April 17, 2012
I asked to be placed on the agenda and spoke at the Rock Island County Board Tuesday,
April 17th at their regular county board meeting at 5:30 in Cordova at the Cordova
Township Civic Center, 910 Third St, Cordova.
Click here for the agenda: April 17th County Board Agenda
I asked the board consider two items:
1) The addition of a “public comment portion” to the agenda for each
county board meeting.
"The Open Meetings Act requires that public bodies give members of the
public an opportunity to speak at a public meeting. Public bodies are authorized to adopt
rules regarding the public comment portion of a meeting. Such rules may limit the time
allotted for the public to speak."
Source: OMA
Frequently Asked Questions (Public Bodies) page 5.
2) The addition of rules for addressing the board for those not wishing board action but
who only wish to exercise their right to public comment under the Open Meetings Act.
For more information on the rights of citizens to speak at a public
meeting, please go to:
Illinois Attorney General -
Ensuring Open and Honest Government
OMA Frequently
Asked Questions (Public Bodies)
On Monday, April 9th, I contacted the Rock Island County Board regarding the conspicuous
absence of "PUBLIC COMMENTS" on their county board meeting
agenda.
Below is the information that I presented on Tuesday, April 17th at the regular county
board meeting in Cordova.
Acknowledging that some members of the board and their legal
department feel they are currently compliant, I will be asking them to PLEASE add public
comments to their agenda so that we, as residents, know when to speak as required by the
Open Meetings Act.
Rock Island County appears to be the one county in Illinois that does not have a public
comments section.
Open
Meetings Act Compliance as it applies to the Rock Island County Board
Addressed
to the Rock Island County Board Regular Meeting
April 17, 2012 at 5:30 PM
Presented by Drue Mielke, resident of Rock Island County District 22
Tonight, I am asking the board to consider:
1) The addition of a "public comment portion" to the agenda for each county
board meeting.
2) The addition of rules for addressing the board for those not wishing board action---
But who only wish to exercise their right to public comment under the Open Meetings Act.
The amendment of the Open Meeting Act provides the right of the
public to speak at open meetings and became effective January 1, 2011. The new law is
Subsection 2.06(g) of the Open Meetings Act. 5 ILCS 120/2.06(g).
The Open Meeting Act was amended to provide the right of the public to speak at open
meetings and became effective January 1, 2011. The
new law is Subsection 2.06(g) of the Open Meetings Act. 5 ILCS 120/2.06(g).
The
single-sentence amendment in Public Act 96-1473 is not very specific. It says “Any person shall be permitted an opportunity to address
public officials under the rules established and recorded by the public body.”
I
note that our county has a rule in place on how to address the board:
·
Any citizens or representative of a group wanting to
address the Board shall put their request in writing and submit such request to the
Chairperson of the Board two working
days prior to the regularly scheduled Board meeting…”
I
read from Lisa Madigan’s web site for Open Meeting Act training on
”Illinois Open Meetings Act Frequently
Asked Questions for Public Bodies”
page 5
at http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/pdf/FAQ_OMA_Government.pdf
·
Is a public body required to allow a member of the public to
speak at an open meeting?
o
The Open Meetings Act requires that public bodies give members of
the public an opportunity to speak at a public meeting. Public bodies are authorized to
adopt rules regarding the public comment portion of a
meeting. Such rules may limit the time allotted for the public to speak.
My
concern is that there is not a public comment
portion of the county meetings. I believe the simple remedy would be to install a
public comment portion in the agenda. Regardless
of whether the board needs a public comment section to be compliant, I would like to
present this as an option to the board on Tuesday’s meeting, not speaking to whether
it’s required. That would be this
committee’s determination if they wish to pursue.
As
a benchmark for how other counties are interpreting and addressing the change in the Open
Meetings Act, I found the following counties now have a specific section devoted to public
comment:
·
Whiteside
County
o
“Comments
from the Public”
·
Carroll
County
o
“Public
Comments”
·
Henry
County
o
“Public
Comment”
·
Peoria
County
o
“Citizen’s
Comments”
·
Livingston
County
o
“Public
Comment”
·
DeKalb
County
o
“Persons
to be heard from the Floor”
I
submit that the rule regarding the pubic addressing the board was intended for
·
When
the public wishes the board to act and then 48 hours is necessary to be on the agenda as
the board cannot act on items not on the agenda.
I
believe the current rule is fine for those wishing to bring an issue to the board that may
require board action and therefore must be placed on the agenda. I do not believe it is appropriate for those
wishing the right to speak but do not require board action (placement on the agenda) and that it should not be used for the new provision in
the Open Meetings Act that allows public comment.
I
find “Two business days” to be excessive and impractical, as by law, the final
agenda for each regular meeting must be posted at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting
at the principal office of the public body and at the location where the meeting is to be
held. (5 ILCS 120/2.02(a)). If only 48 hours
are required by law for the meeting agenda, is it reasonable to require 48 hours’
notice for the right of the public speak to the board?
For instance, it would be difficult for the public to comment on matters on
the agenda if the agenda, by law, the agenda does not have to be available?
A
public body should adopt rules governing how public comments are to occur at meetings.
These rules may include reasonable limits on commenting. Specific rules might
include:
- Requiring
public comment to be limited to subjects on the meeting's agenda.
- Reasonable
time limits on the length of each comment
- Allowing
the public body to cut off a comment if it is irrelevant, repetitious, or disruptive.
- Setting
aside a specific portion of the
meeting for public comments.
Some
boards require a sheet that must be filled out prior to the meeting. “Prior” is not a day or two working days
before, but simply “before the meeting.” This
prevents someone from walking in after the meeting has started and inserting comments.
Counties
that require a form filled out prior to speaking at a meeting. None give an extended time period before:
·
Mercer
County-
o
No
time constraints, requires a Board Appearance Request to
be filled out prior to the meeting.
·
Whiteside
County-
o
A
speaker must complete a speaker slip prior to the start of the meeting.
·
Peoria
County-
o
To
address the County Board, fill out a card and submit it to the Chairman before the Board
Meeting.
As
an elected official, I understand that having a short notice for public to address the
board may cause concern of the unknown. But
the new requirement does not impose an obligation on public officials to respond to such
members of the public on the matters communicated. In
fact, from what I have experienced, sometimes the best answer is telling constituents that
more information is needed before making a statement.
Also, a board cannot act on an item brought up that is not on the agenda.
But
more importantly, as an elected official, it makes me, as a board member, accountable; and
the entire board accountable to the public and provides access to government directly from
the citizens to make comments (sometimes which. from experience, have been positive).
One
recent legal opinion I have read asserts:
o
that
the Legislature intended the new law to require public comment periods at
meetings of public bodies. Source: Modifications
to the Illinois open meetings act that affect all public bodies, Holland & Knight LLP,
Mark E. Burkland and Victor P. "Vic" Filippini.
When I asked to be on tonight’s
agenda, and Chairman Bohnsack asked that I present to the Human Resources Committee my
concerns that the county was falling short of compliance with the change in the Open
Meetings Act. From that meeting, I understand the county feels they are in compliance.
But regardless, I am asking the board to: 1)
Add a “public comment portion” to the agenda for each county board meeting. 2)
Add rules for addressing the board for those not wishing board action, but who only wish
to exercise their right to public comment under the Open Meetings Act.
….that would ensure that our County Board
is Open, Accessible and Accountable to the residents of Rock Island County.
Thank you!
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