A trustee is speaking out publicly in a last desperate cry to bring accountability to a progressive mayor, whose lavish spending is so out of control that the Illinois town may be forced to declare bankruptcy, according to the official.
Brittney Norwood is a trustee in the Village of Dolton, a suburban community of over 23,000 residents that is located on the outskirts of Chicago. She was party to a lawsuit that accused the mayor of actions that amounted to "fraud," according to a complaint reviewed by Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital previously reported that Mayor Tiffany Henyard is living like a royal with a combined salary of nearly $300K and frequent use of beauty vendors despite the median income of the town being $24K. In addition to a hefty paycheck, Henyard has been criticized for how she uses the town's credit card.
She is accused by critics of antics that are both corrupt and hilarious to the point where she belongs on a comedy show like "Parks and Recreation."
Norwood is trying to stop the Democratic mayor from destroying the town with her lavish spending.
"I feel as if I'm in a dictatorship," Norwood said in an interview with Fox News Digital. Norwood is responsible for overseeing Dolton's finances – which, under the circumstances – is no easy task. When Norwood attempts to ask questions, she said Henyard responds with verbal abuse.
Henyard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"The way she talks [to the trustees] I sometimes feel as if I'm in a mentally abusive relationship… I've learned to expect her to be disrespectful. She's like a bully," Norwood said.
She added, "I'm always in disbelief. I always pray before I get to the meetings and I pray for her that she's changed."
But Henyard never changes, Norwood said. It has reached a critical point where the mayor's trustees resorted to trying to get her recalled – which failed – and recently launched a lawsuit to tamp down on her alleged behavior.
Henyard was sued for alleged financial wrongdoing by Dolton trustees on Dec. 23.
"The Defendant’s actions as alleged constitute a fraud upon the residents and taxpayers of the Village," the lawsuit states. It added the extent of the financial wrongdoing could be more extensive than is currently alleged as Henyard was allegedly concealing the information from the trustees.
"The extent to which Defendant has improperly expended Village funds is unknown due to the Defendant blocking the Plaintiff Trustees’ access to Village accounts and financial information," the lawsuit said.
In one of the allegations, the mayor was accused of issuing "checks for payment containing only her signature in violation of State law and Village Code" and using "a stamp containing the Clerk’s signature without the [Village of Dolton] clerk’s permission to issue checks for payments not approved."
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"She manipulates the situation by telling the residents that we don't want them to have the services. The truth of the matter is that she spends so much that we don't have the money for the services. So she manipulates the residents," Norwood said.
In one example, Henyard spends hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars on security, which effectively takes police officers off the streets who should be protecting the town, Norwood said.
"I think that she spends the money on security because she just loves it. She likes the thought of being surrounded by police officers. I think it makes her feel more important," Norwood said. "The police are simply working under her instructions, but it's also sad. It's sad because we need the police patrolling the streets, and they're with her instead."
Norwood sounded the alarm on the dire straits the town was experiencing under Henyard's leadership. If things continue as they are, she predicted bankruptcy might be on the table.
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"At this very moment, we're over $7 million in debt in the Village of Dolton. And we're constantly saying, 'You can't continue to spend at this rate and have a productive community. We have expenses, and we need this money for the expenses.' But time and time again, she continues to spend and ignore us."
Henyard won the April 2021 municipal elections.
"Over just the last two and a half years we've gone from financially sound to a $7 million deficit, and that deficit continues to grow. So, it's very alarming when you have so much money going out, but you don't have enough coming in," Norwood said.
"The truth is she's overspending, and she's doing so much frivolous spending that it's catching up with us. And at some point, it'll eventually come to an end. And we don't know where that may lead us."
Henyard has access to the credit cards of the Thorton Township, of which she is supervisor, and the Village of Dolton, the trustee said.
"I think at this point there's no changing," Norwood said. "We're going to… continue to hold her accountable."
Until the courts bring a stop to the spending, the trustees are sitting ducks, helpless to control it, Norwood said.
"The court process is a lengthy process… But during that time period, they're constantly spending," she said. "I think that [the residents] should know that she's manipulative. So I want them to understand that we were fighting for what's right. All we want is for her to provide transparency and for her to do what's right by the community."
