:: Grafton Township Supervisor ::
:: Grafton Township Supervisor ::
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copyright 2007 Grafton Township
Supervisor: Linda Moore
Township Supervisor: Linda Moore
Phone: (847)669-3328
Fax: (847)669-9256
Phone: (847)669-3328
Fax: (847)669-9256
Here are excerpts from the Township Perspective magazine below.
Permission was given by Jerry Crabtree, Township of Illinois Associate Director.
This month, I want to review the procedures associated with the appropriate procedures for
holding meetings and what is required by the Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 100). Below is a
summary of some common themes to questions we receive on a regular basis regarding township
meetings. Jerry Crabtree
What constitutes a “township meeting”?
According to the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) (5 ILCS 100), a meeting of a five-member
body is any gathering, whether in person or by video or audio conference or other means of
contemporaneous interactive communication, of a quorum of the township board members held
for the purpose of discussing public business.
What public notices are required?
For all meetings whether open or closed, proper public notice must be provided. Townships are
required under the Act to publish a listing of their regular scheduled board meetings at the
beginning of the calendar year or the township fiscal year. This notice includes the date, location,
and time of the regular township board meeting. The annual notice of scheduled meetings is to be
posted in the township office or (if no office exists) at the building or location where the meeting
is scheduled to commence
.
If individuals show up at your township meeting and request to discuss an item not
included on the agenda, what can be done?
As outlined above, all action and discussion items MUST be posted on the meeting agenda a
minimum of 48 hours prior to the posted meeting date and time. Therefore, for all issues not
included on the agenda, the board can ask that the speaker limit their comments to a specified time
period and forward written comments to the township office.
If an elector determines that a township has violated the Open Meetings Act, what can
they do?
Electors who have determined that the act has been violated may bring action to enforce the
provisions of the Act within 60 days of the challenged meeting or the discovery of the violation by
the State’s Attorney.
Can a township meeting be cancelled?
Yes, if the Supervisor determines that appropriate cause exists that may cancel and re-schedule a
meeting; a notice is required at the township building and the location of the meeting being
cancelled. Second, when a new date is determined, the agenda must be posted at least 48 hours in
advance of the meeting.
Permission was given by Jerry Crabtree, Township of Illinois Associate Director.
This month, I want to review the procedures associated with the appropriate procedures for
holding meetings and what is required by the Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 100). Below is a
summary of some common themes to questions we receive on a regular basis regarding township
meetings. Jerry Crabtree
What constitutes a “township meeting”?
According to the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) (5 ILCS 100), a meeting of a five-member
body is any gathering, whether in person or by video or audio conference or other means of
contemporaneous interactive communication, of a quorum of the township board members held
for the purpose of discussing public business.
What public notices are required?
For all meetings whether open or closed, proper public notice must be provided. Townships are
required under the Act to publish a listing of their regular scheduled board meetings at the
beginning of the calendar year or the township fiscal year. This notice includes the date, location,
and time of the regular township board meeting. The annual notice of scheduled meetings is to be
posted in the township office or (if no office exists) at the building or location where the meeting
is scheduled to commence
.
If individuals show up at your township meeting and request to discuss an item not
included on the agenda, what can be done?
As outlined above, all action and discussion items MUST be posted on the meeting agenda a
minimum of 48 hours prior to the posted meeting date and time. Therefore, for all issues not
included on the agenda, the board can ask that the speaker limit their comments to a specified time
period and forward written comments to the township office.
If an elector determines that a township has violated the Open Meetings Act, what can
they do?
Electors who have determined that the act has been violated may bring action to enforce the
provisions of the Act within 60 days of the challenged meeting or the discovery of the violation by
the State’s Attorney.
Can a township meeting be cancelled?
Yes, if the Supervisor determines that appropriate cause exists that may cancel and re-schedule a
meeting; a notice is required at the township building and the location of the meeting being
cancelled. Second, when a new date is determined, the agenda must be posted at least 48 hours in
advance of the meeting.
Excerpt from “You’ve Been Elected: Now What Do You Do?”
By Richard Flood
The Illinois Open Meetings Act and “Public Meetings”
The Illinois Open Meetings Act provides that public business is to be conducted in the public view.
This includes both deliberations about policy as well as final action. The OMA prescribes rules to
ensure this happens.
All public meetings are subject to the OMA. The trick here is that many more things constitute
“public meetings” than you might initially suspect. Under the OMA, a “public meeting” is any
gathering of a majority of a quorum of the members of the public body for the purpose of
discussing public business. This means that if you have a board made up of seven people, and
three of you (a majority of a quorum) are all invited to the same birthday party where you begin
discussing public business(as opposed to the gifts that you have bought for the birthday honoree)
you have just violated the OMA. Why? Because you were not in a properly noticed public forum.
Did you mean to? No, of course not. But this is a type of inadvertent mistake you should avoid.
Equally surprising is that your physical presence is not required under the OMA. If you find
yourself on an unplanned conference call or involved in a simultaneous e-mail exchange discussing
your plan to finance a new sewer treatment plant with the same two other trustees from the party,
you will have just violated the OMA. That same conference call with only one other trustee,
however, would not be a violation because you did not have a majority of a quorum.
E-Mail
Remember that you could violate the OMA with a serial e-mail discussion with your fellow board
members. Thus, it is good practice to avoid copying all of the board or council on your e-mail
correspondence relating to public business. If you have opinions about a policy matter, send your
comments to a staff member. If you must communicate with another member of your board or
council (or with a number small enough to avoid creating a majority of a quorum) make a point of
asking that person not to forward the message to other members and thereby risk creating a
discussion of public forum. The same is true for instant messaging and discussion boards.
Essentially, the OMA has not yet fully adapted to the information age.
By Richard Flood
The Illinois Open Meetings Act and “Public Meetings”
The Illinois Open Meetings Act provides that public business is to be conducted in the public view.
This includes both deliberations about policy as well as final action. The OMA prescribes rules to
ensure this happens.
All public meetings are subject to the OMA. The trick here is that many more things constitute
“public meetings” than you might initially suspect. Under the OMA, a “public meeting” is any
gathering of a majority of a quorum of the members of the public body for the purpose of
discussing public business. This means that if you have a board made up of seven people, and
three of you (a majority of a quorum) are all invited to the same birthday party where you begin
discussing public business(as opposed to the gifts that you have bought for the birthday honoree)
you have just violated the OMA. Why? Because you were not in a properly noticed public forum.
Did you mean to? No, of course not. But this is a type of inadvertent mistake you should avoid.
Equally surprising is that your physical presence is not required under the OMA. If you find
yourself on an unplanned conference call or involved in a simultaneous e-mail exchange discussing
your plan to finance a new sewer treatment plant with the same two other trustees from the party,
you will have just violated the OMA. That same conference call with only one other trustee,
however, would not be a violation because you did not have a majority of a quorum.
Remember that you could violate the OMA with a serial e-mail discussion with your fellow board
members. Thus, it is good practice to avoid copying all of the board or council on your e-mail
correspondence relating to public business. If you have opinions about a policy matter, send your
comments to a staff member. If you must communicate with another member of your board or
council (or with a number small enough to avoid creating a majority of a quorum) make a point of
asking that person not to forward the message to other members and thereby risk creating a
discussion of public forum. The same is true for instant messaging and discussion boards.
Essentially, the OMA has not yet fully adapted to the information age.