Library Board of Trustees

Village of Manteno Special Board Meeting May 20, 2026 Meeting Minutes Roll Call: Trustee Mike Barry Trustee CJ Boudreau Trustee Peggy Vaughn Trustee Todd Crockett Trustee Joel Gesky Trustee Annette Zimbelman Also Present: Mayor Annette LaMore Chris LaRocque – Village Manager Ashley Peterson – Marketing and Communications Director Al Swinford – Chief of Police Jim Hanley – Superintendent of Public Works Sheila Martin – Treasurer Allen Pickrel -- Village Clerk The meeting was called to order by Mayor LaMore followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation. Roll call was done. Forensic Audit Presentation and Report Mayor LaMore introduced the Auditors and asked them to provide a report of the audit. Greene Forensic Accounting Solutions LLP (Auditors) presented a summary of the results of the forensic audit. The Auditors discussed how the audit was conducted and explained financial regulations and FDIC insurance limitations. The Auditors discussed the following issues/observations: (1) insufficient bonding of Village officials and discrepancies between Village Ordinance and actual practices; (2) gaps in Village investment Ordinance and written procedures as compared to State statutes; (3) inadequate bonding and insurance of Village funds, including 2 deposits of large amounts that appeared to be uninsured; (4) recommendation that the responsibility of the Treasurer should be divided (e.g., writing checks and reconciling bank accounts) to ensure proper internal controls; (5) insufficient correlation between general ledgers and bank accounts; (6) insufficient documentation and controls for wiring and moving funds; (7) apparent noncompliance with Manteo policy and Illinois Public Funds Investment Act concerning conflict of interest for deposits with Page 1 of 3 banks that had relationships with Village officials; (8) certain discrepancies in the Auditors' reconciliation of Village financial statements and balances, which could be indicative of bank accounts not provided to the Auditors; (9) deposit/investing the $25 million Aqua funds at HomeStar Bank, without written documentation to justify the selection of investment decisions (over 95% of Village funds resided at HomeStar Bank); (10) apparent irregularities in the procurement/bidding process involving the former Mayor's family businesses (brother's construction company) and the Village's engineering firm (lack of transparency); and (11) apparent irregularities in the private sale of the Manteno Golf Course, including the Village's disposition of the State reverter clause in the deed for one of the parcels. Board Comments and Questions Mayor LaMore provided a statement concerning the reason for the audit and the audit's findings. The Mayor enumerated areas that needed to be addressed, including processes/programs/procedures that should be revised. The Auditors responded to comments and questions from the Board. The Board provided the following comments/questions: if there were any criminal implications (Boudreau); concerns about PPP loans [Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during Covid-19] (Vaughn); questioned unidentified funds ($1 million) versus ledgers (Crockett); commented that Trustees control money which mitigates the control of funds and family relationships (Gesky); asked if the former Mayor casted votes towards actions that would have favored his brother's business (Gesky); commented on funds saved by using the lower bidders and the lack of Auditors' examination of other companies (Gesky); commented on the use of National Bank of Manteno and other bank's interest rates (Boudreau), which was elaborated by Mr. LaRocque; asked about the insurance of the $25 million deposit (Barry); and commented on the relationship between TENCO Excavating and Nugent Construction (Crockett). Village Attorney Joe Cainkar discussed the use of his own personal email account. Public Participation Ann Gates --.thanked the Board and Auditors for the review, raised concerns over the "colorization" of the Board's comments, and suggested improvements based on the information. Greg Olejarz -- concerns about the Board's comments re. criminality and concerns about the Board's attitude at prior meeting about the Audit. David Bergdahl -- commented on the Audit's findings: need for updates/changes to Village procedures, for additional personnel supervision, and for enhanced action by Board. Comments: Page 2 of 3 Mayor LaMore thanked the Auditors. Trustee Boudreau clarified his question concerning the potential for criminal actions, which he believed was a key purpose of a forensic audit. Motion by Trustee Barry and seconded by Trustee Zimbelman to adjourn meeting at 8:10 pm. Motion approved 6-0. Minutes prepared by Steven Orth, Village Clerk. Page 3 of 3