William Grossi
Mount Prospect’s recent passage of an ethics ordinance is already affecting village business.
Two trustees, William Grossi and Vince Dante, withdrew from Tuesday’s public discussion about a new special events policy, citing potential conflicts of interest stemming from their involvement with the Lions Club. Grossi is current president, while Dante is a past president.
The village supports such Lions Club events as the Bluesmobile Cruise Nights, the 4th of July Festival and the Farmers Market. The Lions donate annually to help stock the village’s food pantry.
The village last week passed an update to the village code to avoid conflicts of interest among village board members. During the discussion leading to its passage, audience members had brought up the connection of trustees to the Lions Club.
Vince Dante
“I believe that my participation in these discussions may have a negative effect on public confidence in the integrity of the village,” Grossi said, since Lions events will be impacted by the discussion.
Dante also cited his involvement with organizations that could be affected by the policy discussion, such as the Mount Prospect Downtown Merchants Association and the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce.
“Transparency is critical to maintaining the trust and integrity of this process,” he said.
Grossi said neither he nor Dante received “one dime” for serving in their positions. “In fact, all we do is give money back to the organization.”
Citing a need for better planning and monitoring of events, village staff recommended putting in place an event permit process, a formal procedure to review requests to host an event in the village. Assistant Village Manager Alex Bertolucci said there would need to be a code amendment.
The village spent around $537,000 over the past 12 months to help stage special events, including the 4th of July Parade, Fridays on the Green, the Downtown Block Party and the Celebration of Cultures. These costs were offset by more than $162,000 in revenue.