Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor Vetos City Council Vote to Modify Salary Ordinance
This week, Waukegan residents saw something unprecedented happen at Waukegan City Hall when Mayor Ann Taylor issued a mayoral veto to a vote that would have amended the City of Waukegan’s salary ordinance.
During the September 18 meeting of the Waukegan City Council, Aldermen Jose Guzman, Juan Martinez, Victor Felix, Keith Turner, and Michael Donnenwirth voted to disallow the Mayor from appointing Department Heads. Instead, any new hire made would need to go through the City Council. These Aldermen also would be empowered to stop internal and external candidates from getting market-rate raises in salary. In major Illinois cities, these activities are normally directed by a professional human resources department in association with the department heads. The legislation that Guzman, Martinez, Felix, Turner, and Donnenwirth supported is unheard of in municipal government in Illinois.
At the October 2 meeting, Mayor Ann Taylor issued a mayoral veto of this legislation and listed multiple reasons for doing so. Taylor stated that the vote would negatively impact current employees and the city’s ability to recruit and retain staff. She mentioned as an example that the city has been unable to hire a Finance Director for over two years and that this legislation would even further hamper the city’s ability to make that needed hire. Lastly, Taylor said that if candidates for employment in Waukegan needed to be voted on by the City Council, experts in municipal government, the city’s human resources team, and leadership at city hall all concur that it would send a dangerous message to possible employees “that every hire in Waukegan is a political hire”, which should never be the case.
Expressing her frustration at this process and the most recent antics of the City Council, Taylor referenced Charles Selle’s column in the Lake County News-Sun regarding the behavior of the newest Aldermen in Waukegan as “no way to run Lake County’s largest municipality.” Further, in her comments, she noted that all three female Alderwomen voted against the legislation. In contrast, four men with minimal municipal knowledge and experience voted for it. According to Mayor Taylor, Alderman Turner only voted for the legislation because he is running for Mayor and he “knows better.”
In recent weeks, experienced and respected Alderwoman Edith Newsome, 5th Ward, stated, “I have never experienced anything like this.” Meanwhile, Alderwoman Lynn Florian, 8th Ward, said, “I feel the current council is dysfunctional,” while also stating the council looks “unprofessional.”
The City Council will have the opportunity to overturn the Mayor’s veto. Still, the five Aldermen who voted yes will need to find another vote to override the mayoral veto, and Alderman Thomas Hayes, 9th Ward, has already said he will stand with Mayor Taylor’s veto.
We expect this legislation to come up at the October 16th Waukegan City Council meeting, and as usual, Waukegan Watch will update readers with further information.
