Area Sewer Agency Subject Of Complaint

BURR RIDGE, IL — Government bodies in Illinois are legally required to give the "general subject matter" of what they're voting on before their meetings, so the public is kept in the loop. But the local sewer agency that serves parts of eastern DuPage County failed to do that with recent layoffs. And now a citizen watchdog has filed a complaint with the attorney general's office.

Edgar Pal, a DuPage County resident, filed a complaint Monday against the Flagg Creek Water Reclamation District, which serves all or parts of Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Darien and Burr Ridge. He did this after Patch wrote two stories about the layoffs, one focusing on whether it complied with the state's open meetings law.

In the complaint, Pal said the three-member district board voted April 10 to approve the layoff of three employees and salary increases without putting either item on the agenda. Despite the lack of notice to the public, Burr Ridge police officers were on hand within an hour after the meeting to stand by as the three employees were laid off. No problems occurred.

The board's agenda included one item of business for action: "Review of Proposed Flagg Creek Water Reclamation District Budget for FY 2020-2021."

In his complaint, Pal said the budget item was not specific enough to give the public any information on what the district planned to do.

Pal also took issue with the closed session held before the votes on the layoffs and salary increases. Based on the actions, Pal said he could infer the board discussed the issues behind closed doors.

Pal noted that the board's president told Patch that the votes for the separation agreements with the three laid-off employees were for business reasons. The state Open Meetings Act allows government bodies to close their doors to discuss issues with specific personnel, but not business matters related to employees.

"Even though three specific employees were directly impacted by the separation agreements, it does not appear that the layoffs were related to the relative merits of individual employees," Pal said in his complaint.

Other documents obtained by Patch indicated the salary increases were not connected to individual job performance, Pal said.

On Thursday, the attorney general sent a letter to the board's president, Herbert Stade, saying an investigation was warranted. It asked for the board's side of the matter.

In an interview Friday, Stade confirmed he had received the letter.

"We will respond. We will cooperate in any way we can," he said.

In Illinois, members of public boards must take Open Meetings Act training.