Wasco candidates disagree on legal fees
The election is heating up in a rural Kane County sanitary district so mired in litigation that it's charging users an extra $20 a month to cover legal fees.
Four candidates are seeking two seats on the Wasco Sanitary District board of trustees, which governs water and sewer services for roughly 1,000 customers in the village of Campton Hills and surrounding unincorporated areas.
In the running are incumbent Board President Raul Brizuela and William Scanlon, who say the legal fee is an unfortunate necessity; and opponents Thomas Bihun and Ryan Strauss, who say the added charge is an unfair burden on taxpayers.
“I've paid them $200 already this year, and I don't see it going away for a long period of time,” Bihun said. “I think it's wrong, and I'd like to right it.”
The fee, instituted in January, stems from a pending racketeering lawsuit filed in civil court last year by a longtime critic and resident of the district. Among other allegations, the suit claims the district has defrauded taxpayers and developers.
“At the end of the day the district must defend itself,” Brizuela said. “We certainly didn't bring this lawsuit … but it's our fiduciary responsibility to defend the district.”
Brizuela, who is seeking his fourth term, is running on a slate with Scanlon, who is making his first run at elected office. Both men say the allegations in the lawsuit are “frivolous,” and the district has no choice but to mount a defense.
“I think everybody wants to get rid of the fee,” Scanlon said, calling the lawsuit “a waste of resources, time, energy and money for all parties involved.”
Bihun and Strauss, however, say they would seek to shield taxpayers from the cost and clean up the district's image if elected. The first-time candidates noted that individual trustees have sought and received indemnification from costs associated with the suit.
“If they're not going to have to pay, we shouldn't have to pay,” Strauss said. “My intention is to stop paying their legal bills.”
Bihun, 67, is a semiretired chief information officer and current president of the Fox Creek Homeowners Association. Aside from doing away with the legal fee, he said he would work to ensure the sanitary district uses its capacity efficiently, if elected.
Brizuela, 43, is president of surgical supply company in Geneva and has been on the board since 1998. If re-elected, he said he would complete several ongoing capital improvement projects, including the replacement and modernization of lagoon aeration units.
Scanlon, 42, is a pilot and manager for a major aerospace company and has a master's degree in business administration. He said he would work to reduce the amount of controversy in the district, and foster more open communication, if elected.
Strauss, 40, is vice president of a transportation company in Downers Grove and the son of Campton Hills Trustee John Strauss. Like Bihun, he said he would ensure the sanitary district uses its capacity wisely, if elected.
The two candidates with the most votes on Nov. 2 will be elected to four-year terms. Existing Trustee Gary Sindelar is not seeking re-election.