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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/09/2004 COW agenda COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE AGENDA Meeting Location: Mt. Prospect Community Center 1000 West Central Road Meeting Date and Time: Tuesday, March 9, 2004 7:00 p.m. I. CALL TO ORDER - ROLL CALL Mayor Gerald L. Farley Trustee Timothy Corcoran Trustee Michae!e Skowron Trustee Paul Hoefert Trustee Irvana Wilks Trustee Richard Lohrstorfer Trustee Michael lade! II. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF FEBlJ.R.ARY 24, 2004 - Staff requests deferral CITIZENS TO BE HEARD III. IV. REVISED CURFEW ORDINANCE A recent Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision declared an Indiana curfew law to be unconstitutional on its face, and ordered that it not be enforced. Since Seventh Circuit decisions are binding on Illinois jurisdictions both the Illinois Curfew Act and local ordinances like ours, must be reviewed and amended to eliminate any defects. The attached draft ordinance attempts to cure defects with our current local code~ Also attached is a memorandum explaining the Court's opinion. The Village Attorney will be present to answer questions and facilitate discussion. V. HEARING OFFICER/PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER EMPLOYEE DISABILITY ACT In 1997, the Illinois Legislature passed a law providing that any police officer or firefighter who suffered a "catastrophic injury" while performing certain duties is entitled to have the employer provide free medical coverage for life. In 2003 the Illinois Supreme Court, in its infinite wisdom, declared that any injury which resulted in a line of duty pension was by definition "catastrophic." This Supreme Court case raised the possibility that every public safety employee who went out on a line of duty disability pension would be entitled to medical coverage for life. This could be a very expensive proposition. However, the statute states that only catastrophic injuries which occur while engaged in very specific activities are covered by the Act. The "qualifying NOTE: ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO VIIOLJ~DL.J (É I9 AITENp THIS MEETIN.C3BLJT .B.ECAUSE OF A DISABILITY NEEDS SOME ACÇ9MM9PA TION TQP}./ificij5jfT/Ê,"SHÖVLtJCOftt.Act'TfiEVILLAGE MANAGER'S OFFICE AT 100 SOUTH EMERSON, MOIJNT PRÔSPÊCT, 1i.l.rfJois 60056, 847/392-6000, EXTENSION 5327, TOO #8471392-6064. activities" are (1) response to fresh pursuit; (2) response to an emergency; (3) injury by another's unlawful act; and (4) investigation of a criminal act. The Village Attorney was asked to explore ways to assure that the results of this case do not cause any more expense to the Village that are absolutely necessary. The attached draft ordinance is an attempt to address the problem. It provides that the Village Manager will conduct a hearing to determine whether the catastrophic injury occurred during one of the above stated qualifying activities. Any challenge to the Manager's decision would have to be by Administrative Review in the Circuit Courtwhere the Manager's decision is entitled to a presumption of validity. The Village Attorney will be present to answer questions and facilitate discussion. VI. CREATION OF A CHARITABLE VILLAGE FOUNDATION Mayor Farley raised this item as a 2004 Committee of the Whole discussion topic. Donations currently made to the Village do not enjoy tax-deductible treatment under Internal Revenue Service regulations. In order to establish such fávorable tax treatment, and thereby encourage residents and businesses to support civic and community initiatives, a separate, wholly non-profit corporation would need to be organized to handle, account for and distribute said contributions. The recently discontinued (for budget reasons) Winter Festival Parade is an example of a civic initiative that could be supported in whole or in part by such a foundation. The purpose of this evening's discussion is to gain an initial indication of support for such a concept and discuss the basic mechanics of creating and operating such a foundation. The Village Attorney will be present to answer questions and facilitate discussion (no back-up material). VII. DISCUSSION OF MAYOR PRO TEM PROTOCOL ..c., This topic was discussed at the January 13, 2004 Committee of the Whole meeting. The attached, reworked draft reflects thedirection given to staff at the January 13, 2004 meeting. 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 Tem." As of this date, a Mayor Pro Tem 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 Tem 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 Tem 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 Tem 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 forextend~d periods of time. Attached is a recent survey of Northwest Municipal Conference communities and how they handle Mayor Pro Tem 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 Tem 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. VIII. VILLAGE MANAGER'S REPORT IX. ANY OTHER BUSINESS X, ADJOURNMENT CLOSED SESSION PERSONNEL 51LCS 120/2 (c) (2), "Collective negotiating matters between the public body and its employees or their representatives, or deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more classes of employees," PROPERTY ACQUISITION 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (5). "The purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body." LITIGATION 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (11). "Litigation, when an action against, affecting or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or when the public body finds that an action is probable or imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed meeting."