Trustees press for clarity on property-sale bidding process

Trustee Lawrence pressed the board to clarify how the village will handle bidding when selling property, saying he wants the process to be “fair and equal across the board.” Attorney Rahar replied that the village’s default method is "sealed bid only," and that any alternative procedure — for example a negotiated or advertised process used in recent sales — requires a specific ordinance for each property before the board departs from the sealed-bid default.

Lawrence said he does not care which process the village uses so long as it is consistent; Jarred added that the board should specifically draft an ordinance for any sale that uses an alternative procedure so the posture is clear before soliciting buyers. The discussion concluded with the board agreeing to prepare property-specific ordinances if they intend to use anything other than sealed bids.