Carlisle, and Wiedeman dissented. Wiedeman provided additional context for her decision.
“I absolutely do trust you guys,” Wiedeman said, speaking to the department heads. “I don’t trust the person in charge to take accountability for anything else that goes on,” she said.
Tax levy and budgets
While it’s immediately unclear how much the township levied on property owners and budget items failed, officials still approved a levy. The township initially missed its deadline last month to approve and file the item with the Cook County Clerk’s Office, but received an extension through Jan. 31.
Henyard and Gray Everett cast dissenting votes. “They should’ve made sure they told you how they allocated the funds,” Henyard said, “and where it’s going to go before they pass a tax levy.”
Terminations and investigations
The board entered a brief closed session. Upon their return, the board placed Henyard’s partner Kamal Woods and William Moore on paid administrative leave. Woods oversees the township’s at-risk youth division, which will now be subject to an independent investigation, along with the outreach department.
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