East Central Reporter

The interim supervisor appointed to run the Shelbyville Township Board was ineligible to do so because he hadn't filed a bond beforehand, a government oversight group said recently.

At the board’s May 1 meeting, Steve Shoaff resigned from the four-year term he would have served starting on May 15 and also from his current term, which had 14 days remaining. He offered no explanation.

The board then tried to appoint a replacement supervisor for the current term to run the meeting. The Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW), present at the meeting, pointed out that anyone appointed to a township supervisor position must give a bond to the township before assuming the duties of the office.

A video the group recorded at the meeting shows the prospective appointee seeking clarification from the board’s attorney, whom the ECW report has since resigned as well. The appointee says he will post the bond the following day, then quickly corrects himself to say he will post the bond.

The ECW contend that the appointee was ineligible to assume the duties of the office until that bond is posted, but the appointee ran the remainder of the meeting anyway.