Dorr Township surprise

Dorr Township knows it is supposed to post the agenda for an upcoming meeting on its website. It knew it planned to meet tomorrow night - Tuesday, December 14, 2010, at 7:30PM.

Over the week-end I noticed that the Agenda for the December 14th meeting was not posted on the Dorr Township website.

Now it is, and guess what's there?

"(Item) 12. Motion to enter Closed Session to determine whether the need exists for continued confidentiality for the Minutes of Closed Session held May 11, 2010 and for consideration of real estate purchase." (emphasis added)

Does anyone recall any public discussion of the need for a "real estate purchase"?

By posting the Agenda late, the public has been closed out of much opportunity to participate in the affairs for which it pays.

Dorr Township must have spent considerable funds (to my knowledge, not yet publicly disclosed (the amount)) for "concept" drawings. After a short public display of these drawings, they disappeared. While some residents thought the publicly-funded drawings should have remained on display at the Township office, the excuse was that there was no place to display them.

Baloney! Hang them on the walls. Hang them from the ceilings. Hang them like framed prints/posters on a single rack.

Township officials acknowledged there was no money to proceed with expansion. So why would they now be meeting to discuss the purchase of real estate?

It will be interesting to learn not only the decision of the trustees tomorrow night, but also just what property they have been eye-balling. The trustees are precluded from any and every discussion among themselves outside of a formal, scheduled meeting. Have any of the trustees talked about the purchase plans?

Tomorrow night they will also vote on the Township levy and the Road District levy. Will they reduce the levy and collect lower taxes, in view of the impact of the economy of the Dorr Township residents?

Grab your wallets, folks!

And once again the monthly meeting will fail to include a report from the elected Dorr Township Clerk. At a meeting earlier this year, I asked that the Clerk report monthly, as do the Supervisor, Assessor and Road Commissioner. It's not an unreasonable request. The Clerk is elected by The People and paid for by The People.

What does the Clerk do? Does he do what he is to do, according to Illinois Statutes? How would The People know, if he doesn't report? Who is actually writing the Minutes and the Agenda for the Township? Has the Clerk delegated those responsibilities? If so, to whom?