CERWD – Meeting minutes are purposely misleading –

Oliver, IL. (ECWd) –
I requested copies of the May and June 2015 Clark-Edgar Rural Water District meeting minutes to compare them with the audio I had received in a previous FOIA request.
I requested them because I had the suspicion that they would not accurately reflect what actually happened during the meetings. I was correct in my suspicion.
I appears the water district took their attorney’s words literally when he told them that “the minutes must reflect David [Sprigg] abstained from voting” – which is what is reflected in the minutes. Maybe he should have qualified that statement to include that the minutes should actually reflect the truth of what was discussed and who discussed it.
This appears to be an attempt by the board to allow Sprigg to discuss things in violation of the law…as long as the minutes don’t reflect the discussions. Typically referred to as forgery of a public record.
May 4, 2015 Minutes:
What was not reflected in the minutes was that the attorney warned him that he could not discuss the Bonds either. Providing the Bond Ordinance is in fact discussing the Bond Ordinance, or at a minimum, confirmation that he has actively participated in its development.
[documentcloud url=”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2191734-may-4-2015-special-meeting/annotations/233973.js” ]
Audio proof of the warning is in this article (here).
May 18, 2015 Minutes:
In the May 18, 2015 minutes, they only reflect Dan Gmelich presenting the Ordinance to the Board – and only reflect a “lengthy” discussion of the Line-of-Credit.
[documentcloud url=”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2191735-may-18-2015/annotations/233975.js” ]
The minutes fail to mention the more than 7 minutes of discussion led by David Sprigg on the Bond Ordinance, and fail to mention the 13 minutes of discussion on the Line-of-Credit where Sprigg engages in lengthy discussion – but the minutes did state that Sprigg abstained from voting on it! – Just like their attorney told them it should reflect…maybe he should have qualified that statement to include it should actually reflect the truth of what was discussed and who discussed it.
Audio supporting this Sprigg led discussion on the Bond is in a previous article, the second audio clip (here).
Audio supporting the Sprigg led discussion on the Line-of-Credit is the third audio clip in this article (here).
June 15, 2015 Minutes:
The June 15 minutes reflect the reaffirmation and re-adoption of the Bond Ordinance, and “much” discussion on the line of credit – making sure to state the Sprigg abstained from voting… completely lacking any resemblance of the actual discussions at the meeting.
[documentcloud url=”https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2191736-june-15-2015/annotations/233987.js” ]
The audio form the June 15th meeting reflect Sprigg discussing this Line-of-Credit for more than 3 minutes, and you can hear it in this article (here).