The Illinois State Attorney General recently ruled that the Clark-Edgar Rural Water District (CERWD) violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act in a May 1 special meeting where items that were not listed on the agenda were openly broached as subject matters.
“The Illinois Open Meetings Act mandates that only items listed on an agenda may be discussed or acted on during a special meeting,” the Edgar County Watchdogs noted on its website. “This is a different standard than regular meetings where a public body may discuss, but not act upon, things not specifically listed on the regular meeting agenda.”
Among the subjects that reportedly were wrongfully raised was the county providing water to the Village of Vermilion and potentially taking over the job, the discussion of grants/loans and connecting unserved customers.
CERWD officials have denied the violations occurred, insisting that all the discussions raised were related to established agenda items, a contention the Attorney General’s office disputed.
“CERWD failed to provide sufficiently advanced notice that it would discuss various issues, including those concerning bulk water rates at its May 1 special meeting,” the Attorney General's office said.
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