Editor’s Note: This is letter to the editor was written by Mount Pleasant Village Board Member Anna Marie Clausen about her decision to not approve several of newly elected village president Jerry Garski’s committee appointments.
I sent the following response to an email the Trustees received this morning about the proposed committee appointments at last night’s Village Board meeting. While I cannot speak for the other Trustees, I felt it important to give you my perspective.
The Village Board DID second the motion on several of the committees. We followed the appropriate parliamentary procedure by not seconding those committees which had new members proposed that were not properly vetted.
Past procedure has been for the volunteer forms to go to the committee for review and personal interview. The chair of the committee then forwards the form to the President with a recommendation for approval. An executive summary is written for the Village Board to read and approve at a board meeting. This did not occur. In fact, the forms were copied and emailed to the board midday yesterday, allowing for no time to process. As Trustee Feest has cited several times in the past, you cannot approve something for which you have had insufficient time to review. The basis for our action was procedure, and our actions simply postpone any changes to those committees that failed approval.
In addition, committee appointees are to have the best interests of the Village. Since several of the proposed members have threatened to sue the Village, that is obviously not the case.
Anna Marie Clausen,
Trustee for Village of Mount Pleasant