May 30, 2012 Steven M. Elrod Hart M. Passman Holland & Knight LLP Lincolnwood Village Attorney
Welcome � Training Program Designed to: � Familiarize Commissioners with roles and responsibilities � Clarify roles and responsibilities of Commission participants � Enhance effectiveness of Commission meetings � Familiarize Commissioners with Illinois laws governing open meetings and with Roberts Rules of Procedures � Ensure compliance with legal and ethical requirements
Commissioner Roles and Responsibilities
Village Code Provisions Re: Commissions � Appointment of Commissioners � Mayor appoints, with advice and consent of Village Board � Exception: Police Pension Board, ETSB � Term of Office: 3 Years � Exception: Police Pension Board (2 Years) � Term does not expire until successor duly appointed � Maximum of 4 consecutive 3 ‐ year terms � Commission Members must be a Village resident for at least one year before appointment � Exception: Police Pension Board, EDC (2 members may be non ‐ residents)
Commissioner Roles and Responsibilities � Commissioner Attendance Policy [Village Code Sec. 3 ‐ 1 ‐ 4(A)(4)] � Commission members are expected to attend the entirety of all meetings and to “take an active role”. � Mayor may remove any Commission member who misses 3 or more regular meetings in any 12 ‐ month period ( Mayor can act without Village Board ). � Except: BFPC (hearing required)
Commissioner Roles and Responsibilities � Each Commission to adopt its own rules of procedure � Appointment of Chairperson and Other Officers � Plan Commission and ZBA: Chairperson appointed by Mayor/Board � Other Commissions: Appointed by Commission � Report to Village Board: Bi ‐ Annual/2 years
Commissioner Roles and Responsibilities � Commission Chair / Vice ‐ Chair � Presides over meetings � Signs Commission documents � Also assumes roles and responsibilities of a Commissioner � In the absence of the Chair, the Vice ‐ Chair exercises the roles and responsibilities of the Chair
Illinois Municipal Law 101 � Federalism � States � Local Governments are creatures of the state � Illinois Local Governments � Counties � Townships � School Districts � Municipalities � Special Districts
Illinois Municipal Law 101 � Municipal Authority/Home Rule � Forms of Governments ‐ General � Commission Form � Strong Mayor � Managerial Form � Lincolnwood Form of Government
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“Sunshine Laws”
Freedom of Information Act (FO IA) � 5 ILCS 140 � “All records in the custody or possession of a public body are presumed to be open to inspection or copying.” � “The General Assembly declares that providing records in compliance with the requirements of this Act is a primary duty of public bodies to the people of this State, and this Act should be construed to this end, fiscal obligations notwithstanding .” � Act significantly amended as of January 2010
FOIA: Applicability � Public Bodies � Legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies of the state of Illinois � Counties, townships, cities, villages, school district and other municipal corporations � Any subsidiary bodies thereof � Public Records – All materials: � prepared by or for, used by, received by, in possession of, or under control of, public body � pertaining to transaction of public business � regardless of format. � Not in possession of public body � No obligation to create records
FOIA: Responding to Requests � Timing � 5 business days � One permitted 5 business day extension for specific reasons � Commercial requests (10 days to respond; w/out delivery) � Denials
Open Meetings Act � 5 ILCS 120 � Applies to “Public Bodies” � Legislative, executive, administrative, and advisory bodies � State, counties, townships, cities, villages, and other municipal corporations � All subsidiary bodies (boards, commissions, committees)
Open Meetings Act: What Makes a Meeting? “a gathering of a majority of a quorum for the purpose of discussing public business”
Open Meetings Act: Notice and Location � Regular Meetings � Annual schedule of regular meetings � Agenda posted 48 hours in advance � Special Meetings � 48 hours advance notice + agenda Emergency Meetings � � Notice as soon as practicable to news media � Location � Held at “times and places which are convenient and open to the public”
Open Meetings Act: Agenda and Minutes � Public notice and agenda of meetings must be provided by posting at location of meeting and public body’s office and by providing notice to media � Final action limited to items properly noticed on posted agenda � All Commissions must keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon every question (Lincolnwood Village Code)
Open Meetings Act: E ‐ mail � E ‐ mails continue to pose challenges : � Avoid communicating with other Commissioners in chat rooms � If you desire to discuss pubic business informally via e ‐ mail, confine the e ‐ mail to fewer than a “majority of a quorum” of the public body (two) � If you desire to distribute information to all members of the public body, remind the recipients “DO NOT REPLY TO ALL” and if you are a recipient, DO NOT REPLY TO ALL! � Do not assume that e ‐ mails are confidential, in light of broad disclosure requirements of FOIA and in light of recent Attorney General Opinion
Open Meetings Act: Remote Participation OMA 2006 Amendment � Limited basis for qualification � Personal illness or disability � Employment purposes � Business of the public body � Family or other emergency � Quorum must be physically present � Speaker phone must be audible to all � Electronic participant must be identified (voice recognized)
Open Meetings Act: Closed Session � Exception to rule that meetings must be open to the public � Process for going into closed session � Motion to close stating exception(s) authorizing closed session � Majority roll call vote
Open Meetings Act: Closed Session Permitted topics � Pending or imminent litigation � Personnel matters � Collective bargaining negotiations � Purchase or lease of property � Setting price for sale of property � Appointment, discipline or removal of public officers � Review closed session minutes
Open Meetings Act: Closed Session � Minutes � Verbatim Recordings
Open Meetings Act: Mandatory On Line Training Public Act 97 ‐ 504 � Requires every elected or appointed official of a public body that is subject to the OMA and that was elected or appointed prior to January 1, 2012, to successfully complete the electronic OMA training offered by the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor prior to January 1, 2013 . � If elected or appointed after January 1, 2012, must successfully complete the electronic OMA training within 90 days. � Once complete, the elected or appointed official must file a copy of the certificate of completion with the Village Clerk.
Quorum and Voting � Establishment of Quorum � Lincolnwood Code: Majority of voting members = quorum � Roberts: once quorum established; presumed to exist � No business shall be conducted without a quorum � Commission Action: vote of a majority of a quorum
How to Vote � Motion/Second � Chair cannot make motion � If you make a motion, you should refrain from speaking against it.[But you can vote against it.] � If you second a motion, you can speak and vote against it.
The “Prosser” Rule Abstain Pass Present I’d rather not say I dunno I can’t decide
The “Prosser” Rule Prosser v Village of Fox Lake: A legal significance must be given to every vote. A vote to abstain is deemed to be an acquiescence or concurrence with the majority who did vote Exception: if statute or ordinance requires an “affirmative vote” (of a majority or a supermajority), then a vote to abstain will be deemed to be a NAY vote
Robert’s Rules � “I changed my mind” � Changing a member’s individual vote: Member may change his/her vote up until the time the Chair announces result; thereafter only by unanimous consent � Motion to Reconsider an Approved Motion: � Must be made at same meeting as motion approved � Must be made by member of prevailing side � Any member can second � Effect is that main motion is put back on table � Motion to Rescind an Approved Motion � Approved motions may be rescinded (but not if rights have intervened and vested)
Robert’s Rules � Motion to Call the Previous Question � Ends debate and allows for a vote on the pending question � Maker must have the floor and the motion must be seconded � Cannot blurt out “Call the Question!” � Is not debatable � Requires 2/3 vote
Motion to Table vs. Motion to Postpone � Motion to Table (or Lay on the Table): � enables the Board to lay a pending matter aside temporarily � powerful tool designed to immediately halt all consideration without debate � no time set for taking matter up again � resumed at will of majority � takes precedence; non ‐ debatable; no further discussion � Intended to deal with urgent matters, not to delay consideration � Should not be used simply to postpone a matter
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