Sheffield looks at how board information is given

SHEFFIELD — Receiving agendas, copies of previous board minutes, a list of monthly bills and other correspondence in a timely fashion was the topic of another heated discussion at the Sheffield Village Board meeting.

Trustee Adrienne Ries said she is concerned she doesn’t receive the board agenda, monthly bills and other paperwork in a timely fashion, so that she can look things over and be better prepared for the village board meetings.

“I want to be able to make educated and intelligent decisions with regards to village issues and concerns,” she said.

Ries said according to statutes and rules of a governing board, all agendas, past board minutes, all board correspondence, reports from the village police and public works department as well as paperwork needed for the following board meeting should be sent to all board members within 48 hours of the scheduled meeting. At this time, she said board members don’t even receive the agenda until the day of the meeting.

Trustee Mary Ann Cernovich as well as Trustee Sue Bromme expressed similar concerns. Bromme said that while she tries to get to the meetings 20 minutes ahead of schedule so that she can go over all materials, “It is a lot of information to digest in such a short time.”

Village Clerk Pat Stier and Joyce Cranford, the village treasurer, both said their positions are part-time, and there is a lot of information they do not receive until the day of the meetings. If they were to give out what information they have in their possession 48 hours before a scheduled meeting, it would be sketchy at best. The bulk of it would be inaccurate as they do not have the final totals on bills or other trustee issues which may come up at the last minute.

Cernovich and Ries both said that they do not want to add additional paperwork for Stier or Cranford, but they would just like to have the information sent to them in a better time frame.

Mayor Bill Rosenow agreed with them.

“Most of the information I give you (board members), I do not receive until the day of the meeting. I give you everything that I receive as soon as I receive it,” he said.