(A) Regular meetings of the Board shall be held as required by state statute and at such other times as may be determined by the Board.
(B) The Board shall by resolution set the date, time and place of all regular meetings of the Board at the initial organization meeting after each general election. The schedule of meetings shall cover the two year session of the Board and shall be followed unless changed by Board resolution.
(C) Special meetings of the Board shall be held when requested by at least one-third of the members of the Board. Such requests shall be addressed in writing to the Clerk of the Board and shall specify the time, place and purpose of the meeting. The Clerk shall make such notice to Board members and the public as is required by state statute.
(D) The County Board Chairperson shall preside over the meetings of the Board. The Chairperson Pro Tem shall preside in the absence of the Chairperson.
(E) Members shall be seated by districts as determined by the Board.
(F) Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern in all cases when not set aside by rules adopted herein.
(G) The County Clerk shall prepare an agenda for each regular meeting and special meeting of the Board. The agenda shall be sufficiently itemized to inform Board members and the public of the business to be considered by the Board. Any Board member may place an item on the agenda by notifying the County Board Chairperson and the Clerk of the Board. Such items to be placed on the agenda shall be communicated to the County Board Chairperson and the Clerk of the Board by 12:00 noon on the fourth working day prior to the appropriate meeting, and may be referred to the appropriate committee by the County Board Chairperson.
(H) New business items shall be referred by the County Board Chairperson to a committee he or she deems appropriate for consideration. Such items shall be considered at the committee meeting following the Board meeting at which they were introduced. The committee shall report back to the full Board with its recommendation not later than the second Board meeting following the introduction of the item. The committee may recommend that the Board approve the item, not approve the item, approve the item with the committee’s recommended amendment, or request an extension of time to consider the matter further. The resolution shall be reintroduced in its original form and may be passed, defeated or passed with amendments according to the wish of the Board.
(I) A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. All questions that arise shall be determined by a simple majority voice vote of those present, except as otherwise provided by statute or herein.
(J) Any member may demand a roll call vote on any question. The member demanding the roll call vote and the vote of each member shall be recorded in the minutes.
(K) Votes of the Board involving the appropriation of funds, approval of the annual budget and tax levy, the issuance of bonds or other instruments of debt, approval of collective bargaining agreements and the fixing of salaries shall be by roll call vote.
(L) All questions involving the transfer of funds within the county budget and appropriations and immediate emergency appropriations as provided by state statute, shall require a two-thirds majority vote for passage and be by roll call.
(M) All members present shall be required to vote. However, it is the duty of a Board member to determine whether or not that Board member has a conflict of interest regarding any matter pending before the Board. In the event of a conflict, it shall be the duty of the Board member to withdraw from any consideration of the matter, to inform the Board of the conflict and to refrain from voting on any such matter.
(N) No member may speak more than once or longer than three minutes on the same subject without approval by the County Board Chairperson. This rule may be suspended by a two-thirds majority vote of the County Board.
(O) No member shall leave before the formal close of the day’s session without notifying the County Board Chairperson.
(P) The order of business at Board meetings shall generally be as follows:
(1) Pledge of Allegiance;
(2) Roll call;
(3) Public input;
(4) Approval of minutes;
(5) Presentation of communications;
(6) Appointment recommendations;
(7) Consent agenda;
(8) Standing committee reports and resolutions;
(9) New business; and
(10) Recess or adjournment.
(Q) Procedure for public input at County Board meetings.
(1) Fifteen minutes shall be set aside at the beginning of each County Board meeting for the purpose of allowing members of the public or county employees to make comments to the County Board.
(2) Each speaker shall be allowed three minutes to address the Board.
(3) Although not required, anyone wishing to address the Board may pre- register by filing a completed “Request to Address the Madison County Board” form with the County Clerk’s Office no earlier than 48 hours prior to the scheduled Board meeting.
(4) The County Board Chairperson will have the prerogative to determine the procedures to be followed in making presentations. The order of the speakers during the Board meeting will be based on the order in which the request to speak was made whether in advance or at the meeting.
(5) All speakers will be required to address the Board from the designated location in the Boardroom, using a microphone if provided.
(6) All public comments shall be made in person. Any written statements transmitted to the County Board or Clerk shall be treated as correspondence and will not be read aloud at a meeting. If any meeting is being held remotely due to a disaster declaration or as otherwise permitted by law, a telephone number or electronic link must be made available to the public and included on the agenda for use by the public when making comments during such meetings. All other provisions of this section will apply during remote meetings.
(7) No dialogue between the speakers and Board members will be allowed.
(8) Speakers shall remain calm while making public comments. Speech that is profane or otherwise disruptive may warrant a verbal warning by the Chairperson. If not corrected, the speaker may then be asked to remove himself/herself from the meeting.
(9) Notwithstanding the foregoing, for public hearings before the Building and Zoning Committee, members of the public may utilize visual aids and the Committee shall allow any interested person to speak.
(R) Unless prior permission is received from the County Board Chairperson, any person wishing to video tape or otherwise record the Board meeting must do so from the area designated for the public. Such recording shall be done from a stationary position.
(S) Remote participation. It is the policy of Madison County that any member of the County Board may attend and participate in any meeting of the County Board or any meeting of a County Board Committee (collectively referred to herein as "meeting") by "other means" defined as, by video or audio conference, provided that such attendance and participation is in compliance with this policy and any other applicable laws.
(1) Prerequisites. A member of the County Board may attend any meeting electronically, by other means, if the member meets the following conditions:
(a) A quorum is physically present throughout the meeting and a majority of those County Board members physically present votes to approve the electronic attendance of the meeting.
(b) The Board member requesting to attend remotely should notify the County Board Office and the Clerk of the Board at least 24 hours before the meeting so that necessary communications equipment can be arranged. Inability to make the necessary technical arrangements will result in denial of a request for remote attendance.
(c) The member must assert one of the following three reasons why he or she is unable to physically attend the meeting:
1. The member cannot attend because of personal illness or disability; or
2. The member cannot attend because of employment purposes or the business of the Board; or
3. The member cannot attend because of a family or other emergency.
(d) At the meeting, the Clerk of the Board shall inform the Board Members physically present of the request for electronic attendance.
(2) Voting procedures. After a roll call establishing that a quorum is physically present, the Chairperson shall call for a motion to allow the requesting member(s) to participate electronically after specifying the reason entitling the absent member to participate electronically. All of the Board members physically present are permitted to vote on whether electronic attendance will be allowed. The motion must be approved by a majority of those members who are physically present.
(3) Adequate equipment requirement. The Board member participating electronically and other members of the Board must be able to communicate effectively, and members of the audience attending the meeting must be able to hear all communications. Before approving electronic attendance at any meeting, the Board shall provide equipment adequate to accomplish this objective.
(4) Minutes. Any member participating electronically shall be considered an off-site participant and counted as present electronically for that meeting if the member is allowed to participate. The meeting minutes shall also reflect and state specifically whether each member is physically present or by electronic means.
(5) Rights of remote member. A member permitted to participate 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. 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 of the Board and placed in the minutes for the corresponding meeting. A member participating 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.
(T) Remote participation during a disaster declaration. It is the policy of Madison County that any member of the County Board may attend and participate in any meeting of the County Board or any meeting of a County Board Committee (collectively referred to herein as "meeting") by "other means" defined as, by video or audio conference, during a disaster declaration, without the physical presence of a quorum of the members, so long as the following conditions are met:
(1) The Governor of the State of Illinois or the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health has issued a disaster declaration related to public health concerns because of a disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, and all or part of the jurisdiction of Madison County is covered by the disaster area;
(2) The County Board Chairman determines that an in-person meeting is not practical or prudent because of the disaster;
(3) All members of the body participating in the meeting, wherever their physical location, shall be verified and can hear one another and can hear all discussion and testimony;
(4) For open meetings, members of the public present at the regular meeting location of the body can hear all discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of the body, unless attendance at the regular meeting location is not feasible due to the disaster, including the issued disaster declaration, in which case Madison County must make alternative arrangements and provide notice pursuant to this policy of such alternative arrangements in a manner to allow any interested member of the public access to contemporaneously hear all discussion, testimony, and roll call votes, such as by offering a telephone number or a web-based link;
(5) At least one member of the body, chief legal counsel, or chief administrative officer is physically present at the regular meeting location, unless unfeasible due to the disaster, including the issued disaster declaration; and
(6) All votes are conducted by roll call, so each member's vote on each issue can be identified and recorded.
(7) Except in the event of a bona fide emergency, 48 hours' notice shall be given of a meeting to be held pursuant to this policy. Notice shall be given to all members of the covered group, shall be posted on the website of Madison County, and shall also be provided to any news media who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of the Open Meetings Act. If Madison County declares a bona fide emergency:
(a) Notice shall be given pursuant to subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of the Open Meetings Act, and the presiding officer shall state the nature of the emergency at the beginning of the meeting;
(b) Madison County must comply with the verbatim recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act.
(8) Quorum. Each member of the body participating in a meeting by audio or video conference for a meeting held pursuant to this policy is considered present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all proceedings.
(9) Record. A covered group holding open meetings under this policy must also keep a verbatim record of all its meetings in the form of an audio or video recording. Verbatim records made under this division shall be made available to the public under, and are otherwise subject to, the provisions of Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act.
(10) Costs. Madison County shall bear all costs associated with compliance with this policy.
(1993 Code, § 30.02) (Ord. 2005-01, passed 3-16-2005; Ord. 2009-02, passed 2-18-2009; Ord. 2019-01, passed 2-20-2019; Ord. 2021-06, passed 11-17-2021)