Due diligence takes time ? that was the lesson some trustees took away from a $40,000 budget adjustment for the new Township Hall.
‘Just as a lesson ? we need to slow down the voting part,? said Clerk Shelagh VanderVeen. ‘Maybe do a little less of the discussion part so we all understand what’s in front of us and how we’re voting.?
VanderVeen, who admitted she was ‘ashamed to say? she didn’t know what she was voting on, joined the rest of the Independence Township Board in rescinding an extra $40,000 budget adjustment.
Rosso agreed he didn’t know what he was voting on either
‘I thought it was for the building department, and just took it rather casually, but now being that we’ve gone beyond the $800,000 we’re are going to have to make a genuine budget adjustment and we made them before,? Rosso said. ‘A lot of times they’ve come from the general fund on circumstances like this, so I don’t know what we’re going to do, but it’s unfortunate.?
Other trustees also thought it was for the building department, only to find out it was an add on to the allotted $800,000 approved for township hall.
‘What we talked about mostly was the decrease in respective revenues in the building department,? said Trustee Neil Wallace. ‘I think that’s what misled everyone to believe that this $40,000 adjustment which wasn’t discussed at all and only showed up in a paragraph and wasn’t in the numbers was not about the township hall remodeling fund.?
The budget adjustment was approved, May 5, under ‘Operating Transfers? to the Building Fund in a memo to the board by Finance Director Susan Hendricks. Wallace said all other discussions and agenda items had referred to the $800,000 as ‘the new township hall remodeling fund.?
‘I’m giving the board a little credit,” said Trustee David Lohmeier. “It’s not that anyone wasn’t reading this thing, it’s that nobody would have got this and it was on a line that was talking about a transfer of one expense to another, so it was either at the last minute accidentally vague or intentionally, it doesn’t matter. The proposal to up the fund budget was not there, we didn’t do it, it never happened, we’re just over what we said. Let’s clear out the fund and if we’re going to spend five more dollars to remodel it, we should come in here and we should talk about it.?
After the meeting Trustee Mark Petterson said the money was ‘justifiably rescinded.?
‘That just goes to show we were over the $800,000 and that’s intolerable, I guess you should have made room for other things,? he said. ‘A little less carpet and a little more elbow grease of what you already had.?
Despite having some outstanding debt, Supervisor Dave Wagner said rescinding the $40,000 won’t hurt them because they had not spent any of the money yet.
‘I had recommended prior to that meeting that if additional expenses come in that those expenses be taken to the board individually, instead of any lump sum.?