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Oak Park trustees hear governance workshop that flags trust and teamwork as priorities

5716058 · September 3, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Consultant Mike Fletcher led a workshop on effective governance and the village's strategic plan, telling trustees that clear expectations and a formal "governance relations" framework can reduce operational friction. Board members acknowledged trust gaps and committed to follow-up work including a possible adopted policy and team-building.

A governance consultant told the Oak Park Village Board on Tuesday that the village's strategic plan gives board members a strong foundation but that the board should adopt written governance expectations and team-building practices to turn the plan into sustained action. The presentation and ensuing discussion, during a workshop session, repeatedly returned to the topic of trust among elected members.

Mike Fletcher of Bridge Elk Group, LLC said his firm's Governance Relations System (GRS) is designed to spell out shared expectations between elected officials and the village manager so future boards can operate with clearer roles, fewer operational debates and more consistent follow-through. "If you don't have strategic focus, these other two are nice, but this gets the work," Fletcher said in his presentation. He later added, "The trust needs to…

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