Story posted Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Public Comments Moved Up
By TOM ROBB Journal & Topics Reporter
Niles residents were given a new chance to chime in at village board meetings yesterday (Tuesday) before trustees took their votes as Mayor Robert Callero revamped the meeting's agenda to allow for greater public comment.
When trustees are considering each agenda item they will first have their own discussion and then ask if anyone from the public would like to address the issue before it is put to a vote.
At the end of the meeting, another public comment period is scheduled where non-agenda items can be addressed. Callero faced criticism in the past for only allowing public comment at the end of village board meetings.
Critics, including Rosemary Palicki, who ran for village trustee and lost last year, said under the old system the public did not have a chance to be heard before votes were taken on agenda items.
After seeing the agenda with the new public comment periods Palicki said she was still concerned that people would have to sign up in advance to speak before hearing debate or having much background on the issue.
The village does post full board packets with background on all agenda items on the village website separate from the board agenda under board of trustees on the bottom left column of the home page at www.vniles.com.
When Callero announced his ethics reform plan last year, he said changes to the public comment format at village board meetings would be considered after trustees held a public workshop on new Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Illinois Open Meetings Act (IOMA) laws that took effect at the start of this year. That workshop was held on Saturday, Feb. 6 where attorneys Everette Hill, who is the lawyer for the villages of Northfield and Mt. Prospect and the City of Park Ridge, and Lance Malina, a former assistant United States attorney who specializes in municipal law, gave their opinion on best practices when it comes to public comment at meetings and the new FOIA and IOMA laws. Callero's changes in public comment at village board meetings reflect Hill and Malina's recommendations.
Hill and Malina also recommended trustees not engage in debate with those speaking on an issue before a vote, but rather simply listen.
Speak Out!
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