All five elected Republican county-wide officeholders have come out in support of severe restrictions on the powers of Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler.
On Friday 12 County Board members called for a special meeting set for 5 p.m. Wednesday to consider an ordinance that would strip many of the board chairman’s powers, including appointments.
In a joint statement released Tuesday, Circuit Clerk Tom McRae, County Auditor David Michael, State’s Attorney Tom Haine, Treasurer Chris Slusser, and Regional Superintendent of Schools Rob Werden came out “in strong support” of the plan.
“We all believe these proposed changes are reasonable and responsible,” the statement said. “We fully support them. As independent elected officials, we need the County administration to work smoothly and efficiently so we can do our jobs well.”
The statement cited “inept management and bad judgement” that is wasting taxpayer resources and harming the office-holders’ ability to serve the county’s citizens.
“This action is long overdue, and we commend the Board's leadership in pursuing these ordinance updates even in the face of personal attacks,” the statement said, in part referring to statements made by Prenzler in a series of letters endorsing challengers in recent county-wide and County Board races.”
Prenzler had previously said he had supported those candidates in large part because of his efforts to put a referendum on Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, or PTELL, on the ballot.
PTELL caps the total dollar amount certain property taxes may increase from year to year based on the Consumer Price Index or 5 percent, whichever is lower. However, larger increases can be made with voter approval.
Prenzler has pushed for its adoption in Madison County and there have been several failed attempts to place it on the ballot.
While touted as a tax-saving measure, a number of County Board members, including many of those opposed by Prenzler, had said they did not have enough information, and were concerned that if approved it would, at least initially, create much higher property taxes for many residents.
However, the joint statement said additional oversight and involvement in the county administration “has been rumored for a while.”
Among the reasons specifically cited were the administration’s handling of the filing and eventual settling of a sex harassment and wrongful termination lawsuit by former Madison County Community Development Director Kristen Poshard, which was settled last year for $850,000, and cost the county a total of about $1.3 million.
It also cited other “misguided appointments and personnel decisions,” and the maintaining of an “ongoing professional relationship” with former County Administrator Doug Hulme and former IT Director Rob Dorman, who were both fired by the board in April 2020.
The meeting was called by Board Members John “Eric” Foster, R-Granite City; Chris Hankins, D-Pontoon Beach; Chris Guy, R-Maryville; Denise Wienhardt, R-Granite City; Nick Petrillo, D-Granite City; Gussie Glasper, D-Madison; Mike Walters, R-Godfrey; Bobby Ross, R-St. Jacob; Stacey Pace, R-Troy; Jamie Goggin, R-Edwardsville; Mick Madison, R-Bethalto and Terry Eaker, R-Bethalto.
Foster, Glasper and Goggin were, according to unofficial ballot results, defeated in the June 28 primary. Walters was defeated in his attempt to gain the Republican nomination for County Clerk.
The proposed ordinance would transfer much of the chairman’s powers, including all of his powers to appoint department heads, the county administrator, and approximately 70 boards and committees throughout the county, to the chairperson pro tem.
Walters is the current chair pro tem, but the ordinance calls for a new election among board members for a new chair pro tem and vice president pro tem at the following board meeting.
That person would also be responsible to “implement the decisions and policies of the board” and take over control of many of the executive functions in running the county.
Prenzler had previously characterized the board members’ actions as an attempt to change the county’s form of government, emphasizing his “pro-taxpayer” stance.
“More than 70,000 Madison County citizens chose me over my pro-tax opponent precisely because I’m pro-taxpayer,” he said. “And I’m not going to change my position after the election just because I have opposition. I will not back down to those who want to change our county's form of government without a referendum - back to the good ole days – when one board member was elected by other board members – to divvy up the spoils. To back down would disenfranchise the 70,000 voters who elected me.
Prenzler said late Tuesday morning he would have additional comments regarding the issue, but had not responded by about 5 p.m.
The statement said the five officials have "strong support" of the plan due to a recent lawsuit that cost the county $1.3 million and "many other personnel problems."
The county reached a settlement last year with Kristen Poshard, former administrator of the county's Community Development Department, who had who filed a federal lawsuit accusing the county of wrongfully terminating her after she alleged that a former county board member sexually harassed her.
"The idea of additional Board oversight and involvement in County Administration has been rumored for a while, especially since Prenzler's most recent defeat last spring when the former Community Development Director's lawsuit for sexual harassment and wrongful termination ended up costing the county over $1.3 million," the Republican officials said in their statement. "Since then we all have seen the continued revolving door of department heads, misguided appointments and personnel decisions, and a County Chairman who maintained an ongoing professional relationship with two fired former administrators even while these same fired employees were filing and litigating scores of lawsuits against the County."
Prenzler said that since he became chairman, the county has been able to reduce county property taxes for residents.
He says the board members who oppose his administration include those who did not get his support in the June 28 primary. He supported candidates who backed a proposed Property Tax Extension Limitation Law, which gives voters the chance to decide tax changes and limits amounts the county can collect.
Under this system, "Increases in property tax extensions are limited to the lesser of 5 percent or the increase in the consumer price index for the year preceding the levy year. The limitation for a taxing district can be increased with voter approval," according to the Illinois Department of Revenue.
The statement from McRae, Michael, Haine, Slusser and Werden states that property tax law changes are not the reason they want to change Prenzler's duties.
"...The fact that Mr. Prenzler apparently thinks these changes are about PTELL just shows that he apparently has no idea what is happening inside the County government," their statement says.
Prenzler released a statement Tuesday night in response to the other GOP officials.
"It was unfortunate that other Republican officeholders weighed in and continue to interfere in county board business. I'm in the oversight business. That's how I got here," Prenzler said in a statement Tuesday night in response to McRae, Michael, Haine, Slusser, and Werden.
"In 2011, 2017 and 2018, I led the fight to defeat a proposed county-wide 1 percent sales tax. In 2016, I led an effort to collect 10,000 signatures to put a tax cut referendum on the ballot, which passed 4 to 1," Prenzler.
Dwight Kay, a former Republican state representative from Madison County who has started a group called the Madison County Conservative Caucus, released a statement on Monday in support of Prenzler.
"The charges are unsupported by facts, data or evidence rendering the charges and Special Meeting akin to a high tech lynching by a small group of Republicans against a two-time elected Chairman, who is also a Republican," Kay said in his statement.
Kay said in an interview Tuesday that the board members opposed to Prenzler include members who lost GOP primary races last month to candidates supported by the Madison County Conservative Caucus.
In response to the statement released by the five countywide leaders on Tuesday, Kay criticized McRae, Michael, Haine, Slusser and Werden for citing the Poshard lawsuit.
"That had nothing to do with Kurt Prenzler," Kay said of the lawsuit.
This story was originally published July 5, 2022 5:00 PM.
(c)2022 the Belleville News-Democrat (Belleville, Ill.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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Re: Prenzler Responds
Posted by Joe Smith on July 6, 2022, 10:18 pm, in reply to "Prenzler Responds"
That's one thing Republicans do that Democrats never do, and that is turn on each other. I understand the party battles behind the scenes, but Democrats just don't allow those things to get messy as Republicans do. And it's at all levels, not just county-level politics. It's too easy to just say it's stupidity, but its never-ending.Can someone give me a list of countries that I can walk into illegally & they will give me cash, free housing & a free phone?