The following rules of order for conduct of village business by the president and board of trustees of the village are hereby adopted:
Rule 1. The president shall, if present, take the chair at the hour appointed for the meeting of the board; if he be not present the board of trustees shall elect a temporary chairman from among themselves who shall act in his stead. The meeting being called to order, the roll of members shall be called, and if a quorum be present the presiding officer shall cause the journal of the last preceding meeting or meetings to be read unless such reading be dispensed with by vote of the board.
Rule 2. The president shall preserve order and decorum. He may speak to points of order in preference to any member and shall decide points of order subject to an appeal of the board of trustees by any two (2) members, on which appeal no member shall speak more than once unless by leave of the board.
Rule 3. Every question shall be distinctly stated by the president before it is open for debate. Every motion shall be reduced to writing if the president or any member shall so demand.
Rule 4. The president may call on any member to perform the duties of chairman; no such substitution, however, shall extend beyond the adjournment of the particular meeting.
Rule 5. Every member previous to speaking to any question shall audibly address the presiding officer as "Mr. President" or "Mr. Mayor". Such member shall not, however, speak further until he is recognized and named.
Rule 6. Every ordinance shall be read before the same shall be passed.
Rule 7. The passage of all ordinances for whatever purpose and of any resolution or motion: 1) to create any liability against the village or 2) for the expenditures or appropriation of its money, shall require the concurrence of a majority of all members elected to the village board, including the president. The yeas and nays shall be taken upon the question of the passage of the designated ordinances, resolutions or motions and recorded in the journal of the village board. Likewise, the yeas and nays shall be taken upon the passage of any other resolution or motion at the request of any trustee, and shall be recorded in the journal.
Rule 8. Every member present when a vote is taken shall vote unless excused by the board of trustees, or unless he shall be directly interested in the matter pending, in which case such member shall not vote. Any member refusing to vote or passing his vote, shall be counted as voting with the majority.
Rule 9. All standing committees shall consist of three (3) members and shall be appointed by the president, and the person first named on the committee shall be the chairman thereof. All standing committees shall be purely advisory in nature, and shall make recommendations to the President and Board of Trustees.
Rule 10. The president of the village shall be ex officio a member of all committees. The standing committees to be appointed annually shall be as follows:
Finance and TIF.
Streets, alleys and storm sewers.
Community outreach.
Ordinances and insurance.
Building and grounds.
Police.
Rule 11. Special committees may be appointed by the president for the consideration of any particular question or matter. All special committees shall be purely advisory in nature, and shall make recommendations to the President and Board of Trustees.
Rule 12. All committees to whom any matter may be referred shall report in writing if requested by any member. Minority reports may be submitted signed by the dissenting member or members.
Rule 13. On the acceptance of a final report from a special committee, such committee shall stand discharged without vote unless it be otherwise ordered. All reports made by committees or officers of the village, all resolutions adopted, all ordinances as presented and passed, all communications, petitions and the like received, and, generally all papers presented to be acted on, shall be filed and carefully preserved by the clerk.
Rule 14. All petitions or communications shall be addressed to the president and board of trustees and shall be in writing and filed with the clerk.
Rule 15. When a member wishes to present a communication, petition, order, resolution or other original matter, he shall briefly state its nature before presenting the same.
Rule 16. No person, except a member of the board, shall be permitted to address the president or the board without the consent of the president.
Rule 17. All standing committees shall have the power in case of emergency to correct the cause of such emergency, the cost of which shall not exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).
Rule 18. The order of business of this board shall be as follows:
1. Calling the roll of members.
2. Minutes of last meeting or meetings.
3. Public communications.
4. Reports of committees and officers.
5. Old business.
6. New business.
7. Adjournment.
Rule 19. The president shall decide all questions of order, and, in all cases not covered by these rules or where they are not applicable, the board shall be governed by parliamentary law as laid down in the current edition of "Robert's Rules Of Order".
Rule 20. When a question is before the board, no motions shall be in order but to adjourn; lay on the table; previous question; postpone indefinitely; postpone to a certain time, to commit; and amend.
These motions shall be privileged and have precedence in the order named.
Rule 21. In case of the want of a quorum at any time of the village board, a majority of the trustees present may direct the president or presiding officer to direct any police officer to go out and notify any and all absent members, who can be found in the village and who are not unable through sickness to attend. After notice and request by such officer and such member shall refuse to attend, such officer shall, without warrant, arrest such member and bring him in.
Rule 22. The following rules shall apply to public communications at village board meetings:
(a) Compliance: It shall be unlawful for any person to address or attempt to address any regular or committee meeting of the board of trustees except in compliance with this section. Public participation shall be permitted during the following portions of a public meeting:
(1) Public communications.
(2) Public hearing.
(3) Invited speakers.
(b) Closed Sessions: Public participation shall not be permitted during any meetings or portions of meetings which are deemed closed sessions under the open meetings act, 5 Illinois Compiled Statutes 120/1 et seq., as amended.
(c) Limitations: The president or presiding officer may impose reasonable limitations on public participation at public meetings, such as barring repetitious, irrelevant, immaterial, or inappropriate comments or testimony. The president or presiding officer shall have the authority to halt or suspend the public communications/hearing to a later date due to the duration of the public forum/hearing or lack of compliance with this section. In addition to those portions of a meeting set aside for public participation, the president or presiding officer shall have the discretion to permit public comment at any other time during a meeting, subject to the provisions of this section. Public comment during the public communications portion of a meeting shall be limited to agenda items for the meeting.
(d) Persons Wishing To Speak: Persons wishing to speak during the public communications portion of a village board or committee meeting shall sign in before stating their name, address and agenda item on which they wish to speak. All speakers shall comply with this section, and rulings of the presiding officer.
(e) Speakers: Speakers shall identify themselves and provide their current address before beginning their comments or questions. Speakers shall provide their comments or questions on the agenda item, and provide any supporting documentation and/or evidence they may wish to submit. Speakers shall refrain from engaging in debates, directing threats or personal attacks at the president or presiding officer, board of trustees, village staff, other speakers or members of the audience. The president or presiding officer and board of trustees shall have no obligation to respond to any comments or questions raised by members of the public.
(f) Audience: Members of the audience shall refrain from applauding, cheering, or booing during or at the conclusion of remarks made by any speaker, staff member, board member, president or presiding officer.
(g) Representative Speakers: Groups of residents should, whenever possible, consolidate their comments and avoid repetition through the use of representative speakers.
(h) Time Limit: All speakers shall limit their comments to no more than three (3) minutes.
(i) Petitioner Time Limit In Event Of A Petition Presented To The Board: The petitioner of an agenda item is a person or entity with a financial or ownership interest in a zoning matter or other board of trustees' decision. The petitioner may proceed with a brief presentation of the petition for no more than ten (10) minutes, subject to:
(1) Speakers may comment or ask questions on the agenda item after the presentation of the petition provided they comply with all the applicable provisions of this section.
(2) The petitioner shall have no more than five (5) minutes to reply to comments or questions. Public participation after the petitioner's reply shall be prohibited unless the president or presiding officer directs otherwise.
(3) The president or presiding officer and board of trustees may, but need not, ask questions of the petitioner and speakers at the conclusion of their comments.
(4) The board of trustees may then deliberate upon the petition. No additional comment may be made by the public or the petitioner except upon the express permission of the president or presiding officer.
(j) Public Hearing: The rules applicable to the public forum shall generally apply to public hearings.
(k) Invited Speakers: Any citizen may address the board of trustees by invitation of the president or presiding officer or a majority of the board of trustees present. Speakers invited to participate shall be subject to such limitations as the president or presiding officer or majority of the board of trustees shall prescribe. In the absence of other restrictions, such speakers shall be governed by the same rules which govern the public forum. (Ord. O-1-15-1, 2-2-2015; amd. Ord. O-7-17-2, 7-17-2017; Ord. O-10-22-2, 10-17-2022)