Village of Kronenwetter – Misappropriation of $63,937.50 in Village Funds.

EDITORIAL: Someone in the Village of Kronenwetter hired an attorney from the vonBriesen Law Firm and spent $63,937.50 of Village Funds to smear Trustee Charneski after the Village Board specifically voted against hiring an attorney to investigate. Despite the attempted spin and gaslighting by several Village Board Members, the Village Policy was definitely not followed in the hiring of vonBriesen.

I have obtained and reviewed a lightly redacted copy of the vonBriesen report. In my opinion, the report consists of “Guilt by Accusation” allegations which are sometimes framed as conclusions within the report. Because the investigation into the Complaint by the Village Clerk was not, in my opinion, handled according to Village Policy, after some thought and consideration I have decided not to publish the report as I do not see any true and unbiased value within the report.

Board Vote on 1/31/24 Not to Hire an Independent Counsel (an Attorney)

Audio of Agenda Item 5

Grievance Procedure per Employee Handbook

The Village Board voted to direct former Administrator Ludi to follow the procedure in the Employee Handbook, which is detailed below. This direction was completely ignored and an unauthorized Independent Counsel was hired instead.

The alternate process did not provide Trustee Charneski with the protections provided by the Employee Handbook and Village Policy, including having input into the Selection of the Hearing Officer, the requirement that all testimony be taken under oath, the ability to issue Subpoenas, and a preservation of the Record.

Also, it should be noted that by Village Policy, the Complainant (Village Clerk Birk-LaBarge) would have been required to pay for 50% of the cost of the Hearing Officer.

From Section 2.2 of the Employee Handbook