In order to secure the rights of the citizens of the Village to a fair and just representation of all the citizens by their elected officials, and to guarantee those duly elected officials an orderly and dignified forum in which to represent the rights of the said citizens, and to safeguard the rights of any resident of the Village and those persons having business with the Board of Trustees, and any visitors in physical attendance at a Board of Trustees meeting to hear and to see, without obstruction, the proceedings and actions of the elected officials, and to permit the persons in the news media to observe and report the proceedings and actions of the Board of Trustees, no person or persons will be allowed to engage in any activity that will disturb or disrupt the orderly proceedings of the Board of Trustees and for the attaining of this objective, the following provisions are hereby adopted and the following rules of conduct are hereby established:
1. The Office of the Village Manager (Clerk) shall provide for the Board Room of the Village Hall to be divided into three (3) sections, as follows:
(1). One section for the seating of the Board of Trustees, Village Clerk, officers, employees and consultants of the Village, and members of advisory boards and commissions of the Village, which shall be distinctly designated.
(2). One section furnished with sufficient tables or desks and chairs reserved for the members of the news media.
(3). One section furnished with chairs for all other persons constituting the audience at said meeting.
2. No alcoholic beverages in any form or other intoxicating substance shall be permitted during the time of the meeting of the Board of Trustees.
3. No person, other than members of the Board of Trustees, the Village Clerk, officers, employees, and consultants of the Village, and members of advisory boards and commissions of the Village will be permitted to enter the section of the main meeting room set aside for the members of the Board of Trustees during the time of the meeting of the Board of Trustees unless permission is granted by the presiding officer. Any person or persons so permitted to enter said section shall place himself and conduct himself in such manner as directed by the presiding officer.
Photographs, in addition to those permitted in the following paragraph, interviews, conversations, recording, or other contact with the members of the Board of Trustees, Village officers, employees, consultants, members of advisory boards and commissions of the Village, and with witnesses or persons appearing before the Board of Trustees will be allowed only during a recess or after the close of the meeting of the Board of Trustees.
4. Members of the audience and members of the news media, including photographers, will not be permitted free movement about the meeting room during the time of the meeting of the Board of Trustees. Any member of the audience and any member of the news media, including photographers, may enter and leave the meeting room at any time, provided such entrance and exit is made quietly and in an orderly fashion. If a photographer must move about the room, such movement shall be allowed, provided it is minimal, does not obstruct the view of any other person in physical attendance, and the photographer does not enter the section designated for the members of the Board of Trustees and others as set forth in this Section.
5. Members of the audience or members of the news media will not engage in conversation during the time of the meeting of the Board of Trustees.
6. The Village of Orland Park shall record, by audio and/or video means, all regular and special meetings of the Village Board of Trustees and all Village Standing Committees. The recordings are public records and shall be subject to inspection and copying by any person in accordance with Sections 140/1, et seq., of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1, et seq.). The recordings shall be maintained by the Village Clerk and disposed of in accordance with the Illinois Local Records Act (50 ILCS 205/1, et seq.). The recordings will be posted on the Village website on the first business day following each recorded Village Board or Committee meeting.
Whenever the Village Board sits as a tribunal or conducts a hearing at which witnesses are to testify, and a witness asserts his/her right under state or federal law, as now or hereafter may be applicable, to refuse to testify if the proceedings are to be recorded, the Village President or presiding officer shall order and direct that all such recording cease during the testimony of the witness, and the Village President or presiding officer shall enforce such order by all lawful means.
Persons attending an open and public meeting of the Village Board or any of its Standing Committees, Commissions, Agencies and Advisory Boards may, at their own expense, record the proceedings with an audio, video, still or motion picture device or may broadcast the proceedings. In this instance, if the Village Board (or the governing board of a Village Committee, Commission, Agency or Advisory Board) finds by a majority vote that the recording or broadcast cannot continue without noise, illumination or obstruction of view that constitutes or would constitute a persistent disruption of the proceedings, any such person shall be directed by the Village President or presiding officer to discontinue recording or transmitting.
7. Persons wishing to address the Board of Trustees at the time allotted by the Board of Trustees for public discussion shall make this desire known in writing to the Village Clerk before seven o’clock (7:00) P.M. of the night of said meeting. Said person shall be permitted to speak only upon recognition of the presiding officer.
8. No equipment may be set up or in any way be used so as to obstruct the view of any person in the audience or any members of the news media. (Ord. 657, 6-9-75)
9. The Board of Trustees of the Village of Orland Park welcomes public participation and will hear any interested individual pursuant to the following rules. Before appearing before the Board, the members of the public are urged to seek solutions to their concerns through administrative channels. If there are no members of the public wishing to address the Board, the Board may continue with its meeting.
The following rules shall govern speakers who address the Board:
(1) There shall be two (2) periods of time not to exceed thirty (30) minutes each, which shall be allocated to public comment at the regular meetings of the Board of Trustees, and two (2) periods of time not to exceed fifteen (15) minutes each, which shall be allocated to public comment at meetings of the Committee of the Whole, unless the public officials, by a majority vote at the meeting, agree to allow the public comment period to exceed the time allocated for public comment at that particular meeting.
(2) The first public comment period at the Committee of the Whole and at the regular meetings of the Board of Trustees shall be limited to only comments on topics relevant to a particular agenda item for that meeting. Public comments at the second public comment period of the Committee of the Whole and at the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees shall be entertained on items relevant to Village business. Issues relevant to Village business are defined to mean information about Village events; issues that the public body has the authority to address; items listed on the agenda; and items or issues previously voted on by the public body or that the public body has the authority to consider or vote on in the future. Speakers at special meetings shall limit their topics and comments to matters appearing on the special meeting agenda only.
(3) Each individual wishing to address the Village Board during a public comment period at the Committee of the Whole and at the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees will be allocated a maximum of three (3) minutes per person, per public comment period session, per meeting. The public officials may, by a majority vote at the meeting, agree to allow the per person public comment session to exceed three (3) minutes for a particular topic or a particular meeting. No speaker may assign his/her time to another speaker.
(4) The Public comment period is established for members of the public who physically attend the Committee of the Whole and the Board of Trustees meetings. The public comment period is not available to individuals who wish to address the Committee of the Whole or Board of Trustees by remote means, including telephone, video conferencing or other electronic means. Members of the public who do not attend meetings in person are welcome to submit comments to the Committee of the Whole or the Board of Trustees by other means, including mail or e-mail. Each person who desires to speak to the Committee of the Whole or the Board of Trustees at a public meeting shall sign in with the Village Clerk prior to the start of the meeting and provide their name and topic(s) on which they wish to speak.
(5) The Village President or person presiding over the meeting will determine the order in which the speakers are recognized. Each person shall state their name, and, by option of the speaker, the speaker's address, before commenting.
(6) Each person may provide pre-prepared copies of his or her public comments to the Committee of the Whole or the Board of Trustees prior to, during or after his or her public comment session.
(7) Only one (1) person may speak at a time during any public comment period, and no person shall speak until recognized for such purpose by the Village President or Chair. All persons wishing to address the Committee of the Whole or the Board of Trustees shall do so from the podium. Statements shall not be made from the audience.
(8) A group of three (3) or more individuals speaking on the same topic are asked to designate a single spokesperson to present the group's public comments.
(9) Members of the Committee of the Whole or the Board of Trustees will not respond to the public comments at the public meeting, unless directed by the Village President or Chair. The Village President or Chair, or his/her designee, may respond to the public comments, as he or she deems appropriate, and may direct the person to the appropriate Village official or staff member for assistance.
(10) Repetitive comments or arguments are not permitted.
(11) Abusive, foul, obscene, threatening, disorderly or other inappropriate language or conduct and/or personal attacks are not permitted.
(12) The Village President or Chair has the authority to terminate the public comment session of any person who fails to adhere to these rules. Any person who disrupts the public body form being able to conduct its business during the public meeting may be subject to removal from the meeting room.
(13) Individuals addressing the public body must at all times adhere to the Village policies and other rules as may be necessary for the efficient and orderly conduct of the meeting.
All public comments shall be addressed to the Committee of the Whole and the Board of Trustees as a whole and no comments shall be addressed to individual members of the Committee of the Whole or the Board of Trustees, Village staff or other members of the public.
There shall be no debate on any matters raised during public comment. The Board may, however, refer any matter of public comment to the Village Manager, Village staff, an appropriate agency for review, or may place the matter on a subsequent agenda for discussion.
No final action may be taken during a meeting on any public comment or concern which requires an ordinance, resolution, or written contract, or which has the effect of approving any expenditure of funds unless it is already on the agenda. The Board may, however, direct that any matter raised on these subjects be set for a future agenda, including the preparation of ordinances, resolutions or other documents for consideration at such time.
(Ord. 657, 6-9-75; Amd. Ord. 5208, 8-7-17; Amd. Ord. 5225, 10-2-17; Amd. Ord. 5263, 1- 15-18; Amd. Ord. 5874, 3-4-24)