Candidates debate compliance
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com
RICHMOND – Richmond officials have discussed imposing fees on residents only during open meetings, village President Lauri Olson insists.
But a political challenger, trustee Dave Kielpinski, said that was not true and that the Village Board had talked behind closed doors about new fees for residents to pay.
“There’s a whole bunch of things I think people in the village should know,” Kielpinski said Monday during an interview by a Northwest Herald editorial panel. “We were discussing something .. with a charge to the residents in closed sessions.”
If what Kielpinski said were true, Northwest Herald attorney Don M. Craven said the Village Board might have broken open meetings laws.
“It is not found under the litigation or personnel exemption ... to discuss raising the water and sewer rates of existing customers,” Craven said. “It appears that, in this scenario, we have a public body with the need to raise revenue ... and if they’re going to do so by imposing higher fees on existing customers, that’s a policy question that should be discussed in an open meeting.”
The village has been absorbing the cost of connection fees to a wastewater-treatment plant for several years, since back-and-forth lawsuits with developer Peter Bell started.
But the fees could be getting too hefty for the village, and increased fees for residents might be on the way.
Just what those fees are is still a question, and Kielpinski wouldn’t elaborate during Monday’s meeting.
“I really can’t say,” Kielpinski said.
Meanwhile, Olson stands by her denial of the claim that such discussion had taken place in secret.
“I can assure that is not happening,” Olson said.
Beyond discussion about fees and closed door meetings, Kielpinski and Olson also disagree over whether the village of less than 2,000 residents needs a full-time village administrator.
Tim Savage is the current village administrator, and he earns $76,863 annually, plus benefits.
“He’s brought professionalism to this village,” Olson said of Savage, who’s been with the village since the start of her term.
But he isn’t worth the hefty price tag and hasn’t meshed well with residents, Kielpinski said.
“If we were to keep one, I’d say it should be a different person,” Kielpinski said.
Four other candidates are vying for three trustee positions: incumbent Dennis Bardy and board newcomers Penny Cetner, Jeanne Doyle and Karla Thomas.
Cetner agrees with Kielpinski that the village administrator position isn’t necessary and aspires to make Richmond a traveler’s spot.
“I want to help Richmond to become a ‘destination’ and not just a place to pass through on my way to somewhere else,” she said in a Northwest Herald candidate survey. “The village government seems to make opening up or even succeeding very difficult.”
Doyle, owner of Doyle’s Pub and Eatery in downtown Richmond, echoed the need for more businesses to build in town.
“We need to compete with surrounding communities which are much larger,” Doyle said in her candidate survey. “If we support our current businesses, potential new business owners will see that and want to be part of our community.”
Thomas, a village clerk and collector for the village, said her top priority was examining the village budget.
“Cut expenses by using good fiscal responsibility and judgment,” she said in her candidate survey. “Work to lower taxes, in order to help the community during this difficult economy.”
Bardy did not submit a candidate survey to the Northwest Herald and could not be reached Monday.
The election is April 7.
