Avon Township officially censures Assessor Ditton
A rift among elected officials in Avon Township widened this week with the censure of Assessor Christopher Ditton.
Two township board members and Supervisor Lisa Rusch on Monday approved the censure resolution, intended as a way for the board to publicly express its displeasure with Ditton.
The three-page resolution notes the township has no legal authority over Ditton's actions in office. But the document cites several examples, including Ditton's decision to close the assessor's office late last year and into early 2015 that resulted in a lawsuit against the township.
Rusch said the censure was considered at the request of residents in April at the annual town hall meeting. According to the censure, township electors at meetings June 8 and July 13 "renewed their expression of displeasure regarding the past, present and ongoing conduct" of Ditton.
"He closed his office for five months," she said. "It's basically a slap on the wrist, (but) it needs to get out there."
Ditton disputes the action, saying it amounts to retaliation for a federal suit he filed against township trustees and Rusch over budget changes he alleged were made as political retribution. That action was settled earlier in March.
"The township accepts no responsibility and settled on the request of our insurance company," Rusch said.
Ditton said the case was settled in good faith.
"When the board is trying to embarrass me (with a censure vote), I don't think that's good faith," he said.
The censure also says the board has been "willfully threatened" with legal action by Ditton on "multiple occasions" during routine execution of their duties.
"You have a board that is mad at me because I had the nerve to challenge their illegal budget," he said. "It's just a silly thing. They're calling me a bad guy because I exercised my legal rights."
A main allegation of the censure is Ditton caused the closure of the assessor's office in the township center in Round Lake Park from Sept. 19, 2014, to Feb. 16, 2015, at a "critical period" that resulted in a loss of service for residents. Ditton said the closure was due to staff cuts by the township.
He said the physical office was closed for part of that time, but service was being provided and he was reachable. He said he worked from home through October and was in Waukegan through December dealing with appeals. Limited and by-appointment hours were available in January before the office reopened in February with part-time staff, he said.
The censure also notes Ditton attended few meetings through early this year and missed several opportunities to discuss budget matters that led to the office closure.
"There were quite a few meetings in regards to finances and budgets, and if you don't attend them, how can you say you don't like what we did?" Rusch said.
Ditton said he's not required by statute to attend meetings but was at several in fall 2013 and early 2014, and his budget was cut by $90,000. He contended the board created the issues with "reckless budget cuts" while he continued the duties without a staff.
That might not be the end of the matter as censure again is on the agenda for a special town-hall meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at the township office, 433 E. Washington St., Round Lake Park.