By: Diane Benjamin
I am reading over a thousand emails I started receiving late yesterday. This is one of them pertaining to the meeting last Monday:
I asked John McIntyre if he said this, he hasn’t responded to my email.
From another source I was assured he didn’t because John knows has no authority to cancel any meetings of this Board. Strike 1 for Mark Casada – Board President.
I can tell you McIntyre has been involved in whatever is going on since at least last September. From what I can tell, two members of the Board have been out-voting the other one. The one ran to John McIntyre for help. An attempt was made to create a 5 person board, of course the two voted against it.
There are no innocent parties on either side, I’m not getting into details yet.
There may only be one way to resolve this – by the citizens in the District. This board needs to have 5 members so two can not control every decision. http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=872&ChapterID=15
(70 ILCS 705/4.01) (from Ch. 127 1/2, par. 24.01)
Sec. 4.01. Five-member boards.
(a) Any appointed board of trustees of a fire protection district may provide for the establishment of a 5-member board of trustees by adopting an ordinance to that effect. An appointed board of trustees shall also be increased to a 5-member board upon the adoption of a proposition to increase the board as provided in subsection (b) of this Section. When such an ordinance or proposition has been adopted, the appropriate appointing authority shall, within 60 days of the date of the adoption of the ordinance or proposition, appoint 2 additional trustees to the board of trustees, one to hold office for 2 years and one to hold office for 3 years from the first Monday of May next after their appointment and until their successors are appointed and have qualified. The lengths of the terms of these 2 additional members shall be determined by lot at the first meeting of the board of trustees held after the 2 additional members take office. The 3 trustees already holding office in the district shall continue to hold office for the remainder of their respective terms. Thereafter, on or before the second Monday in April of each year the appropriate appointing authority shall appoint one trustee or 2 trustees, as shall be necessary to maintain a 5-member board of trustees, whose terms shall be for 3 years commencing the first Monday in May of the year in which they are respectively appointed.
(b) Upon presentation to an elected or appointed 3-member board of trustees of a petition, signed by not less than 5% of the electors of the district governed by the board, requesting that a proposition to increase the board of trustees to a 5-member board be submitted to the electors of the district, the secretary of the board of trustees shall certify the proposition to the appropriate election authorities who shall submit the proposition at a regular election in accordance with the general election law. The general election law shall apply to and govern the election. The proposition shall be in substantially the following form:
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"Shall the number of trustees YES
of the Fire Protection District be -------------------------
increased from 3 to 5?" NO
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If a majority of the votes cast on the proposition are in the affirmative, the board of trustees of the district shall thereafter be increased to a 5-member board and the 2 additional trustees shall be elected or appointed as provided by this Section.
Put a referendum on the ballot.
I’m not a lawyer and you may need one.
The citizens may also be able to change from appointed to elected Trustees. That would eliminate the County Board from any decisions..
It’s up to you!
