Shunning more information, trustee keeps digging

Trustee Sigwalt is at it again, continuing to publicly throw negative jabs at President Sarto. This time it is simply because he would like the Board to have more information from lawyers for the Village’s insurance carrier about ordinances presently being considered for passage in the Village, particularly in the wake of a $30 million lawsuit recently filed against the Village.

“I don’t believe we have to consult with IRMA” over the impounding proposal, Trustee Judith Sigwalt said. “Other communities have done this successfully. President Sarto just likes to make everything difficult. He tries to make more out of them than they are.”

Apparently, she already knows it all.

Or does she? Folks may recall a few months ago when the Village was considering an English-only ordinance. Sigwalt, and political ally Trustee Paul Humpfer, did not take the time to determine what kind of difficulties such an ordinance would place on staff’s ability to do their jobs and comply with state and federal regulations. Only after heads of the major Village departments stepped up to provide information that would have otherwise not been considered did Sigwalt and Humpfer relent to accepting a non-binding resolution.

In this case, some “other communities” have gotten sued when attempting to expand the situations in which vehicles would be towed. In light of that, meeting with IRMA lawyers seems like a very good idea.

“It’s prudent for us to hold off on this until we at least talk to our attorneys on what we should or should not do at this point,” Sarto said. “To stir that pot anymore would be foolish.”

Trustee Sigwalt, along with the rest of the Board, needs to take more time to gather information — like they do in other, more professional, municipalities — and ensure that that information is shared with the Board and residents to enable better, more informed decisions. It is also rushing into things without all the information and available alternatives that has put the Village at risk in the lawsuit.

On a related note, there are those who have taken issue with my criticism of Trustee Sigwalt (and Trustee Humpfer). In response, I asked them to defend the actions of these two trustees in those situations of which I’ve been critical, and provide examples of the positive effects those actions had on the community. To date, no defense or examples have been provided.

In the end, I believe the actions of Trustee Sigwalt over the past 8 years necessitates this information be pointed out to residents in order that the Village can rise above the problems that have resulted. These actions and negativity have actually held the Village back in periods when other, smaller towns have worked successfully to prosper.