BOFPC vacancy - who is being nominated tonight?

Before every Woodstock City Council meeting a "packet" is prepared for the members of the Council. It is transmitted from the City Manager to the Council electronically. Fortunately, a copy is posted at the library and at City Hall. Does anyone ever read it? Do the Council members even read it?

The Agenda for a City Council meeting is posted online at least 48 hours before a meeting, in compliance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

One item on this week's Agenda is Council consideration of a person to replace one of three members of the Woodstock Board of Fire and Police Commissioners (BOFPC). Commissioner Tom Schroeder has left the Board, and Mayor Sager is poised to nominate his choice of successor on the Board.

The Mayor gets to nominate, but the City Council must concur. Will it?

The City does not disclose details of the agenda items online. To learn the details you must go to the library or to city hall and read the printed copy of the packet.

Who is the nominee? None other than the former Human Resources Director for the City, Janelle Crowley.

Should she be appointed to fill the unexpired term on the Board? no, No and NO. Why not?

The People of Woodstock depend on the Board to be fair in its decisions. Since those decisions often involve discipline of the city's police department who find themselves in the Chief's crosshairs, it is imperative to have a neutral and unbiased Board. Appointing a former and long-time city director to this Board could mean that at least one member of the Board might tend to favor the city in decisions.

Already the balance is somewhat out of kilter because a second member of the Board is a police chief in a neighboring community. He would be expected to be on good terms with our own police chief. Could that have some influence on decisions of the three-person Board?

Ms. Crowley already holds a position as Chair of the McHenry County Sheriff's Department Merit Commission, a hand-picked (by the sheriff), five-member public body of the County. That's enough. Let her serve her volunteer duty there and not also in City of Woodstock.

This appointment will automatically pass tonight, unless a Council member pulls Item 6 on the Consent Agenda for discussion or a member of the public asks for Item 6 to be pulled (and a Council member agrees).

What can you do? Immediately call or email the City Council. And show up at City Hall tonight at 7:00PM.