The Niles Village Board will be short one voting member for the next year and a half following the resignation of one of its trustees.
Trustee Denise McCreery, who was elected to the board in 2015 and reelected in 2019, resigned Oct. 26. A letter announcing her resignation was read by Mayor George Alpogianis during the Village Board’s regular meeting that night.
“After a great deal of reflection and prayer, I am saddened to share with you that I will be resigning from the board as trustee, effective immediately,” McCreery’s statement read. “It is my hope that I have had some small positive impact on this community.”
McCreery did not cite a reason for stepping down from the board, but Alpogianis described it as “personal.” Messages left with McCreery were not immediately returned.
A 2014 referendum backed by citizen Joe Makula and approved by voters ended the mayor’s power to fill vacancies on the village board through appointment. Voters in 2016 rejected another referendum that would have restored the mayor’s appointment power.
As a result, McCreery’s seat will remain vacant until the next village board election, which is scheduled for the spring of 2023. This leaves five voting trustees on the board.
Alpogianis called it “dangerous and harmful to our village” if McCreery’s seat remains unfilled. He explained that having only five voting trustees could impact certain measures where a five-vote supermajority is needed and one member is absent. A super-majority vote is needed to change the budget or approve emergency expenditures, he said.
“Our hands will be tied,” he said, “We will be stalemated.”
The mayor votes only when there is a tie between the trustees.
At the time he circulated petitions for the 2014 referendum, Makula told the Niles Herald-Spectator that allowing the mayor to appoint trustees limits opportunities for those without political connections to serve. He noted that trustees who had been appointed to vacancies went on to retain their seats in elections.
Makula currently serves on the elected Niles-Maine District Library Board — which is in the process of filling a vacant seat on the board through appointment.
Prior to running for public office, McCreery was executive director of the Niles Chamber of Commerce from 1992 to 2002, and worked as business and marketing coordinator for the village from 2006 to 2011.
She served as chairman of the village’s Economic Development and Neighborhood Renewal Commission and was co-chair of the Niles 2040 Steering Committee, which is involved in future planning for the village.
Alpogianis called McCreery an “advocate for the village and the citizens” who will be missed on the village Board. In the area of neighborhood renewal, McCreery was a proponent of what became the village’s permit fee waiver program for residents who embark on major home repairs, Alpogianis said.
“She had a lot of irons in the fire, so I will always consult with her and see what she could still bring to the village,” he said.