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Forest Park auditors issue clean opinion; council approves AFSCME contract, hiring exemptions and routine measures
Summary
Auditors gave the village a clean (unmodified) opinion for the year ending April 30, 2021; the council approved an AFSCME collective bargaining agreement (r-02-22), waived hiring freezes for two positions (r-03-22) and adopted multiple routine resolutions and licenses.
Forest Park — Auditors from Lauderback & Hammond delivered a clean audit opinion for the Village of Forest Park for the fiscal year ending April 30, 2021, and the Village Council approved a suite of labor, administrative and routine operational measures during its Jan. 10, 2022 meeting.
Jamie Wilkie, an audit partner with Lauderback & Hammond, told the council the firm issued an “unmodified or clean audit opinion” and found no reportable internal‑control deficiencies for the year under review. Wilkie said the general fund reported a surplus, helped in part by COVID relief revenues, and that the audit included a management letter with best‑practice recommendations and notes about upcoming accounting standards.
Council members praised the finance department’s work. Commissioner Niro (alternate renderings in the transcript as Nero/Niro) singled out Director Olmstead and the finance team for producing quality reports that supported a clean opinion.
In other business, the council approved a collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME Local 3026 (resolution r-02-22) and voted to lift the IMRF hiring freeze for two full‑time positions — an executive secretary to the mayor and an accounts‑payable clerk (resolution r-03-22). During discussion of the hiring‑freeze waiver, some commissioners urged that vacancies be publicly posted and that the village guard against perceptions of nepotism by following personnel procedures and transparent hiring practices.
The council also adopted a series of routine resolutions and ordinances: bills totaling $1,084,089.30 were approved (resolution r-01-22); several pay requests and engineering authorizations for public‑works projects were authorized (R-04-22 through R-07-22); surplus property disposition was approved (o-03-22); and multiple entertainment and raffle licenses, a Black History Month banner and a German Fest event permit were granted.
Votes at a glance: key measures adopted included the auditor’s acceptance and acknowledgement of the clean audit, the AFSCME contract (r-02-22), the hiring‑freeze waiver (r-03-22), the bills resolution (r-01-22) and a set of public‑works pay requests and procurement authorizations. The council then adjourned into closed session to discuss personnel compensation and a potential real‑estate purchase.
