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Trustees debate organizational chart and limits of presidential supervisory authority
Summary
Trustees spent much of the meeting reviewing a proposed organizational chart to clarify lines of supervision and appointment authority; attorney and staff advised that the village president's appointment powers do not automatically include day-to-day supervisory authority when an administrator is employed.
A lengthy discussion on Jan. 17 centered on a proposed organizational chart intended to clarify who supervises village staff and how appointment, confirmation and removal powers should function.
Trustee Burson introduced the chart and an accessory document with statutory citations and said the purpose was to make clear that the corporate authorities (the full board) provide directives to an administrator who then manages staff. "What I do care about is that we're trying to communicate clearly how lines of supervision and authority are designed to work," she said.
Trustees expressed differing views. Several said past practice had allowed presidents to take on more explicit supervisory roles in the absence of a full‑time administrator; others cautioned that relying on past practice rather than codified roles can create confusion. Attorney comments emphasized that Illinois municipal statute grants explicit appointment and formal powers to a village president but does not automatically confer direct supervisory authority over hired staff when a village administrator is in place. "Absent a specific identification of supervisory authority for the village president, yes, I would agree. It's not there," counsel said.
Trustees discussed appointment/confirmation and the "restore" process following a presidential removal of an appointed official, and whether advisory committees should be constituted by the board or appointed by the president with advice and consent. Several trustees asked staff to bring proposed code language or ordinance amendments to clearly define appointment, confirmation, and supervisory lines for board consideration. No formal code changes were adopted at the meeting; trustees asked staff and legal counsel to draft options and to invite past village officials for context if helpful.
