Mayor: ‘Dream team’ a ‘nightmare’
Rift with board not good for Dolton, Henyard says
One day after dressing up as fictional villain Cruella de Vil on Halloween, Dolton Mayor Tiffany Henyard was accused of being a bully by a member of the village board.
Just another day in Dolton, where the honeymoon for Henyard has been short.
In early May, Henyard was sworn in as Dolton’s first female mayor after serving eight years as a trustee. She said after her election that she and the board were a “dream team.”
Henyard’s first six months in office have seen good, bad and ugly and her rift with the board is not good for the community, she said.
“The people elected us to be the dream team, so we said, and now it’s a nightmare,” Henyard said Tuesday.
She said residents have lost trust in government because of the discord.
“This is not a show. We’re not the ‘Housewives of Atlanta.’ This is the village of Dolton and we have to take care of the business we were elected to do. We are not doing that.”
The first six months of Henyard’s tenure have not been dull.
A special meeting in August was canceled at the last minute. Trustees held a meeting outside of Village Hall without the mayor. Some trustees have not shown up for meetings Henyard called, preventing a needed quorum to take action.
Questions arose about Henyard hiring Dorothy Brown as village
administrator and comments she made and later apologized for regarding a Dolton police officer fatally shooting 19-year-old Alexis Wilson.
Residents have been angry and fearful after learning Henyard hired Lavelle Redmond, a registered sex offender, as an inspector, and have voiced their protests outside Village Hall.
In a statement posted on Facebook, Henyard said reports that Redmond was going into people’s houses was not true. She said he works on outdoor violations and has been a “stellar employee.”
She said she would not jeopardize residents safety, but said she believes in giving second chances.
“Many people who have paid their debt to society face significant rejection from societies, communities, employers and lack the opportunity to ingratiate back into society, especially in the brown communities” she wrote. “Our stereotype needs to stop!”
During her tenure, protesters have gathered outside Henyard’s home and Village Hall demanding she resign, and she has hired security for her well-being.
But when asked about her first six months, she was upbeat, saying
this job was everything she thought it would be.
“Overall, it’s been great,” she said. “Sure, there have been a few hurdles. But it’s expected. That happens with a new mayor. I’m doing the job for the will of the people right now. It’s a whole lot of fun. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
She said there is a balanced budget that was implemented on time, a deadline she said was never met during her years as a trustee. She said the village hired eight police personnel and three firefighters and began the process of reopening Fire House 2, which was shut down because of issues with the building.
She said her second day on the job, she instituted police foot patrol duty and officers have gone door to door to meet residents.
But if she sticks around for another three-and-ahalf years, she knows she and the board need to mend some fences.
This week, a Village
Board meeting, conducted over the Zoom platform began Monday, but 40 minutes into it there was a disagreement. The board voted 4-2 to adjourn even though there were still several items on the agenda. That meeting is set to resume at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
During the meeting, Henyard announced citizens should communicate with the board via email, rather than the Zoom chat function. The chat function was disabled, though some trustees said that was unfair because chat has been used since early 2020 when the pandemic began.
“You can’t just steamroll everything, mayor,” Trustee Edward Steave told her during the meeting. “It’s the wrong way to do it. You just can’t bully your way through this stuff. It’s all wrong.”
He told Henyard she has to respect what trustees say and communicate better with both trustees and residents.
“No one is bullying anyone,” Henyard replied. “I called all of you several times and not one returned my calls. So, stop it. Tell the truth, trustees. I reach out to you, you do not respond to me.”
All six trustees were contacted for comment for this article, and none responded.
During the argument, Trustee Kiana Belcher wanted to know if it was legal for the village to hold a meeting where “the citizens don’t have a voice.” Village attorney ShawnTe Raines-Welch said she would not give a legal opinion publicly and would give it confidentially. Belcher then called for the vote to adjourn.
Belcher, Brittney Norwood, Jason House and Tammy Brown voted to shut the meeting down while Steave and Andrew Holmes supported continuing.
Henyard scolded Belcher after the vote.
“The residents suffer because you guys want to be petty, because you don’t get your way about me stating that this is the way it’s going to be done,” Henyard said. “You come here for the people, not to argue and bicker with Mayor Henyard. And you are really, disrespectful Trustee Belcher, so you have to grow up, please.”
Henyard said Tuesday she still has confidence everyone can work together. She said she will continue to try to work this through.
“I’ve made several attempts to mend my board,” she said. “I’ve called. I’ve texted. I’ve met with some of them. I even went as far as scheduling a retreat. I heard nothing back on that. I’ve exhausted all avenues, but I still believe there is hope for us.”
Dorothy Brown, who was clerk of the circuit court of Cook County from 20002020, said she was hired temporarily by Henyard and will be leaving at the end of the month.
“I have agreed with the mayor to give her one extra month,” Brown said at the meeting. “Now I can get on with my life like I planned when I retired. It’s been wonderful working with all of you wonderful trustees.”