The Village Board’s Legal Committee will examine the way the village appoints its standing committee chairmen and president pro tem after two trustees charged that the process was becoming influenced by politics.
At a Village Board meeting this week, Trustee Thomas Hayes proposed several amendments to the village code aimed at removing political repercussions from appointments.
“We as elected officials must not allow assignment to these key leadership positions to be rewards for political favors, nor can we allow nonconsideration as the punishment for political disfavors,” he said in a prepared statement to the board.
Hayes spoke out last week against Village President Arlene Mulder’s recommended appointments to head four standing committees, saying they appeared to be politically motivated.
One of Hayes’ amendments would bar a trustee from serving as a committee chair in the first year of his or her term. Another would bar a trustee from heading a committee for more than two consecutive years. And a third would require a president pro tem to be an elected trustee who had served on the board for at least two years.
The board voted to refer the matter to its Legal Committee.
