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Health & Fitness

Vote for Change, Vote for Mike Abts for Geneva Township Highway Commissioner

Highway Commissioner Candidate Mike Abts discusses the difficulty of accessing public records.

My name is Mike Abts, and I’m running for the position of Geneva Township Highway Commissioner. I’m a 50-year resident and a 35-year business owner in Geneva and believe it’s important to be involved in the community.

Over the years I have contributed to Geneva by serving as Commissioner on the Park Board for 18 years, 2 years as its president; a Board Commissioner on the Fox Valley Special Recreation Association; a Board member of Geneva’s Community Chest; a member of the Lions Club and a trustee at United Methodist Church. My background and experience make me highly qualified to be highway commissioner.

As with most elections I assumed at some point there would be a debate held for my race. To make sure I had as much information as my opponent, I went to the Township Office where I requested a copy of the budget including money in and money out to date. I was informed that, even though the Township supplied office space to the Highway Department, including a desk, computer, phone, file space, etc., after the last election the newly elected Mark Wissing decided to close down that office and run the department elsewhere. Where, I’m not sure.

This resulted in some records no longer being kept at the Township Office, and no one else having access to the records, including budgets, emails and phone call records, except for Mr. Wissing. If God forbid anything happened to Mr. Wissing, no one at the Township would know where the Highway Department records are or how to access them. A quick phone call found this decision was made without the advance knowledge or even consulting the Township Board. Not a very well thought out or taxpayer friendly plan on Mr. Wissing’s part.

I requested budget information from Mr. Wissing. For whatever reason this information was not forthcoming. When I asked the Freedom of Information Officer how to obtain the information, I was told there was no other way other than through a FOIA request. 

Tomorrow I will share with you the ridiculous scenario that followed with what started out as a simple request to what should be public records.

On April 9, vote for change.

VOTE MIKE ABTS as your new Highway Commissioner.

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I’m dedicated to serving the public rather than serving myself!

 

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