Edgar Co., IL. (ECWd) –
For the past several years, as far back as the records I have will show, that County Board Member Karl Farnham has been stealing receiving compensation far in excess of what he is lawfully entitled to receive.
Every month, at least back to December of 2012, Farnham has been stealing receiving county health insurance benefits in direct violation of a) the county employee policy, and, b) the counties code, and, c) the county board resolution setting county board member compensation, and, d) Article VII, Section 9 (b) of the Illinois Constitution, and, e) Article VIII, Sections 1 (a) and (b) of the Illinois Constitution.
He signed the resolution, he knows it is wrong, he has been informed for over three years that it is wrong, and yet it continues. It continues because the Edgar County State’s Attorney, Mark Isaf, does not have the backbone to put a stop to it.
During the past 3+ years, this board has been deliberately avoiding the subject, and now I believe I know why…because it affects their pocketbooks. Farnham didn’t want any opinion or questioning of his excess compensation because it would cost him extra money out of his own pocket in order to obtain his own health insurance. To keep stealing receiving this “perk”, it was better to just say nothing.
Saying nothing stops today.
Look at the Edgar County Resolution setting compensation for county board members below – incidentally, Farnham SIGNED this resolution on November 23, 2011. A detailed breakdown is below the pdf.
He cannot claim ignorance, he signed it.
Here is what ALL county board members are authorized…and nothing else:
- $1200 per year for board member
- or $1320 per year as board chairman
- $25 for each meeting attended
- $10 travel allowance for each meeting attended
- Additional mileage per meeting attended
***Does anyone see anything mentioned about health insurance?***
Does anyone see anything about free life insurance? He’s getting that also…
[gview file=”https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/EXHIBIT-A-BOARD-COMPCENSUS_11-23-2011.pdf”]
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What did Farnham get IN EXCESS OF the lawful amount? (proof on pages 18-24 in this pdf)
These numbers quoted below are our “best estimate” based on the premium per month minus the employee’s cost. So while there could be a minor difference on each payment, the total amount is pretty close to what Edgar County actually paid for his insurance, and also includes the $5.99 per month paid for his life insurance.
From Oct 2012 – Oct 2013 he received $396.79 each month in excess of what he was authorized to receive. That amounts to screwing the taxpayer out of $4761.80 for that year.
From Oct 2013 – Oct 2014 he received an excess of $426.79 each month for a total of $5121.48 for that year.
From Oct 2014 – Oct 2015 he received an excess of $461.99 each month, for a total of $5543.88.
Grand Total for the past three years? $15,426.84 of compensation over and above what he is authorized. If this were anyone else, with any other State’s Attorney, they would have already been charged with felony official misconduct and theft thru deception.
As you can clearly see, Karl Farnham has stolen received excessive compensation of over $15,400 from the taxpayers over the past 3 years…and nobody does anything about it…because “that’s the way we’ve always done it“…
If you are wondering why the county is still over half a million dollars in debt, maybe this is one of the reasons why.
More articles on health insurance on their way…
