(A) Regular meetings. The regular meetings of the Village Board of Trustees shall be held on the first and third Tuesdays in each month of the year at 7:00 p.m. in the Village Hall unless another site shall be specified; provided, that if the regular meeting falls on a legal holiday, the meeting shall be held on the Wednesday evening immediately following the legal holiday beginning at 7:00 p.m.
(B) Parliamentary rules and procedures. The most recent edition of "Robert's Rules Of Order" is the authoritative text on parliamentary rules and procedures to be followed in all meetings and all matters of the governance of the village, except as provided otherwise herein.
(C) Decisions of parliamentary usages. The President, or other presiding officer, shall decide all points of parliamentary usages. Any member feeling himself or herself aggrieved by any ruling of the President or presiding officer may appeal to the Board of Trustees or Committee, and the Board of Trustees or Committee shall decide the point without debate, by a majority vote of the members present. If no appeal is taken, the decision of the President or Chairman shall be conclusive.
(D) Voting. The President shall determine the seating arrangement of the Village Board of Trustees and the sequence of voting of the Trustees at the first regular meeting of the village in the month of May, and that will be the order of voting which is to be followed for the remainder of the year.
(E) Compliance with state law. Where state common law, statutory provision, or regulatory guidelines provide for parliamentary rules or procedures to be followed in a manner inconsistent with this section, then that state common law, statutory provision, or regulatory guideline shall take precedence.
(F) Special and emergency meetings. The President or three Trustees may call any special or emergency meeting of the Village Board.
(G) Rules for people addressing the Village Board. In order to secure the rights of the residents of the village to fair and just representation before their elected officials, and to guarantee order at public meetings of the corporate authorities and public bodies of the village, the following rules are established:
(1) Any person who seeks to address the corporate authorities or members of a public body of the village during a public meeting, shall be permitted to speak if they have signed up with the Village Clerk 48 hours in advance of the Board meetings with their name and topic for discussion, and then only upon recognition by the presiding officer, and such person shall adhere to the following provisions:
(a) Each person addressing the corporate authorities or public body of the village shall state his or her name.
(b) The Chair shall advise each person to speak that they shall be granted no more than three minutes per meeting in order to address the corporate authorities or public body of the village, unless such time is extended by a majority of the Village Board, giving consideration to the probable number of speakers and lateness of the hour. Speakers on the same topic shall be admonished to avoid repetition of prior remarks on the same topic and shall be requested to simply reflect agreement or disagreement with positions previously presented.
(c) Personal attacks or insults shall not be permitted.
(d) Comments shall be directed to the Village Board as a whole.
(e) The following behavior by any person is prohibited during a public meeting of the corporate authorities or any public body of the village:
1. Conduct in violation of any village ordinance, state or federal law, or any rule or regulation implementing state or federal law;
2. Interruption of speakers; name calling; boisterous remarks;
3. Offensive use of abusive, obscene, profane, slanderous or threatening language or gestures;
4. Acting or behaving in such an unreasonable manner as to alarm or disturb another and to provoke a breach of the peace; and
5. Any other act designed to intimidate, threaten or harm persons, or damage or destroy property.
(2) Members of the public, Village Board of Trustees, village officials, spectators or participants shall not engage in audible conversation which prohibits individuals from hearing and/or participating in a public meeting, or disrupts the conduct of business by the corporate authorities or a public body of the village, including, but not limited to, clapping, booing, loud talking, interrupting the speaker and cell phone conversations.
(3) Members of the public may enter and leave the meeting room at any time, provided such entrance or exit is made quietly and in an orderly fashion.
(4) Battery operated recording equipment is permitted at public meetings provided the operation thereof is silent.
(5) The presiding officer or majority of the sitting Board at each public meeting of the corporate authorities or any public body of the village shall be responsible for the enforcement of the provisions of this section, and shall be empowered to reprimand and/or cause the removal of any and all persons violating the provisions of this section. The removal of an offender from a public meeting shall proceed as follows:
(a) The presiding officer shall give the offender notice that he or she is violating certain terms of this section and might be removed from the public meeting.
(b) If the offender continues to violate any of the provisions of this section after receiving the above notice, the presiding officer shall order a police officer to remove the offender from the meeting room. If the offender continues the disturbance outside the meeting room, such that the orderly conduct of business by the corporate authorities or public body of the village is disrupted, the offender shall be removed from the Village Hall or any meeting room where the meeting is located.
(c) The offender has no right to appeal from an order of the presiding officer requiring the removal of the offender from the meeting room or Village Hall; however, such an order may by appealed by a member of the Village Board or public body present at the meeting. Any ruling by the presiding officer may be overruled by a majority of the members of the Village Board or public body present at such public meeting.
(d) The offender removed from the meeting room or Village Hall may be cited for any violations of applicable law.
(Ord. 17-02, passed 5-2-2017)