Raising pink cards in the air to signify “yes” votes, McHenry Township residents at a special electors meeting Friday voted to keep the senior bus service for another year.

The service was in danger after McHenry Township Trustees Bob Anderson, Steve Verr and Mike Rakestraw voted last summer in favor of eliminating the door-to-door transportation services for senior and disabled residents. Township Supervisor Craig Adams and Trustee Stan Wojewski voted to keep it.

Illinois law allows voters to direct the supervisor to allocate funding specifically to pay an agency – whether for profit or nonprofit – to provide services for seniors.

In September, 169 residents voted at a special electors meeting to fund the bus service until March 31.

After Friday night’s vote, the service now will run until March 31, 2021.

Voters specifically approved transferring $150,000 in township general funds to benefit the senior bus service.

Those funds will be allocated as a result of a surplus in the general fund. The board declared $1.9 million in surplus, according to a resolution attached to Friday’s agenda.

Sue Rose, a member of the Save McHenry Township steering council, said residents didn’t want to take more from the surplus than absolutely necessary.

“We’re trying to be as responsible as possible,” she said.

For instance, to save money, some of the bus drivers who worked full time now will be part time.

However, the buses still will cover the entire township, and all of the same residents will be served, Rose said.

Residents spoke out about what people in favor of keeping the bus service have said all along – that people, specifically the elderly and disabled, are dependent on it, as it is sometimes their only means of transportation.

“There’s a lot of people that need to get to places, and this is the only way they can do it,” McHenry resident Jeanette Dentro said. “If we don’t have a bus, we don’t have customers. If we don’t have customers, I don’t have a job.”

Some residents criticized Anderson, Rakestraw and Verr, who have been vocal opponents of keeping the township bus services. Several people pointed out that the trustees chose not to attend the meeting.

Wonder Lake resident Mike Tauler, acting as parliamentarian for the special electors meeting, said 101 people attended. To pass the resolution transferring funds to the bus service, they needed 67 people, or two-thirds, to vote in favor of it. Everyone at the meeting voted to keep the bus service, and they cheered when the vote was announced.

Rose said after the meeting that the fact people voted to save the bus service was great.

She said although the vote was what she expected, the number of people who showed up surprised her.

“We had such a great turnout on a Friday night,” Rose said. “For people to give up their Friday nights to come out here and show support for their neighbors is a beautiful thing.”

Rose said she doesn’t personally take the bus or use many of the township’s services herself, “but I want to protect those services ... because there are other people who need them and should have them.”

“We’re all neighbors. We want to help each other,” she said.

Officials also held a special board meeting before the electors meeting Friday to act on two agenda items. Those items included hiring independent legal counsel to represent the township in the McHenry and Nunda road districts’ lawsuit against McHenry County and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, as well as to “safeguard township funds from being misused to fund an unmandated township bus service.”

However, no action was taken, and the meeting was recessed until Monday.