A. Regular Meetings: Beginning on July 28, 2009, the regular meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be held at six thirty o'clock (6:30) P.M. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at the Village Hall. In the event the regular meeting night falls on a legal holiday, the Board of Trustees' meeting shall be held at six thirty o'clock (6:30) P.M. on the following night unless, by motion duly made and approved, another date is selected. No notice is required if said meeting is held the following night. (Ord. 2009-20, 7-14-2009)
B. Special Meetings: Special meetings of the Board of Trustees may be held at any time on the call of the President. Such call may be in writing, signed by the President, setting forth the object, time and place of the meeting, sent by U.S. mail, properly addressed to each Trustee at his residence in the Village, and mailed at least two (2) days prior to such meeting; or by verbal notice given by the President in person to each officer and Trustee of the Village entitled thereto, or by telephone to such Trustee or some member of said Trustee's family over fifteen (15) years of age, such notice to be given at least one (1) day prior to such meeting. Special meetings may also be called by any three (3) or more of the Trustees by written call, setting forth the object of the meeting and depositing such call with the Village Clerk who shall thereupon give notice to all Trustees and officers of the Village in writing by mail, at least two (2) days before such meeting.
C. Public Meetings: All meetings shall be public except that the board of trustees may elect to conduct a closed meeting to discuss the following:
1. Meeting on collective negotiating matters between the municipality and its employees or their representatives, or concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of municipal employees;
2. Meetings where the acquisition (purchase or lease) of real property is being considered;
3. Meetings held to discuss litigation "when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending in a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that such an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for such a finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meetings";
4. Closed meetings to consider information regarding appointment, employment or dismissal of an employee or officer;
5. Closed meetings to hear testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee or officer to determine its validity;
6. Closed meetings to consider matters when a federal regulation requires it;
7. Closed meetings conducted by an "advisory committee appointed to provide a public body with professional consultation on matters germane to its field of competence" when the advisory committee is considering matters of professional ethics or performance;
8. Meetings held under an unfair housing ordinance which provides for closed meetings to conciliate complaints of discrimination in the listing, sale, exchange, assignment, rental or financing of residential property;
9. Closed meetings to consider the appointment of a member to fill a vacancy on any body covered by the Illinois open meetings act;
10. Closed meetings to establish reserves or settle claims as provided in the local government and governmental employees tort immunity act, if otherwise the disposition of a claim or potential claim might be prejudiced; (Ord. 88-12, 5-2-1988)
11. Closed meetings for any other purpose permitted by Illinois statute 1 as it may be amended from time to time. (Ord. 2009-20, 7-14-2009)
D. Public Notice:
1. Public notice of any special meeting, or of any rescheduled regular meeting, or of any reconvened meeting shall be given at least twenty four (24) hours before such meeting. Such notice shall be given by posting a copy of the notice in a conspicuous place in the village hall.
E. Addressing Meetings: No person, other than the mayor or a regular member of the board, shall address that body at any regular or special meeting, except upon consent of the mayor, and in each event said person shall be limited to three (3) minutes. Any person, individual or organization desiring more time to address the board or make a presentation shall, in writing directed to the mayor at least five (5) days prior to the meeting, make said request for additional time.
F. Disturbing Meetings: It shall be unlawful for any person to disturb any meeting of the board or of any committee thereof. (1975 Code § 2.03)
G. Unexcused Absence From Meetings: The village president and village clerk and each trustee shall attend each regularly scheduled meeting and each properly convened special meeting of the president and board of trustees under the following conditions:
1. Absence from any such meeting shall be excused if:
a. Such official is ill, away from the village due to vacation or business, or unable to attend because of the press of other village business; and
b. Such official notifies the village president in writing or by telephone of the absence and reason therefor prior to the commencement of the meeting from which such official will be absent.
2. The village president shall report at each meeting the reason given for any excused absence or that the absence is unexcused.
3. If an unexcused absence shall have been caused by an emergency situation beyond the absent official's control and the absent official so notifies the village clerk in writing prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting, then the president and board of trustees may vote at such next regularly scheduled meeting to excuse the absence.
4. In the event that the village president, village clerk or a trustee has three (3) or more unexcused absences from meetings in any given year, then his or her pay shall be reduced by a figure arrived at by multiplying the number of unexcused absences times the average amount of pay received per meeting. (Ord. 2011-20, 7-19-2011)
H. Participation In Village Board Meetings By Audio Or Video Conference:
1. Compliance With Open Meetings Act: The mayor and any trustee shall be allowed to participate in and vote, as set forth in this code, in any village board workshop, regular and special meetings, via telephone or any other electronic communication device, but only in compliance with the open meetings act and this code. In the event of a conflict between the open meetings act and this code, the open meetings act shall control.
2. Eligibility: If a quorum of the corporate authorities is physically present as required by section 2.01 of the open meetings act, any trustee or the mayor may attend the meeting by video or audio conference if such trustee or the mayor is prevented from physically attending because of: a) personal illness or disability; b) employment purposes or the business of the public body; or c) a family or other emergency. Audio or video conference attendance shall be in accord with this section.
3. Notice To Clerk: If a member of the corporate authorities wishes to attend a meeting by video or audio conference, the member must notify the village clerk in writing or by e-mail at least forty eight (48) hours before the meeting. The clerk or his or her designee, after receiving the electronic attendance request, shall inform the mayor and village board of the request for electronic attendance.
4. Audio Standards: To be allowed to attend by audio or video conference, there must be suitable equipment available in the room where the meeting is to be physically held which will provide a clear, audible, two-way transmission of the audio from the physical meeting to all members desiring to attend remotely and from the member(s) attending remotely to the physical meeting in sufficient volume to be comfortably heard by members, the village clerk, and the public in physical attendance. The telephonic connection shall be of sufficient quality to carry uninterrupted audio of the meeting.
5. Determination Of Mayor Or Temporary Chairman: The mayor (if physically present), or duly elected temporary chairman of the meeting, may refuse to allow a member to attend by video or audio conference if he or she determines that the audio standards set forth above cannot be met. The mayor or temporary chairman shall make such determination as a matter of record and direct the clerk or recording secretary note such determination in the minutes of the meeting. Members may override the determination of the mayor or chairman if a majority of the members physically present determine that the audio transmissions meet the above audio standards. Such override shall be upon motion passed by the affirmative vote of a majority of the members physically present.
6. Remote Attendance Of Mayor; Chairman Must Physically Attend: The mayor may attend a meeting by audio or video conference, but may not chair. In the physical absence of the mayor, a member must be physically present to serve as temporary chairman.
7. Rights Of Remote Member: A member permitted to attend electronically will be able to express his or her comments during the meeting and participate in the same capacity as those members physically present, subject to all general meeting guidelines and procedures previously adopted and adhered to. Accordingly, although the mayor cannot chair the meeting, the mayor may break a tie or vote when statutorily permitted when attending electronically. The member attending electronically shall be heard, considered, and counted as to any vote taken. Accordingly, the name of any member attending electronically shall be called during any vote taken, and his or her vote counted and recorded by the clerk and placed in the minutes for the corresponding meeting. A member attending electronically may leave a meeting and return as in the case of any member, provided the member attending electronically shall announce his or her leaving and returning. (Ord. 2017-09, 2-14-2017)
Notes
| 1 | 1. 5 ILCS 120/1 et seq. |
| 2 | 2. 5 ILCS 120/1 et seq. |