Supervisor Tiffany Henyard called a special Thornton Township Board meeting Wednesday in an effort to change recent ordinances that cap spending. But when none of the four township trustees showed up, Henyard railed against the measures, saying they prevent the township from providing services to children and older adults.
“You thought it was just a way to stop Tiffany Henyard,” the supervisor told about 20 people, many of whom left after about 10 minutes, when Henyard refused to respond to their questions. “But it was a way to basically stop the services here in Thornton Township.”
Trustees have repeatedly said they believe Henyard’s spending to be out of control, with little information provided about what the money is for until it has been spent.
Trustee Christopher Gonzalez said Thursday he was unable to attend the Wednesday because of a conflict, and said he notified Henyard. But he said even if he had been present, he would not have voted to change the ordinances passed last week to regulate spending on township events.
“You knew this stuff was coming,” Gonzalez said, blaming “financial mismanagement” on the part of the supervisor’s office for township chiefs blowing past their spending caps of $1,000 per week or $10,000 per month.
The board is also now required to sign off on event budgets before money is committed or spent, which led Henyard to seek approval for several events, including a Friends of Tiffany Henyard picnic this weekend. Friends of Tiffany Henyard is also the name of Henyard’s campaign fundraising committee.
“Do I not still provide for you residents? Do I not have the picnic now because the board didn’t come and vote for a picnic that we have every single year, like clockwork?” Henyard said.
She later said she still plans to host Sunday’s picnic, just without entertainment she originally planned.
Henyard said the spending caps have prevented department heads from buying supplies for an ice cream social for older residents and food for an after school program, with department heads saying their credit cards were declined at the store. Gonzalez said he does not believe there is a physical limit on township cards despite the ordinance limiting spending.
“I firmly believe that the supervisor is going to continue to make the appearance of crises,” Gonzalez said. “It’s not necessarily the case. But if you’re going to make those choices to do other things as opposed to making sure the kids are taken care of, that’s exactly to the point of why we’re in the place we’re at, because that was kind of going on all along unchecked.”
William Moore, listed on the township website as the housing director, said he and other administrators had to call the township accountant after the card was declined when they tried to buy a birthday cake for a senior.
“This is what true leaders do — we don’t make excuses, we make adjustments, and it’s just irresponsible that our trustees will come up with all of these ordinances and not confer with us,” Moore said.
The Thornton Township Board is scheduled to next meet Sept. 10.
ostevens@chicagotribune.com
