Ordinance & Legal Review Committee

APPROVED CITY OF BELLEVILLE MINUTES ORDINANCE AND LEGAL REVIEW COMMITTEE 8 OCTOBER 2013 6:00 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS Chairmen to Announce Evacuation Procedure It was explained to all present that in the event of a fire or other emergency all present are to calmly leave the room and gather in the Southwest Quadrant of the Public Square in front of the St. Clair County Courthouse and wait for the all clear message. In the case of a Tornado or other disastrous condition all present should head directly to the basement of this building using the steps or garage entrance. Members Present: Alderman James Musgrove (Chairman) Alderman Melinda Hult Alderman Ken Kinsella Alderman Trent Galetti Alderman Jim Davidson Guests Present: Michael Hagberg Joy Schreiber Alderman Bob White Dean Hardt, City Treasurer Chairman Musgrove called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. To start the meeting the guests were allowed to present their comments to the committee. Each person was to state their name and address. Guest Comments: Mike Hagberg said this city is not a strong Mayoral form of government. The Aldermen are the ones who set the rules and the Mayor is supposed to enforce them. He sees no reason why this committee of Aldermen cannot go ahead and discuss how they want the Mayor to moderate the Council Meetings. So it is up to him to enforce that. Next, he mentioned the Agenda Item A, which he thought was about the problem of people supposedly having to pay a $2.00 fee for a copy of their Water Bill if they forgot to bring the bill with them. He said he is opposed to charging this fee. Chairman Musgrove explained that charging a $2,00 fee was not the practice in the department and was not a written procedure. Mr. Hagberg said that was OK. Chairman Musgrove asked Mrs. Schreiber is she had any comments but she declined. Approval of Previous Minutes Chairman Musgrove asked all committee members if they had received a copy of the minutes from the last meeting. They acknowledged they had a copy. Alderman Melinda Hult mentioned that the word CIVILITY was misspelled in three places. First on page 6 of 6, in the last sentence Page 1 of 3  APPROVED of the second to last paragraph, and in the fifth sentence of the last paragraph and again in the tenth sentence of the last paragraph. Alderman Jim Davidson made a motion to approve the minutes from the 10 September 2013 meeting with the noted corrections. Motion seconded by Alderman Melinda Hult. All members present voted Aye, Motion passed; Minutes were approved. Agenda Item A – Discussion of Ordinance 7712 that was returned to the Ordinance Committee by the City Council for further review. This is an Ordinance Amending Chapter 3 (City Administration Function of the Collector) of the Revised Code of Ordinance of Belleville, Illinois, as amended by Amending Portions of Sections thereof. Chairman Musgrove announced that this subject had been resolved at a special meeting of the parties involved with the Human Resources Director Jim Schneider. All members of this Ordinance Committee have been given a copy of the official letter stating that the title of the position of “ License Collector” has been changed to “Collector.” The letter was signed by Dallas Cook, City Clerk, Dean Hardt, City Treasurer, Emily Fultz, Director of Economic Development, and Jim Schneider, Human Resources Director. The wording change can be found in Ordinance 7712, which changes Chapter 3, Section 3.11 5 of the Ordinance Book. Alderman Ken Kinsella made the motion to forward Ordinance 7712 to the full Council Meeting for final approval. Motion was seconded by Alderman Melinda Hult. All members present voted Aye, motion passed. Agenda Item B – Discussion of Subject Suggested by Alderman Melinda Hult – “Requesting Clarification on the Power of the Moderator during City Council Meetings and Proper Protocols”. Civility of Public Participation was added to the subject. However, this requires the presence of Mayor Eckert and City Attorney Garrett Hoerner, who will not be available for the October Ordinance Meeting. It is suggested this item be tabled until the November Ordinance Meeting. Chairman Musgrove agreed we do not need the Mayor or the Attorney to have a worthwhile discussion. Alderman Hult started the discussion by providing the results of her research on the subject of Rules for Public Participation. She located five different articles on rules and suggested procedures. Each contained reference to many of the problems we have experienced with our local public participants. Copies of each article will be furnished to each of the members of the Ordinance Committee. Next followed a very interesting and useful discussion on some of the problems with Public Participation and some possible procedures that could be implemented to help eliminate lack of civility and to get the most benefit from the participants. Everyone present, including the guests, took part in the discussion. The following is a list of some of the suggestions mentioned during the discussion:  Have the participants form a queue leading up to the microphone  Announce some civility rules before starting the Public Participation  Tell them they must speak to the Council as a whole and not to anyone in particular. Page 2 of 3  APPROVED  Limit time to 2 to 3 minutes for all speakers, do not allow some to go beyond this time.  Get a Timer with three colored lights, Green for Go, Yellow for Wrap up, Red for Stop  Based on the number of people to speak, limit the total TIME allowed for speakers  Immediately Rule OUT OF ORDER anyone who starts calling another person bad names  Have people write out questions BUT NONE OF US WANTED TO DO THIS.  Have the moderator maintain ORDER more than answering questions  Allow Aldermen to Call out POINT OF ORDER for infractions in rules by speakers.  Cannot limit what they (public) talk about to only current Agenda items.  Provide paper with civility rules and space suggesting they collect their talking points  Try to prevent some speakers from intimidating other more (obviously) timid people  Post suggested civility rules on the door, on the sign-in sheet and on the Microphone The subject “Discussion of Civility Rules for Public Participation Sessions” should be added as an agenda item for the November Ordinance meeting. Because of the Monday holiday, the Finance Committee will move to Tuesday 12 November and the next ORDINANCE & LEGAL REVIEW MEETING WILL BE MOVED TO WEDNESDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2013 AT 6:00 PM from Tuesday 12 November. Miscellaneous All Ordinance Committee members agreed that when Public Participation is announced, the public is to be reminded of the time limit and basic civility rules. Also, the rules for civility should be listed on the Sign-In Sheet, should be posted on the door and on the microphone stand. Chairman Adjourn Meeting: Chairman Musgrove called for a motion to adjourn. Alderman Ken Kinsella made the motion to adjourn, seconded by Alderman Melinda Hult. All members present voted Aye, motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 6:55 PM. Respectfully Submitted, James Musgrove (Chairman) Page 3 of 3