Algonquin Township realizes mistake, will vote again on appointment of Temporary Deputy Supervisor –

Algonquin Twp (ECWd) –

Algonquin Township Board of Trustees has scheduled another special meeting for Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 2 p.m.

Items on the agenda for action include:

• appointment of Temporary Deputy Supervisor, and,
• discussion/action on proposed settlement agreement of litigation including, but not limited to case number 17CH435 (Lukasik’s counter-claim) (here, here, here, and here)

ECWd has no reason to believe there has been any change in settlement offers from previous articles we have written on this settlement.

Of further interest, is that after the three trustees voted to appoint a temporary deputy supervisor with a 2-1 vote, and a declaration made that the Motion passed, we wrote an article explaining how the Motion did not pass as state law requires the “affirmative vote of three members” of a five-member board. Algonquin Township, and every other township in Illinois is a five-member board according to state law.

We previously wrote that, according to Section 1.02 of the Open Meetings Act, it takes an affirmative vote of three trustees of a township (since it is a five-member board) to pass any Motion, even if only three trustees attend the meeting.

Algonquin Township has now included another appointment vote on this Saturday’s agenda.

Some might say that since a trustee resigned, and the supervisor is temporarily unavailable, that the Board is no longer a five-member board, so the requirements of an affirmative vote of three members is not valid, and that the board’s bylaws will determine the vote requirement.

We say their interpretation is wrong and that any alleged bylaws which purport to invalidate a requirement in state law are invalid. 

The Illinois Township Code, Section 80-5 prescribes that a township board shall consist of the supervisor and four trustees (a five-member board):

Sec. 80-5. <span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">Township board membership; officers. </span>    <span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;">(a) In each township, the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">township board shall consist of the supervisor and 4 other members</span> elected at large from the township under Section 50-5. The township clerk shall be the clerk of the township board but not a voting member, except that in the case of a tie vote to fill a vacancy in a township office, the clerk shall be entitled to cast one vote. Each person on the township board shall cast but one vote. The supervisor shall be the chairman of the board.</span><span style="font-family: Courier New; font-size: small;"> </span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New;">Sec. 60-5.<br /> Filling vacancies in township offices.</span><span style="font-family: Courier New;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">(b) If a vacancy on the township board is not filled within 60 days, then a special<br /> township meeting must be called under Section 35-5 to select a replacement<br /> under Section 35-35.</span></span> 

What this means, is that even if there is a vacancy in office of trustee or supervisor, the fact remains it is still a five-member board.

Others might say “then how do we ever conduct business if there are three vacancies – because the board could no longer make an appointment without three affirmative votes?”

We agree. Not only could a township board (with three vacancies) not make appointments, it could not even meet since state law requires there be three members of a five-member board to establish a proper meeting quorum.

If a board cannot meet to appoint to vacancies, how would vacancies be filled?

Look no further than Section 60-5 of the Township Code. After 60 days of a vacant office, the electors shall meet and appoint to that vacant office in accordance with Section 30-5:

Sec. 60-5.
Filling vacancies in township offices.

(b) If a vacancy on the township board is not filled within 60 days, then a special
township meeting must be called under Section 35-5 to select a replacement
under Section 35-35.

It appears this township is working to rectify its improper pronouncement of passage of its previous 2-1 vote on the appointment by scheduling another vote for the appointment of a Temporary Deputy Supervisor until the elected Supervisor can perform the duties of that office.

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