Buffalo Grove president calls trustee's action 'rude'

Buffalo Grove Village President Beverly Sussman's tenure got off to a rocky start Monday when the village board's senior trustee temporarily blocked her from re-appointing her husband to a village panel, a maneuver she later called "rude."

Trustee Jeffrey Berman said he did not think it would be wise for the new president to re-appoint Martin Sussman to the Committee for Residents with Disabilities at least until May 18, when she is expected to make formal appointments to the village's many boards, commissions and committees.

Martin Sussman's two-week re-appointment was among a long list under consideration Monday, as many appointments expired at the end of last month. Ultimately, the board decided to exclude him from the approval list until May 18, when Village Attorney William Raysa is expected to weigh in on whether his role on the panel would present a conflict of interest for the new village president.

"I raised a question," Berman said after Monday's village board meeting, Sussman's first as president. "I just want an answer."

Sussman said she was shocked by Berman's actions and upset he waited until Monday to raise his concerns.

"It was on the agenda. They could have just told me that they were going to do that," she said. "They didn't tell me, and I think that was rude of them not to tell me.

"If (re-appointing Martin Sussman) shouldn't be done, then it won't be done. I won't do anything that's not right," she added.

When asked to comment, Martin Sussman said, "What the village attorney decides will be the right thing."

Berman said regardless of whether it is permitted under the law, he doesn't believe a village president should appoint a spouse to a village commission.

"By virtue of being an elected public official, the village president inherently owes the public a fiduciary duty to discharge that office in the public's best interest," he said.

Sussman responded that the sister of her predecessor, former Village President Jeffrey Braiman, served on a village panel while he was in office.

"Why was there never an issue with his sister being on a board? It's a relative," she said.

Joining Berman in opposing the appointment Monday were trustees Steven Trilling and Les Ottenheimer. Trustees Andrew Stein and Dave Weidenfeld voted in favor.

Stein said with only two weeks before formal appointments, he didn't see any reason to prevent Martin Sussman from serving.

Ottenheimer said while has "absolutely no issues with (Martin's) integrity," he prefers to defer the appointment to avoid the appearance of impropriety.