Dolton Mayor Jason House’s administration recommends approval of three referendums on the March 17 ballot, including extending term limits for elected officials, but former Mayor Tiffany Henyard is pushing back. The ballot question would allow officials to hold the same office for four 4-year term s, with the clock starting at the next municipal election. It would reverse a binding referendum question from 2019 that asked whether the mayor and village clerk should be limited to no more than two consecutive 4-year terms. About 79% of voters at the time were in favor of the shorter term limits. Other ballot questions ask residents to consider whether Dolton should seek funding from the state to mitigate flooding and whether the village should dedicate sales tax revenues to invest in improvements in infrastructure including roads, alleys, paths and sidewalks. The Dolton Village Board approved all three ballot questions in November. House said the increase in term limits could provide residents consistency as the village works to recover from the former Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s tumultuous four years in office. House, who was a village trustee, was sworn in to replace Henyard as mayor in May. “It’s going to take a decent amount of time with one team in place, or the team the voters elect, to be able to make some significant changes,” House said Nov. 3. “I do feel that in our last term, a lot of that term was just spent trying to regulate or trying to minimize damage.” The village was ordered last week to develop a plan to pay a $33.5 million judgment in a 2022 police chase lawsuit and is suing Fifth Third Bank for allegedly allowing Henyard to sign 251 fraudulent checks totaling $1.9 million between April 2022 and May 2023. The next village meeting is scheduled for Monday, House said. “If we are doing a good job, we should be allowed to have stability,” House said. “That’s what this is promoting.” Terrence Antonio James/Chicago TribuneTiffany Henyard speaks during a Dolton Village Board meeting Aug. 5, 2024, when she was mayor. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune) House said many successful communities in the south suburbs have stable governments that benefit from long-term incumbency or no term limits. He said based on resident feedback, the village decided against eliminating term limits entirely. “We recognize that people are comfortable with term limits, and we want to keep that in place,” House said. Henyard, on social media, urged residents to vote against the measure, saying in one post the referendum is “about maintaining control.” “Term limits are in place for a reason,” Henyard wrote. “They protect democracy. They ensure accountability. They provide residents with the opportunity to elect new leadership, introduce fresh ideas and maintain balance in local government.” The former mayor said extending term limits from eight to 16 years would limit residents’ power to choose who represents them in the village. House called Henyard’s opposition of the referendum hypocritical, as Henyard challenged former Mayor Riley Rogers’ efforts to place a referendum on the ballot during a 2018 election setting term limits for Village Board members, when she was a board member. The measure was approved by 64% of voters and prevented board members, but not the mayor or clerk, from serving more than two consecutive terms. [email protected] ...read more read less