The following rules shall be applicable to all public hearings required by law to be held by the board of trustees, or by any commission or board, committee, subcommittee, or other public bodies of the village of Inverness:
A. All hearings of the public body shall be held in compliance with the Illinois open meetings act.
B. The chair may impose reasonable limitations on evidence or testimony presented by persons and parties, such as time limits and barring repetitious, irrelevant or immaterial testimony, which ruling may be overruled by a majority of at least a quorum of the public body. Time limits, if imposed, shall be fair, generous and equally administered. The public body shall not be bound by strict rules of evidence; however, irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious evidence shall not be admissible. The chair shall rule on all questions related to the admissibility of evidence, which ruling may be overruled by a majority of at least a quorum of the public body. The chair may also impose reasonable conditions on the hearing process after giving due consideration to factors present in particular proceedings, including, but not limited to, the following:
1. The complexity of the issue.
2. Whether the witness possesses special expertise.
3. Whether the testimony reflects a matter of taste or personal opinion or concerns a disputed issue of fact.
4. The degree to which the witness's testimony relates to the factors to be considered in approving or denying the proposal.
5. Such other factors appropriate for the hearing.
Again, any such rulings may be overruled by a majority of at least a quorum of the public body.
C. The chair may take such actions as are required to maintain an orderly and civil hearing.
D. Proof of lawful notice shall be introduced into evidence before the public body.
E. A record of proceedings at the public hearing shall be made as directed by the public body.
F. A petitioner may appear on his or her own behalf or may be represented by an attorney. Any attorney representing any party or objector(s) at such public hearing shall file a written appearance and include thereon the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all of his or her clients as specified below.
G. The municipality shall be an interested party in every public hearing, but need not appear.
H. In addition to the petitioner, any person may appear and participate at the hearing.
I. Persons participating shall identify themselves for the record, either orally or in writing, and indicate if an attorney represents them.
J. All persons in attendance shall have an opportunity to be heard. Any person who also wishes to appear as an "interested person" for himself or herself or by an attorney with the right to cross examine others at the hearing must complete and file with the village clerk at the village of Inverness village hall a written appearance form which shall be made available by the village clerk during her office's regular hours. Such appearance form shall provide the following information relative to the interested party in legible form:
1. Subject matter;
2. Name, address, telephone number and fax number of interested party;
3. E-mail address, if any, of interested party;
4. Name, address, telephone number and fax number of interested party's attorney, if any;
5. If the appearance is by an attorney, the name(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) of all such attorney's clients shall be provided in legible form.
K. After such a written appearance has been filed by any interested person and/or their attorney, the petitioner(s) and/or applicant(s), or their attorney(s), shall send to such interested person, or to their attorney, if one has filed an appearance on behalf of such interested person, usable copies of any documents of any nature thereafter filed with the village by the petitioner(s) and/or the applicant(s) or by their attorney(s), and such copies shall be sent to such interested person(s) by facsimile, overnight courier, or regular mail within seven (7) business days after the originals of such documents are filed with the village.
L. The examination of a witness shall not be used by the questioner to offer testimony or evidence of the questioner.
M. All persons offering testimony at a hearing shall testify under oath. An attorney shall be sworn if he or she offers testimony but not if he or she is questioning witnesses, summarizing testimony of witnesses, or addressing the public body.
N. The order of presentation at a public hearing shall generally be as specified in section 1-10-3 of this chapter, but may be modified as determined appropriate by the chair.
O. At the conclusion of an evidentiary portion of the public hearing, the public body may, among other actions, move to close the evidentiary portion of the public hearing and then deliberate its decision on the matter under consideration, on the evidence presented, or continue the hearing to a date, time and location certain.
P. A member who is not present at a public hearing may vote on a matter, provided such member has heard an audiotape or read the transcript of the public hearing, reviewed the evidence presented at the hearing, and otherwise thoroughly familiarized himself or herself with the matter under consideration.
Q. A written decision shall be prepared which shall include findings of fact and the public body's recommendation or decision based upon the record. (Ord. 2005-796, 3-8-2005)