The
village of Sherman has hired Michael Stratton, former director of the
Springfield Park District who departed the district under pressure four years
ago.
The
Sherman board of trustees unanimously approved the hiring of Stratton on
Tuesday as village administrator and director of economic development. He will
be paid $60,000 a year and serve at the pleasure of Mayor Trevor Clatfelter.
Stratton
left the park district in 2013 after district officials discovered that he had paid
himself and other top parks officials more than $160,000 for unused vacation
time. Stratton resigned when the payments, plus a cash advance that he had
given himself, came to light. Under Stratton’s tenure, the district was also
hit with several critical audits, with auditors finding that district credit cards
had been used to purchase alcohol and bestow tips in excess of 25 percent.
Clatfelter
said that he’s known Stratton for many years and was aware of his troubles at
the park district.
“I’m
not concerned,” Clatfelter said. “I believe he’s going to do a good job for us.
… I know there were a couple of things (at the park district). There have been
a lot of years since that took place. I’m not going to let that eliminate him
from this.”
Contact Bruce Rushton at brushton@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Jul 13-19, 2017.
