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Residents urge Effingham council to clarify whether mayor controls meeting agenda
Summary
Residents, a community volunteer and a developer urged the Effingham City Council to clarify whether a 2013 ordinance gives the mayor exclusive control over the meeting agenda; the city attorney said the language is ambiguous and recommended the council amend its rules if it wants clarity.
A wave of public comment at an Effingham City Council meeting centered on whether the mayor may unilaterally decide what appears on the council agenda.
“My name is Kelly Repke, and I was here this evening to discuss the topic of the, how our current city council is operating,” Kelly Repke told the council, raising the question of who may add items to the agenda.
The matter was taken up more fully by Jean Ann Hyland, a longtime volunteer with community-development experience, who cited a legal opinion shared with some commissioners and told the council: “Number 1, this interpretation violates the city's code of ordinances. Number 2, this interpretation violates state law. And number 3, this interpretation violates the constitution and first amendment rights.” Hyland asked the council and the city attorney to explain the process for adding agenda items and to consider amending the ordinance to align with the commission form of government.
Developer and resident Scott Cabas, who identified himself as a partner in the Square South Town initiative, told the council the issue was broader than any single redevelopment project and pressed for a prompt fix. “And that is, does the mayor in our form of government, whether it's the current mayor, future mayor, past mayor, have the power to control what gets added to a city council agenda?” he asked, and urged the council to resolve the question before its Feb. 4 meeting.
Tracy, the city attorney, advised the council the municipal code permits the council to set and amend its rules of proceeding and that ambiguous language had been introduced by a prior administration. “The applicable statute in the municipal code allows the council to establish the rules and regulations,” Tracy said, and noted the council can amend its rules by majority vote so long as such changes comply with the Illinois Open Meetings Act and required agenda-posting timelines.
Mayor Schutzbach responded to speakers’ concerns, saying he had not kept items off the agenda: “I have never kept anything off the agenda. Never.” He described the typical process as staff coordinating agenda items during Tuesday department-head meetings and said he was willing to have staff and legal counsel work with individual commissioners to draft any desired change to the rules or ordinance.
Council members voiced differing recollections of past practice: several said they had not experienced items being removed; one acknowledged a prior mayor had been more restrictive. The council agreed to ask staff and legal counsel to review the language and return with options for clarifying or amending the rules.
With no further public business, Commissioner Mueller moved to adjourn, Commissioner Meisenheimer seconded, and roll-call responses carried the motion.
