Editorial: Another squabble in which taxpayers lose
It's a story that's existed probably as long as the intertwined offices of local government themselves: The person or people who control the purse strings put another office holder on a tighter budget; the office holder says he can't possibly do the job with so little money and threatens to take all of his marbles and go home.
There are many variations on the theme. And there are plenty of times when one or both sides are at fault. But two things are certain in just about every case: both sides will look like squabbling children before long; and the taxpayers - those who both pay for and use the services - are left holding the bag.
The dust-up between the assessor in the Lake County township of Avon and the township board is only the latest example that we've reported. The assessor's office has been closed since Sept. 19. Why? Changing signs on the assessor's office door tell the story.
Township Assessor Christopher Ditton originally posted a sign saying the office was closed due to "reckless budget cuts" by the township board. That sign was replaced at the suggestion of the township attorney with one that said the township regretted any inconvenience caused by Ditton's stance to close the office, staff writer Mick Zawislak reported Tuesday. That move was taken "to make me look bad," Ditton told Zawislak.
"His door being (closed) makes him look bad," Township Supervisor Lisa Rusch countered.
She said three people who visited the assessor's office Monday morning were sent to the county assessor's office in Waukegan.
Ditton said he is hard at work - away from the office - on defending almost 1,400 assessment appeals, the results of which could mean a sizable difference in who gets taxed how much. Ditton's budget called for a staff of two full-timers and one part-timer, but he said he needs four full-timers to be on par with other township assessors.
The ticklish thing about county and township level government is that county and township board members are elected to represent their districts and oversee how the county's budget is apportioned. Meanwhile, sheriffs, assessors, coroners and others in statutorily elected positions are given a great deal of latitude in deciding how the money they are budgeted is spent.
Oftentimes, this makes for complicated relationships. Sometimes, completely broken ones.
In Kane County, there has been a long history of squabbles between the county board chairman and the "electeds." Sheriff Kenneth Ramsay had his differences with county board Chairman Mike McCoy in the '90s. Circuit Clerk Deb Seyller had hers with Chairman Karen McConnaughay in recent years. And now, as we've complained recently, Coroner Rob Russell is at it with Chairman Chris Lauzen.
It's a moving target in Kane County, but there is almost always some friction, and, like the assessor's flap in Avon Township, it happens everywhere. Clashes of egos can make for great theater, but in the end it's the audience that suffers. Those who hold the purse strings and those who spend the money need to be mindful of that.