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Manteno board moves ahead with $168,000 forensic audit; minutes amendment to be considered
Summary
Trustees have already authorized a $168,000 forensic audit that auditors had begun by Aug. 18; a resident asked the board to correct minutes omitting Trustee Ed Geske’s recorded vote and the board agreed to consider amending the minutes at its next meeting.
The Village of Manteno board is proceeding with a $168,000 forensic audit that, according to the mayor, had already begun by the date of the Aug. 18 meeting. A resident and several trustees urged further review before spending that amount, and trustees agreed to consider a correction to the meeting minutes to record a missing vote by Trustee Ed Geske.
The audit was the subject of public comment during the meeting’s public-participation period. Resident Ron Tibbs said he was “shocked at the lack of due diligence before we just vote to spend a $168,000,” and urged trustees to review prior annual audits to identify less expensive alternatives before commissioning a forensic audit.
The request to amend the minutes came at the start of the meeting. A speaker identified the item as “under new business, a consideration, which was a motion to approve the forensic audit quote for 168,000. It was motion by Barry, second by Vaughn. Bujo, Crockett, and Zimbelman voted no. It left out Geske’s vote.” The speaker asked that Geske’s name be added to the minutes and that the correction be voted on at the next board meeting.
Mayor (name on the meeting record) responded that the audit work had already started, saying the auditors “were there today” and the audit had begun. Village Administrator Chris Larocque had earlier described the routine audit context — that money transfers noted in the annual audit could reflect project budgeting and later adjustments rather than wrongdoing — and he answered residents’ questions about how funds move between accounts.
Trustee Annette Zimbelman read a letter from a “concerned citizen” criticizing the forensic audit as an unnecessary expense and calling it a political “vendetta.” The letter urged trustees to preserve prior town improvements and questioned whether the audit would find misuse of funds.
Discussion vs. decision: The board did not overturn the prior motion authorizing the forensic audit during the Aug. 18 meeting. The recorded action items from this meeting are (1) a public request to amend the minutes to add Trustee Ed Geske’s vote on the forensic-audit motion and (2) the board’s acknowledgment that the forensic audit work had already begun. The minutes correction will be placed on the agenda for the next meeting for a formal vote.
What’s next: The minutes correction will be considered at the board’s next meeting; the forensic audit is already underway, per the mayor’s statement.
