Former Campton Hills village president Patsy Smith retained her position as treasurer following a failed vote to rescind the appointment at an hourlong special meeting Feb. 17.

The board had voted 5-1 on Feb. 3 to accept Village President Barbara Wojnicki’s appointment of Smith, then called a special meeting two weeks later to rescind it.

The vote on Feb. 17 was 3-1 to remove Smith as treasurer; one trustee abstained and one was absent, so the motion lacked the legally required four votes to rescind.

The three trustees who called the special meeting – Janet Burson, Nicholas Boatner and Frank Binetti – all voted in favor of the motion to rescind.

Trustee Terese Hopfensperger voted no, Kim Muhr abstained and Mike Millette was absent.

Village Attorney Thomas Melody advised that a procedure in Roberts Rules of Order allows for a board member to rescind something acted upon at a previous meeting.

“It requires four affirmative votes to be successful,” Melody said. “Does the treasurer have a vested right to the appointment? And in our opinion, the answer to that is no. We believe that the motion to rescind would be a legitimate exercise by the Village Board should it choose to do that.”

Hopfensperger disagreed.

“She is now a duly appointed official, a municipal officer based on the fact that she has been sworn in, she is bonded and she has performed the duties of treasurer for the last two weeks,” Hopfensperger said. “The rescission motion is inappropriate because she is already a sitting officer.”

Keri-Lyn Krafthefer, from a different law firm than Melody – and who identified herself as a temporary village attorney – spoke from the audience and also disagreed with his opinion.

“If you remove someone who has taken an oath of office, you subject yourself to civil rights liability for removal without due process,” Krafthefer said.

The courts have held that a motion to reconsider must come from the prevailing side on the same day as the meeting where the appointment was confirmed, Krafthefer said.

Kenneth Shepro, another local municipal attorney who also spoke from the audience, said that state law does not support the motion to rescind a previous confirmation.

“I have never heard of a situation where an officer, duly confirmed, can be unconfirmed by the board that confirmed it,” Shepro said. “The municipal code, in my opinion, gives the president the authority to appoint and gives the board the authority to advise and consent. They can choose not to consent, but if they do, that’s it.”

A motion to reconsider would need to be made at the same meeting where the original vote was taken, Shepro said, not at a later meeting, as in this case.

“The sole authority under the Illinois municipal code to remove an appointed officer by the president – is the president,” Shepro said. “I do not believe there is any basis in law for a unilateral action by a board because somebody changed their mind.”

In a statement, Smith wrote, “It is unfortunate there was a misunderstanding between several trustees related to the term of my appointment on February 3, 2026, as village treasurer.”

“When I was first approached about filling the vacant treasurer position, I stated my goal was to get the village through this fiscal year (April 30) and the 2027 budget process,” Smith wrote. “Our village code requires a three-year term for the appointment of the village treasurer. As the former village president, I am aware the village president alone has the power to appoint and remove the village treasurer with the advice and consent of the board.”

Most of the board wants an accounting firm to take over the function of treasurer, she wrote. The board should budget for both scenarios, because it is not known if she will choose an individual person or someone from an accounting firm.

“I believe the cost of hiring an accounting firm may be prohibitive,” according to Smith’s statement.

“Nineteen years ago, as an incorporator, and first village president, I promised the people of Campton Hills, the village would be fiscally responsible and live within its means while providing necessary municipal services, all while collecting no property taxes,” Smith wrote. “My desire to continue that promise still stands and I am hopeful I can convince our current village board to keep the commitment to be fiscally responsible.”