Last night I made a public comment to the County Board regarding the right of the citizens of Boone County to know in advance of the proposed appointments by the Chairman of the County Board. The recent advice and consent vote of the County Board regarding appointments to the Boone County Health Board was the specific appointments I questioned. Chairman Walberg refused to state if these appointments would or would not be on the agenda for consideration on June 16. I believe that this is a deliberate breach of the open meetings act which requires 48 hour notifications of meetings and a posted agenda of the major issues of the meetings. Mr. Walberg’s agenda item of “ Appointments” without any other specifics should not be considered appropriate notification.
On June 15 I questioned Mr. Walberg regarding which proposed appointments were on the agenda and asked explicitly if the Health Department appointments would be on the agenda. Mr. Walberg refused to state if they would or would not. This appears not be and isolated instance of refusing to provide the board in advance of proposed motions, discussions and information.
As noted by the email from Ms. Glass [shown below]-- Mr. Walberg appears to consistently provide little or no advance notifications of his proposed appointments to either the public or his fellow board members. Refusing to post the proposed appointments grants the public no opportunity to speak to their individual representatives regarding their concerns in these matters.
TO: Boone County Board & Boone County Board Chairman
FROM: Terri Glass- District 3
DATE: June 16, 2010
RE: Appointments
Illinois State Statute has given county boards much responsibility, one of which is the authority to appointment people and/or community members to serve on various boards and committees. The County Board Chairman must make the appointments but can only do so with the advice and consent of the County Board.
These boards and committees are intended to serve the interests of the community, oversee any budget and/or tax dollars that the entity may receive and establish policies and procedures. The people who are appointed to these committees and boards must be held accountable for their decisions and actions not only to the County Board but to the general public as well.
It is only fitting that the members of the County Board give the applicants and appointments proper consideration. I feel that in order for me, or this County Board, to make educated decisions regarding the appointments certain information must be provided. I, for one, will not be a mechanism for placing a rubber stamp on an appointment.
Effective immediately:
I will vote NO for any and all appointments unless I have, at minimum, the following information:
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Copies of all correspondence from ALL persons who express interest in an appointment
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A list of the Boards/Committee members currently serving on the applicable board, such list should also include how long each member has served (in their entirety) on such board/committee
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This information shall be provided in a timely and reasonable time frame PRIOR to the County Board meeting.
In addition, I propose the following:
The County Board should
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Be provided a complete list of the Boards/Committees that require appointments through the County Board.
a. Such list should include current board/committee members and the term expiration dates
b. Such list should also include how long each member has served (in their entirety) on such board/committee
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Such list shall be included in its entirety on the County Board website and in the Boone County Illinois Yearbook
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Vacancies announced to the media should be included on the County Website
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Vacancy announcements should include a brief description of the duties of the board/committee
