THORNTON | With the Village Board short on attendance, trustees decided to put off decisions on use of village employees.

The board expects to have more than a bare quorum present on Dec. 15, when it will consider a mutual aid agreement for public works services and a schedule of employee holidays. Three trustees were absent from the month's first regular meeting.

The mutual aid agreement would allow, but not require, Thornton to send its public works employees to help with emergencies in other towns. The village also could call on its neighbors for help when its public works staff is overwhelmed.

The village would be reimbursed for materials when providing aid, but Thornton would pay the employees' wages.

"I feel it's a good idea. It allows us to have access of resources of communities that are much larger than us," said Village Administrator Jason Wicha.

Village President Jack Swan said that a previous mutual aid deal helped Thornton when a microburst storm hit the town. Public works crews from one community stayed in Thornton for several days to help clear debris, he said.

"We were able to clean up our mess in a week's time," Swan said.

Trustee Paul Tomasik argued that the board should not vote on the agreement without seeing a final draft of the entire measure.

Trustees also will take a longer look at the 2009 holiday schedule for village employees.

Trustee Lori Lareau questioned the practice of closing Village Hall for such dates as Veterans Day and the day after Thanksgiving. The proposed schedule would not affect the Police Department, which operates under a union contract. More than half of Thornton employees work in the Police Department.

In other news, the board may find a partial solution to its budget problems at the Dec. 15 meeting. Thornton is negotiating to sell a piece of village-owned property in the industrial tax increment financing district to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, according to Wicha. Also under discussion is a possible lease of village property to a local business, he said.