The City of Springfield has found what its attorney called “a technical error” regarding the Citizens Advisory Board (CAB). That’s a group tasked with recommending how revenue from the Spring Forward SGF sales tax should be spent. It’s ultimately city council’s responsibility to approve the recommendations.
Before City Attorney Jordan Paul went into detail earlier this week before council at their weekly lunch meeting, Mayor Jeff Schrag emphasized the CAB members are volunteers who give their time and talents to serve the city.
“Everyone, and I repeat myself, everyone on that board is serving honorably and ethically without exception," he said, "and any allegations to the contrary are simply not true.”
Paul said the technical error caused components of the board’s structure to be misaligned with Article 15 of city charter. Two members of the board who don’t live inside Springfield city limits should not have been able to vote on recommendations. But he said the board’s past actions remain valid because all votes have been unanimous.
According to Paul, most city boards and commissions aren’t governed by Article 15. He said, during discussion of the CAB’s formation in December of 2024, there was talk about residency requirements, member count and board composition in general. But he said charter wasn’t discussed.
"And I didn’t provide an opinion. In hindsight, bottom of the day, it's my responsibility to catch things like that, and, you know, I take accountability for my part in not identifying that at the time," said Paul. "With that being said, I do want to reemphasize for folks watching at home that this is not a mismatch between anything council represented to the public or the voters in terms of what it was doing or what its thoughts were.”
Paul recommended council do a clean repeal and replace. He said the two non-resident stakeholders may be allowed to stay on in a non-voting support role. Because there are currently only eight members on the CAB and there need to be nine voting members, he said city council will have three vacancies to fill. Once those are filled, CAB will elect a chair.
City Clerk Anita Cotter said applications are always accepted, so anyone can apply at any time. And she said she’s kept a folder of applicants who have applied since the CAB was formed.
City Councilwoman Monica Horton suggested considering eliminating participation by nonresidents to be sure the city is in full compliance. But Councilman Bruce Adib-Yazdi pointed out that there are a lot of people who don’t live in the city but use its services, and their input is valuable, too.
Paul said he’s identified at least one other board that does not align with Article 15, and he suggested a comprehensive audit of all boards for charter alignment.
