Grafton Voters Tired of Politics

Dawn Ellison is tired of the bickering in , the born and bred Huntley woman said Tuesday at a special meeting that at times included catcalls.

“It’s just sad,” Ellison said.

Ellison was one of those who spoke up and opposed an effort by a coalition of voters to force the Grafton Township board to pay back a $700,000 loan to the Road District in a lump sum and hold trustees legally responsible if they fail to follow voters’ direction.

“We can’t vote on this, we already voted on this last year,” Ellison said. “It’s illegal to do it. You can not do it.”

Last year, registered voters attending the Grafton Township’s annual meeting authorized repayment of the loan. The township board arranged for a three-year payment plan to the Road District. However, the first installment has not been made.

One voter said Tuesday’s motion was to enforce last year’s resolution by setting a deadline.

“We need to pay it off and pay it off now and be done with it,” another man said.

“We have never refused to pay it back, we made a plan that would not put the township in financial jeopardy,” Trustee Barb Murphy said. “We approved the first payment be made. The trustees are not refusing to pay it back, the supervisor is.”

Murphy’s comments were followed by applause.

Dawn Burt, of Huntley, was part of a group called Take Back Grafton Township, which worked over the weekend to inform voters of the special meeting and encouraged people to attend. She said paying back the amount in a lump sum would bankrupt the township.

Based on township records, Grafton would end up with about $17,000 in the bank after paying the loan, which would not go far in covering the township’s monthly expenses estimated at $65,000 to $80,000, she said.

Supervisor Linda Moore said the township is expecting tax payments in May or early June and the balance will go up again within the next 60 days.

But Burt pointed out that Grafton Township has not had an audit done for two years, urging voters not to approve the motions because “we do not know what has been done in this township financially for two years,” she said.

Tom Fox, of Huntley, said if there has not been an audit in a couple of years, there were too many questions that needed to be answered before any action is taken. “Any of us who are in business would not run our business that way,” Fox said of the township’s lack of audits.

Some in the audience felt the question of an audit was overshadowing the issue and the electorate’s vote last year.

“Why wasn’t there an audit done in the last two years? It’s illegal,” one voter asked moderator Jim Kearns.

“I don’t have an answer,” Kearns said.

Mike Laird, of Lake in the Hills, is a registered CPA who cautioned voters should not let the township slip into financial instability. He said a problem is the township is burning through cash, which is being used for legal fees. Grafton should not get into the pattern of borrowing to fund current spending, he said.

Moore was not available to answer questions about the audit Tuesday night.

Take Back Grafton Township supporters were glad to see no action was taken Tuesday.

“I’m happy we will not pay back the loan in a lump sum that would bankrupt the township,” Bruce Augustine said. “A lot of people listened to what was said.”

Others, like Ellison, were just fed up with township politicking.