The Silver Lake Ethics Commission convened a meeting tonight on a Jan. 11 complaint against three village trustees.
In an about 30-minute meeting that started about 7 minutes late, commission members chose Larry Baker as chairman, read the complaint letter and a statement from village attorney Linda Gray about commission procedures and lastly discussed their next steps.
The complaint was filed by resident Ralph Jankovic. In his letter, dated Jan. 11, Jankovic charges that Trustee Sue Gerber has been improperly voting on matters regarding the village’s contract with Silver Lake Rescue Squad Inc. because her son, Dan Gerber, is the private corporation’s president. Jankovic see this as a conflict of interest. He also alleges that Trustees David Snow and Michael Decker acted improperly by meeting with Silver Lake Rescue Squad Inc. representatives without notifying village President Jeff Albrecht and/or Trustee Cyndy Schwebke, chairman of the Emergency Government Committee.
Jankovic is Schwebke’s father.
Gray was not able to attend the meeting due to recent surgery. However, the village’s ethics ordinance requires the commission to meet within 15 days of a properly filed complaint.
Baker said that there would be no public input during the commission’s process, but comments from the audience of about 25 people broke out a couple of times.
Ultimately the commission decided first to focus on the complaint against Gerber. They agreed they needed more facts about when meetings and votes may have taken place and decided to gather that info from official minutes. They also agreed to review the village’s ethics ordinance.
The commission set their next meeting for Jan. 31 at 7 p.m. at Village Hall. At that meeting, after reviewing the minutes and ordinance by themselves, they will come together and decided who they might like to interview in public at a future meeting.
If people will not appear at the meeting voluntarily, they can be subpoenaed, Gray said in her statement read at the meeting.
Commission members said they also wanted to have Gray preset in person or by phone at the next meeting.
“We will need legal guidance there’s no doubt,” Baker said.
The other commission members are Diana Kuyper and Marilyn Dahlen.
I understand that with the new proposal, Qualified First Responders from our own fire department would be called to medical emergencies, and then followed by Salem Rescue which is a Paramedic unit — much more qualified to handle serious medical emergencies than Silver Lake Rescue is. All of this with no property tax increase.
What is wrong with that?
Maybe Mrs. Gerber should go to bat for the citizens she claims she represents rather than her son and his job with Silver Lake Rescue.
Isn’t that a conflict of interest?
I agree 100% with the comment above, as an emergency responder myself i know first hand how much of a difference Paramedic care can make over an EMT Intermediate squad! What is wrong with Silver Lake Fire having its National Certified Emergency First Responders respond and then have Salem Rescue respond! You are getting the BEST CARE POSSIBLE!!!!!! Please tell Mrs. Gerber to get her head out of her rear and do what’s right for Silver Lake, let Salem Rescue help your Town!!!!
@ Another concerned citizen,
You state my mother Sue Gerber should go to bat for the citizens of Silver Lake and not her son and his “job” with Silver Lake Rescue Squad.
Again as another uninformed citizen you seem to have quite the knowledge about my pay, did you get those figures from the AD HOC committee, I would really think they would look at that during there recommendation process.
I put in countless hours of volunteering, as well as countless hours as President of Silver Lake Rescue Squad Inc. all for no pay.
Your opinion on the first part of your discussion is a little off, there is a cost to the taxpayer and a much larger cost to the resident if they require ambulance service. No problem with a citizen paying for transports but take a look at the proposal from Salem.
Also Town of Salem has not even approved the proposal – they board has to still approve it, so whats on that proposal is just that proposed.
Also if needed Silver Lake Rescue does call Salem if needed for paramedic service now and that cost is completely free for intercepts and does not cost the taxpayer or the resident anymore for that service that cost is absorbed by Silver Lake Rescue Squad Inc.