Wasteful spending at new public works HQ

The officials of the village of Wheeling are at it again. Their blatant waste of taxpayers' money is insulting.

The Village Manager and his subordinates (very few of whom live in the village) have somehow convinced trustees to spend $13 million on a garage, or as they call it, the new public works building.

The assistant village manager, J. Sfondilis, said in a quote in the Daily Herald, that changes to the design that resulted in $600,000 in cost overruns were for "functionality."

I would appreciate it if he could tell me how hiring a design firm to pick out colors is a matter of functionality. How 8-foot doors versus 7-foot doors are a matter of functionality. How about the oak trim (supposedly to reflect light more efficiently, I suggest high gloss white paint) and tray ceilings?

The village manager stated "I guess we learned a lesson" when the wasteful spending that could not be undone was questioned during a board meeting. I would like to know what lesson he learned, the work was done, the contractors were paid, my tax dollars were misused.

The president and board were able to stop the installation of granite countertops and revert to Formica, and stop the purchase of a trophy case, but many of the changes were too far along to undo.

In the future I really hope that there is more accountability and less wasteful spending.

Mary Papantos

Wheeling