At a special meeting called Wednesday, the Madison County Board voted 19-6 to remove nearly all of Chairman Kurt Prenzler's "substantive powers" within county board administration.
"All of the powers granted the Chairman by state law will remain in place," according to a press release issued by the majority. "But his powers relating to County Administration, which were within the exclusive authority of the Board, were removed."
Prenzler said that as chairman he ruled that Wednesday's special meeting was invalid because agenda items were not listed "within the proper time frame."
Among other rulings, Prenzler also declared the Board's resolution out of order, "because (it) transfers
powers and duties away from the elected Chairman to the County Administrator, and this requires the Administrator’s agreement and the Personnel Committee to change his job description, and his compensation, since this increases his workload."
The county board majority's release stated that Prenzler's “bad personnel decisions” and “misogynistic comments” were the last straws for the members who voted to grant additional oversight to the Board.
"Prenzler’s judgment was put in stark focus after a letter he signed surfaced in his unsuccessful bid to oust fellow Republican Denise Wiehardt from her Granite City County Board seat." the release says. "The letter stated that Wiehardt’s opponent was 'what a woman should be; married to her husband…'"
Prenzler said that he apologized for the remarks made in the letter. He said they came about through an endorsement of Board candidate John Janek, which stated in part that he was "what a man should be."
"It was the same template," Prenzer said in his endorsement of Wiehardt's opponent, Republican Elaine Beckland, who lost in the District 20 contest. "I wasn't thinking I would offend anyone,"
The majority's release also cited costs in the millions related to legal fees and settlements under Prenzler's administration.
"Last spring a sexual harassment and wrongful termination lawsuit was settled with former Community Development Director Kristin Poshard that cost the county over $1.3 million including legal fees," it states.
"Poshard was a controversial Prenzler appointee who claimed that Prenzler and former County Administrator Doug Hulme, who was also a Prenzler appointee, ignored her concerns of sexual harassment by a former County Board member. In addition, an investigative report regarding the Poshard case was leaked from Prenzler’s office to a person who made the document public, during an active court case.
The release cites a wrongful termination lawsuit against Prenzler that cost Madison County more than $650,000.
"And currently there are at least three other wrongful termination lawsuits pending," it states. "Two of the lawsuits are by Prenzler appointees including former county administrator, Doug Hulme and former IT Director, Rob Dorman, who were fired by the County Board in April of 2020 after they were investigated by a special government corruption task force. The third pending wrongful termination lawsuit involves an engineer Prenzler fired in the highway department.
"The county has spent hundreds of thousands just in legal fees thus far in defending those lawsuits."
The release included statements from several board members:
“I was saddened, but not surprised," Wiehardt commented. "How dare he decide what a “real woman” should be? Though I am divorced, I am very proud of the children I have raised and the career that I’ve built. I find his letter disturbing and offensive.”
Wiehardt is a regional program manager for the St Louis Crisis Nursery, an agency that serves women and children in crisis.
“I’ve dedicated my life to serving ‘real women’ in very difficult situations,” Wiehardt stated. “This comment was personally offensive to many, and the last straw. He has lost my confidence in his ability to lead.”
Other statements:
“Many of my fellow county board members of both parties have been concerned about Chairman Prenzler’s judgment, especially relating to personnel decisions and appointments, for quite some time. The losses from expensive lawsuits and staff turnover have piled up. But these offensive misogynistic comments about Denise, a written letter no less, were the last straw. It has to end.”
- Stacey Pace (R-Troy).
“This is about Board oversight and authority in Board appointments and administration. And frankly, this is long overdue. The lack of leadership, bad personnel decisions, and the revolving door of department heads has to stop, so citizens can be served well by their tax dollars.”
- Eric Foster (R-Granite City)
“The turnover in County Administration hurts everyone, and is squarely the fault of the bad management of the Chairman. We are on our fourth Community Development Director, third veterinarian at Animal Control, third Facilities manager, fourth EMA director, second Building and Zoning director, second county administrator, second IT Director, and numerous Deputy Directors have come and gone. It is ridiculous, and the taxpayers of Madison County are footing the bill. It is time for the Board to get more involved. The Chairman is not fulfilling his duties. He is acting as if he were a county executive, but that’s not the style of government we have in place in Madison County. He is Chairman of the Board, with specific duties granted to him by the County Board, which is to fulfill the wishes of the board and assist in the day-to-day operations along with the County Administrator. The Chairman does not rule the Board. The Board rules itself. Per county ordinance, the County Board Chair shall implement the decisions and policies of the Board.”
- Mick Madison (R-Bethalto)
“County Board members are tired of having to settle cases that are tied to the Chairman’s action. It is our responsibility to protect the taxpayer from these kinds of problems. And I believe this oversight plan will reduce the constant payouts relating to bad personnel and turnover decisions in the County.”
- Bobby Ross (R-St. Jacob)
“I’ve supported Kurt politically in the past, but from a professional standpoint, we just can’t sit by and allow this erratic behavior and mismanagement to continue."
- Mike Babcock (R-Bethalto)
Countywide GOP officials also supported the Board’s move:
“We all believe these proposed changes are reasonable and responsible. We fully support them," the release quotes Circuit Clerk Tom McRae, County Auditor David Michael, State’s Attorney Tom Haine, Treasurer Chris Slusser and Regional Superintendent of Schools Rob Werden in a joint statement.
"As independent elected officials, we need the County administration to work smoothly and efficiently so we can do our jobs well. Every Republican county-wide elected official agrees that Chairman Prenzler’s inept management and bad judgment is wasting taxpayer resources and harming our abilities to serve the citizens of Madison County. This action is long overdue, and we commend the Board's leadership in pursuing these ordinance updates even in the face of personal attacks.“