advertisement

Campton Hills administrator back on the job

Campton Hills trustees are butting heads with Village President Patsy Smith over personnel issues.

Trustees voted 5-1 in a special meeting Tuesday night to immediately reinstate Village Administrator Jennifer Johnsen, who was put on paid leave by Smith before Thanksgiving for performance issues and for a possible Open Meetings Act Violation that is being investigated by the Illinois attorney general's office.

"I'm thrilled to be reinstated, I can tell you that," Johnsen said Wednesday. "All I want to do it come back to work and serve the residents of Campton Hills."

Johnsen declined to comment further.

Smith deferred questions to Village Attorney Bill Braithwaite, but said, "At this time, I am not convinced the village board had the authority to do what they did."

Braithwaite said Smith has the final decision in employment of Johnsen and could either file a lawsuit seeking an injunction against Johnsen or a declaratory judgment against the board's vote on Tuesday. Another route could be for Smith to cite Johnsen for insubordination because she returned to work and eventually terminate her employment, Braithwaite said.

Smith has not indicated her next move, Braithwaite said.

Trustee Harry Blecker, who voted to reinstate Johnsen, said she was doing a good job and disputed allegations she violated the Open Meetings Act.

Blecker said Johnsen complained to trustees before being put on leave that Smith had an "abusive style" of management and had created an "extremely uncomfortable" work environment at village hall.

"As far as we're concerned, she was doing an excellent job, particularly under those conditions," Blecker said.

Trustees Laura Andersen, Mike Millette, Al Lenkaitis and Susan George all voted for reinstatement, and Trustee Jim Kopec voted "no."

Kopec said Smith is Johnsen's direct supervisor and the board votes only to approve her hiring, not reinstatement.

"The administrator is not being removed. She is just being placed on leave while these issues are resolved," Kopec said.

"(Johnsen) hasn't lived up to the standards that I would expect from an experienced village administrator," Kopec added. "I think she has the potential to be a very good administrator, but I think she needs more training and experience."

Trustees also voted to extend the contract of Police Chief Daniel Hoffman through May 2015, when Smith's current term expires.

Smith did not want to extend Hoffman'​s contract beyond Dec. 27, when it was set to expire.

Blecker, Andersen, George and Lenkaitis voted for the extension, Kopec voted against it and Millette abstained.

"I'm glad I enjoy the support of my employees, the residents and the village board to continue my job here," Hoffman said Wednesday. "That's all I can say."

Blecker, who said he intends to run for village president in April, said it was best to preserve the status quo until after the April 7, 2015, local election.

"Why are you going to appoint an interim officer to be chief for four months when we already have a chief that's doing a good job?" Blecker said.

Kopec disagreed, saying he was supporting Smith's authority to make personnel decisions.

"(Trustees are) basically usurping the president's authority," Kopec said.

Campton Hills hires first village administrator

Campton Hills invites public to open house

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.