So the new county board is already something old again. Or that’s the first bipartisan signal they chose to send to the voters who just elected them.
Jeff Metzger, Sr. (R) is the new county board chairman. He was elected by the eleven Democrats that just took their seats on the board (plus his vote). He defeated John Gudmunson (R) who received the other eleven Republican votes (including his own) in a roll call vote on an action item so hotly debated that a “Stand At Ease” session was called so board members from their respective political party could huddle up in public view to privately discuss the public’s business.
As entertaining as that might be to watch on the TV picture box it is not a shining example of open, honest government — and meanwhile back at the ranch — DeKalb County is one of the nation’s highest taxed counties and its largest employment sector (Government) is in desperate need for more tax revenue and seems willing to do about anything to get it.
Blast from the Past.
For those who’ve lived in DeKalb County for a while, and paid attention to county government, a 12-12 split on the county board and the name Jeff Metzger may ring of Yogi Berra’s “deja vu all over again.” The last time there was a 12-12 split, in 2004, it was the Jr. Jeff Metzger (R) who broke ranks with his party to support the Democrats.
At its first meeting after the 2004 election the Republicans thought they had agreed to a compromise that split the chairman position into two one-year terms. An appointed adhoc committee consisting of three members from each political party negotiated the compromise. But neither of the Sandwich (Dist 12) board members, Metzger, Jr., or Marlene Allen (R) showed up for the December 6 meeting. That left the Democrats with a 12-10 advantage.
Dennis Sands (R) moved to approve a resolution to elect a Republican nominee as chairman for two years and then in December 2005 that Republican chairman would resign and members would elect a Democratic chairman. Howard Lyle seconded the motion. The motion failed by an 11-Democrats to 10-Republicans vote (Steve Faivre (D) abstaining). Steve Slack (D) then made a motion seconded by Frank Van Buer (D) to nominate Ruth Anne Tobias (D) as the chairman.
The ten remaining Republicans immediately walked out and the meeting was adjourned due to a lack of quorum present.
At the Dec. 15, 2004 meeting Tobias became the first woman to serve as chairman of the DeKalb County board by a 14-10 vote. Metzger, Jr. and John Gudmunson (R) from District 11 were the two Republican votes for Tobias. Metzger, Jr. was appointed chairman of the economic development committee.
There was much gnashing of teeth in the local media, including this one. Sands was especially critical of Metzger, Jr.
“We were all disappointed in the one Republican turning on us, and his reasons for doing it were purely personal,” Sands told the Daily Chronicle. He and most of the local GOP thought Metzger, Jr., helped orchestrate the Democrats maneuver to gain control of the board.
The Democrats had been complaining loudly, before the election, about the Republicans’ indulgence during their decades of majority control of the county board. It was Time for a Change in DeKalb County government!
Soon after the election the board voted to send Ruth Anne Tobias, Sue Leifhiet, Eileen Dubin and Jeff Metzger, Jr., to Hawaii to attend a conference. County officials in other areas either scaled back delegations or decided not to attend the conference. The local media was critical of the expense while voters felt betrayed.
But Metzger, Jr., saw things differently. On his blog, Illinois Political Climate, he wrote about the NACO conference in Hawaii and wondered why the local media didn’t send anyone to Hawaii to check up on the DeKalb County delegation:
I have recently returned from representing DeKalb County at the annual National Association of Counties Conference which was held this year in Waikiki. This conference has received much criticism in the media prior to it being held. Certain elected officials, citizens and members of the media pointed fingers at those elected officials attending, as abusing tax dollars to take a vacation. Prior to the conference and at the conference I pondered these allegations. I tried to put myself in their shoes and see this from their perspective. Certainly, I can understand how taxpayers may have seen this as a frivolous expense. However, elected officials and members of the media were just looking for a way to make headlines. Because members of the media took this story so seriously, some devoting entire columns and editorials on it, I felt for certain that while at the conference I would encounter those members of the media at the conference to check up on us. I met zero members of the media from Illinois. They may have been there, however, they certainly were not at any of the many workshops and meetings I took part in, they certainly were not at the State of Illinois caucus meeting. Where were they? Some were back in Chicago covering a protest Luau of our attendance at the conference. Why were they not at the conference itself? They certainly had enough negative to say about it in advance. Had they been there, they would have seen their elected county officials spending at least 5 hours a day in a conference center meeting room taking notes and listening to speakers…hardly a lush vacation. It may also be interesting to note, that I took vacation time from my place of employment to attend this conference. Vacation time that I could have used to go on, well, vacation. But instead I spent it indoors, in meetings but technically in Hawaii.
Metzger, Jr. later resigned from the board for professional reasons. He was replaced by his father, Jeff Metzger, Sr.
Fast forward to the present.
Jeff Metzger, Sr., was elected to the chairman seat over John Gudmunson with his and the ten Democrats’ votes. Paul Stoddard (D) was elected vice-chairman.
Ken Andersen (R) was the adhoc committee’s first choice for the chairman position but Anita Turner (D) made a surprise motion to nominate Metzger, Sr. Gudmunson was nominated by Julia Fullerton after the awkward-if-not-illegal “stand at ease” session. Andersen eventually walked out of the meeting.
During discussions the public could hear Charles Foster (R) criticize Metzger, Sr., and members of the adhoc committee for the manuever. Metzger said that several longtime Republicans had approached him and asked that he run for the chair. He said that at least six of those longtime Republicans would likely show up and explain why they wanted him to be the chair but it was nothing personal against Ken Andersen. Perhaps those six longtime Republicans would also let us know whether they contacted either caucus (Republican or Democrat) to explain why Metzger, Sr., should be the county board chairman?
Darn it. The November 2012 election just happened. On the local county board campaign trail were promises of open, honest government to come. Fresh faces and new ideas. A changing of the guard.
Change is needed and here’s why. Let’s look at the county board’s integrity on the landfill expansion issue. It is indisputable fact that the testimony of the county board to the Illinois courts is that the need for funding the expansion of the DeKalb County jail did not influence their approval of the siting application. In fact, former assistant State’s Attorney John Farrell told the 2nd District Appellate Court Justices that the board has still not decided how they will pay for the expansion.
It’s not about the landfill. It’s integrity.
The Daily Chronicle’s Election Central asked Jeff Metzger, Sr., if the county board made the right decision approving the landfill expansion:
I believe we made the correct decision on a landfill expansion, based on what is best for the county residents. County constituents expect elected officials to find alternate income revenue to prevent tax increases. The cost to transport inmates to alternate jail facilities outside of DeKalb County continues to rise. This staggering dollar amount will total roughly one million dollars this year, and will continue to rise each year. Beside the monetary issue, there is always an increase in security concerns whenever an inmate is relocated.
Ummm, Jeff, the question was about the landfill. Your decision was to be based on the nine criteria set by Rule 39.2. Those rules don’t include the county jail expansion.
It makes me wonder if any of those six leading Republicans have anything to do with the jail. Or, did Ken Andersen ever vote against one of their projects or a raise or something?
It was a terrible first step out of the box for the new DeKalb County Board. Those fresh faces with new ideas better step up to the task of leadership or they’ll be absorbed into the status quo in a flicker. The old guard humiliated the new members with their childish acts of partisan gamesmanship.
Here’s hoping they can recover.
Addendum: (awating response)
Sarah Pratt
Acting Public Access Counselor
Office of the Attorney General
500 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, Illinois 62706Ms Pratt,
I am formally requesting your review of a possible Open Meetings Act violation.
On Monday, Dec. 3, 2012 the DeKalb County Board held its regularly scheduled meeting and officially welcomed seven new members. In the process of electing the new chair of the county board there was discussion of going into a “full recess” for private discussions during the public meeting. Some questioned the legality of doing that. The meeting was then moved to a “stand at ease” and members were divided into two separate groups to discuss agreements and talk off the public record for 10 minutes.
As I understand it under subsection 2(a), a public body may, upon a majority vote of a quorum present, vote to close a meeting or to hold a closed meeting at a specified future date. Section 2(a) requires that a citation to the exception in subsection 2(c) authorizing the closed meeting, be publicly disclosed at the time of the vote and recorded and entered in the minutes of the meeting at which the vote is taken. No such exception was cited and I believe none exists under 2(c). The agenda item was to elect a new chair, nominations were publicly made and the public discussion was on that matter.
In discussing the matter with a board member I was told that since the “stand at ease” discussion was “off record” no minutes of those discussions would be available since none were taken. I do believe the Open Meetings Act requires summary minutes and verbatim recordings of closed session meetings and would apply to “stand at ease” discussions held by an elected public body. The logic applied was that since the “stand at ease” session was held in the same room (one group on one side, the other on another side of the room) and the public was present then the session was not closed. I believe that logic fails the test of the Open Meetings Act. A member of the public, or the press, can not be on both sides of a room at the same time. In an action item of public interest voting members of the board were limited to half of the “off record” discussion.
Please review the above actions of the DeKalb County Board in connection with a public meeting to determine if OMA violations occurred. With seven new board members and a new state’s attorney it is imperative that a precedence of open, honest and transparent governance be set. I am asking for an injunction against future violations of the Act and that the public body make available for public inspection the minutes of the improperly closed sessions.
Respectfully,
Mac A. McIntyre
Editor, DeKalb County Online
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18 Comments
Stephen, the problems you speak of are systemic in nature. The failed system of democracy is is what allowed the open-checkbook policy on school building. In a republic form of government, you would have a group of elected representatives voting on whether to pass this type of program with unanimous or 100% rule required. Instead, we had a well-intentioned but relatively uninformed populace being steered(snookered was term being used) by insider “experts”, and passed the programs by a referendum of majority rule. Likewise, the problem with jail overcrowding is a systemic problem of too many laws, and not too many criminals. These type of problems that some would attribute to the people involved, and really systemic problems, and will never be solved until the wayward systems are changed.
Of course the granddaddy of wayward systems is the process of money creation itself, the present quagmire of a debt-based currency. For example, under a constitutional form of government there is no need to collect “taxes” at all to fund the building of a school. With a credit-based, debt-free, interest-free currency, as described under the constitution, all you do is print the money and build. The concept of “taxing” itself becomes obsolete when all you have to do is “print” money to meet demand. In addition, there is no need to pay back the “debt” or “interest” with a credit-based currency created from thin air.
You can say goodbye to most jail overcrowding problems as well, when all you need to do is print money and build what is needed to meet demand. Of course, if we could simply offer a “job” to anyone in need by the same process of money creation as described, there would be little need for such jail or prison in the first place. There would be free (and effective) health-care for all at the flip of a switch using a credit-based, debt and interest free currency. Add your wish to the list.
As a side note, there seems to be much confusion lately around term “constitutional rights” or “legal rights” and when these rights apply. Actually the concept is quite simple, and is best described by the word freedom or “liberty”.
liberty (n) – The condition of being free from restriction or control.
Anytime government is seeking to control the individual or restrict their liberty in any way, they are probably violating their constitutional or legal rights. The property tax under discussion here for building schools or jails is a direct violation of these rights.
More discussion on the topic can be found at the following link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_and_legal_rights
Now tell me, do we have a people problem, or a system problem?
You thinking about home-rule again Mac? We might have some use for it after all. 😉
I didn’t realize that the county jail expansion was a “pet project.” I am sure the county board would rather not spend millions on a new jail if they had a choice. This need was brought to the voters twice and rejected. Voters approved giving Kishwaukee College 52 million dollars and over 100 million for Dekalb High School but would never support a jail because of it’s nature. Who likes jails? However, they are necessary and are mandated by our legislators. Our get “tough on crime” legislators haven’t yet figured out that we should spend more money on public and mental health and less on incarcerating individuals for “victimless crimes.” The number of criminal statutes has doubled in 25 years and are added to every year. The town of Cortland and the Dekalb School Board have made poor decisions over the years that has affected not only them but other taxing bodies.
So you agree with me that the other governmental units have screwed things up but I disagree with you that the County is perfect. OK. All tiebreakers go to the Editor.
I think voters told the county board four times via referendum no to jail plans. Collectively I think voters are smarter than those they elect. Nothing personal. It’s simple math. More brain power.
Voters rejected four jail referendums because of math. Considering salaries, benefits, training, support and pension costs, historically, it has been cheaper to send our inmates to other counties. I wonder if that is still the case and if adding staff to support expanded facilities would have a positive or negative impact on that comparison. My bet is that it is still cheaper to house our inmates elsewhere than it is to build and staff a bigger, better jail.
But, as we all know (except the Illinois courts) the County approved a mega-expansion to the landfill to pay for a jail the taxpayers rejected. Four times. Brain power. It’s the stuff representatives should rely more on…
Hey Mac,
I didn’t know that “county government” was the biggest employer in the county? Actually I think you tried to lump all governmental units together. With the recession everyone is desperate for revenue. That is the reality but I don’t believe that the county is willing to do “anything” to get it. If you wish to vent about wasted tax dollars, just look at the decisions of the school board over many years. That is also where most of our money goes.
Stephen, actually I did lump the government sector together as the largest employer and it is. Public education is in the government sector and that includes NIU. There are several school boards in this county. Some make better decisions than others but there’s not much difference in the tax rate between the school districts. Note I did not say property taxes albeit those rates are very high. I said taxes. Each of the plethora of government units is responsible not only for their slice of the pie (taxpayer) but also for the whole pie.
As for desperate measures to feed the revenue appetite, let me give you three examples:
1) The County Board approved a 17 county mega-dump to finance (revenue) a jail expansion and other pet projects (revenue) of certain county board members.
2) District 428 school board members attended a Cortland town board meeting where they promised to build a grade school next to a landfill in return for the town board’s support of their referendum (revenue).
3) The Town of Cortland signed an agreement with the landfill operator to not object or help anyone who might object to the mega-dump expansion in return for a $1 million lump sum payment (revenue) plus a monthly per house fee (revenue).
County Board member Mark Pietrowski told me in a phone conversation on Thursday evening that it would have been permissible for media to walk up with a Microphone and listen to the conversations of the caucuses . Based on Mr Schmack’s conclusion, I am not sure if Mr Pietrowski is correct. Mr Pietrowski also defended the selection of mega Dump supporter Metzger as Chair and Mega Dump supporter Stoddard as Vice Chair.
Mr. Charvat-Checking the county board rules shows the following instruction:
from http://dekalbcounty.org/CountyBoard/rules.html
(14) No unauthorized person or persons may enter into or remain in the seating area for the county board or those areas immediately adjacent to the seating area of the county board beginning one half hour prior to county board meetings and ending one half-hour after adjournment of the county board. No unauthorized person or persons may distribute materials or speak to members of the county board in the board seating area during such periods.
According to what you say Mr. Pietrowski told you, perhaps he does not know all the rules just yet. One would think the chairman of a political party would make it a point to know the rules, especially at perhaps the most strategically important of county board meetings. Not that he’s alone…it would seem many did not know or ignored rules and laws that evening.
Had the press or any person asked for and received permission from the Chairman, then maybe they could have approached someone with a microphone. But was the Chairman still in control and available for requests from the podium? Or deep in essentially private discussion with other members? I’ll have to watch that tape all the way through. As far as I can tell, the public meeting was still ongoing, just with everyone talking at will, and the public unable to hear much if anything and the chairman not in control. Sure looks like violations of Robert’s Rules, the Board’s own rules, and the Open Meetings Act were committed that night. Difficult to imagine States Attorney Schmack advised against proceeding with a recess or “standing at ease” that evening, yet wrote a lengthy memo later finding no violation of the Open Meetings Act.
Maybe when our elected county representatives put on their “business” clothing (also in the rules) they forgot to put on their business demeanor with analytic ability to compare behavior against rule and law.
Or is it “just” a failure of discipline?
Illinois state law trumps Robert’s Rules. Sheesh. At least the state PAC will be able to view the video.
By the way, what was the nature of people meeting to form “an agreement?” Would that somehow skirt not violating the OMA because perhaps those involved in forming “an agreement” were not yet sworn in as county board members?
Got it.! The Video is even more disturbing
It was the first meeting of this new board that included a new administrator, a new state’s attorney and a temporary chair to run the meeting. State’s Attorney Richard Schmack did advise against the recess and the stand at ease, citing the Open Meetings Act. But the agenda of politicking and gotcha prevailed — this time. Hopefully the board realizes that the law is more important than the games they play.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/116844485/12-12-12-Memo-to-Jeff-Metzger-Re-Open-Meeting-Act-Viol
ick. Integrity just got sucker punched by the new state’s attorney.
where is this video posted?
Mark, it’s linked to the words ‘tv picture box’ in the beginning of the 3rd paragraph of this article.
watching the video is embarrassing. Why would they broadcast their ignorance for the world to see?
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So you think the voters are smart when they agree with you. Was it so smart to approve 52 million dollars for Kish college or 100 + million for the Dekalb schools? The voters don’t know the issues regarding the jail. They voted against it because they don’t care for jails period. We are mandated by law to provide minimum services for prisoners. If Boone county raises their rental fees we are in trouble. Currently, we are sending a lot of money out of the county. Money that a local jail would recirculate into the local economy. I have criticized Dekalb and Cortland for poor development decisions that we now and in the future will be paying for. How is Dekalb County responsible for the actions of Dekalb, Cortland, and the Dekalb School board? The county has no say in their housing developments or financial decisions. There is a lot of tax exempt property in this county. NIU is exempt as is Kishwaukee Health Systems as a “not for profit.” It is exempt from most of their property tax because of their tax status. We have a rather small EAV compared to other comparable communities and that contributes to our higher taxes.