HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/13/2004 COW agenda
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
AGENDA
Meeting Location:
Mt. Prospect Community Center
1 000 West Central Road
Meeting Date and Time:
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
7:00 p.m.
I.
CALL TO ORDER - ROLL CALL
Mayor Gerald L. Farley
Trustee Timothy Corcoran Trustee Michaele Skowron
Trustee Paul Hoefert Trustee Irvana Wilks
Trustee Richard Lohrstorfer Trustee Michael Zadel
II.
ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF DECEMBER 9, 2003
CITIZENS TO BE HEARD
III.
IV.
2004 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE DISCUSSION TOPICS
Over the past several years, the Village Manager's Office has attempted to better manage
the flow of information, which comes to the Village Board through the Committee of the
Whole Agendas. As you know, Committee of the Whole meetings are designed specifically
to allow for more extensive discussion of pending policy, finances, Code changes and
various items of community interest. The Committee of the Whole also serves as a forum
for discussion of items, which are unexpected, controversial, or of an emergency nature.
The evening's discussion will consist of reviewing suggested topics, discussing briefly the
rationale and need for discussion and the potential timing for bringing such items forward.
Board members, as well as staff, were asked to provide any suggested topics that they
would like to have considered. These items are included in the accompanying package. In
the past, the Village Board has engaged in a polling process, which identifies subjects that
have the support of the Board for research and review. Appropriate staff will be available to
answer questions and facilitate discussion.
NOTE: ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO WOULD LIKE TO A TTEND THIS MEETING BUT BECAUSE OF A
DISABILITY NEEDS SOME ACCOMMODA TION TO PARTICIPA TE, SHOULD CONTACT THE VILLAGE
MANAGER'S OFFICE A T 100 SOUTH EMERSON, MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS 60056, 847/392-6000,
EXTENSION 5327, TDD #847/392-6064.
V.
DISCUSSION OF MAYOR PRO TEM PROTOCOL
On August 19, 2003, the Mayor and Board of Trustees passed Ordinance 5364 amending
the Village Code with regard to the appointment of a "Mayor Pro Tern." As of this date, a
Mayor Pro Tern has not been designated using the new protocol. There has been a desire
expressed by Board members to further discuss potential refinements to the new protocol.
Included here is the Committee of the Whole Agenda verbiage from the original
presentation of the topic on July 8, 2003:
"The Village Code currently provides for the selection of a Mayor Pro Tern to serve in the
official capacity of the Mayor in times of his/her absence or disability. The current protocol
requires official action by the Village Board at one of its regular business meetings.
Historically, the Mayor Pro Tern position has been established in the narrow circumstance of
presiding over official meetings of the Village Board. Once the meeting has concluded, the
status of Mayor Pro Tern is extinguished.
In this day and age of extended travel capabilities, homeland securing issues and the
potential suddenness with which the need for a Mayor Pro Tern may arise, staff would
propose that the Village Board review the current protocol and consider an expanded and
more definitive protocol to cover not only official Village meetings but also those periods
where the current Mayor may be out of town and unavailable for extended periods of time.
Attached is a recent survey of Northwest Municipal Conference communities and how they
handle Mayor Pro Tern protocol. It appears that the protocol is somewhat unique to the
culture of each community's philosophical viewpoint. In some cases, the Mayor has the
ability to appoint a stand-in. In other cases, the Village Board must act on a case-by-case
basis (as does Mount Prospect). In the case of Hoffman Estates, a semi-permanent Mayor
Pro Tern is established from among Village Board members and serves a set term.
The purpose of Tuesday evening's discussion is to engage in an initial philosophical
discussion that will, hopefully, provide some direction to staff as how to proceed or not to
proceed, as the case may be with drafting a new protocol.
Appropriate staff will be on hand to answer questions and facilitate discussion."
VI.
VILLAGE MANAGER'S REPORT
VII.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
VIII.
ADJOURNMENT