Avon Twp. residents vote to censure assessor, ask him to resign
Avon Township Assessor Christopher Ditton has received what amounts to a public scolding for the second time this month.
Residents at a special town hall meeting Monday night voted 20-1 in favor of formally endorsing a censure of Ditton, which the Avon Township board approved Aug. 10. The censure stemmed, in part, from the shuttering of Ditton's office at township headquarters, which is now running again with part-time employees.
In addition, the residents voted in favor of asking Ditton to resign. The document states the vote regarding Ditton represented "the voices of discontent from the citizens of Avon Township."
Townships typically allow residents to vote on certain issues at a meeting once a year.
Ditton responded Tuesday that the actions against him have been politically motivated. Ditton, who didn't attend Monday's session, contends it amounts to retaliation for a now-settled federal lawsuit he filed against township trustees and Supervisor Lisa Rusch over 2014 budget reductions for his office.
He also wrote a letter Aug. 17 to the township board expressing "disappointment and disapproval" of the elected officials. He noted that as the elected assessor, he doesn't report to the four township trustees or Rusch.
"By statute, I am not a member of the Avon Township board and accordingly, I have tried to focus on my job and not interfere with board business," Ditton wrote. "I have also tried very hard to avoid the petty politics that have plagued the township since this board's election."
A censure essentially is a public scolding and carries no legal standing.
In the censure passed by the board and supported by the residents, a main accusation is Ditton closed 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.
Rusch acknowledged Tuesday that using a censure against Ditton "is basically a slap on the wrist." She said it still remains that Ditton closed the office for five months.
"If this were the private sector and you decided to run through your budget, and close your office down, you would have been fired," Rusch said. "Since it is not in the statute for us to do so, the board decided on the censure."
Ditton said residents never went without the services of his office. He also said he fulfilled his duty in representing the township in roughly 1,400 property tax appeal cases in 2014 and works from the assessor's office almost daily.
"The board is just mad that I had the gall to question the budget," he said.
Ditton and Rusch ran together as part of the Avon Action political ticket in 2013. Ditton beat Avon Strong's Wayne George Flary to win a four-year term as assessor.
Avon Township includes all or part of Grayslake, Hainesville, Third Lake and the Round Lake area.