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Brook Park council discusses advance distribution of major amendments; law director urges written proffers
Summary
Council members raised concerns about last‑minute substantive amendments on the floor and suggested a practice of submitting major changes in writing. Law Director Horvath recommended using the clerk to distribute proffered amendments by email while keeping deliberations public.
Brook Park — During its organizational meeting, Brook Park council members raised procedural concerns about receiving significant amendments to legislation on the floor without prior notice.
Councilman Scott (speaker role recorded) said sudden, major amendments—citing a past "Circle K" matter—left members unprepared and asked whether those proposing large changes could notify colleagues in advance. Other members echoed that written notice would help avoid surprise changes that alter the substance of legislation.
Law Director Horvath responded that public deliberation rules require discussions to occur in public, but endorsed the practice of proffering amendments in writing in advance. Horvath suggested the clerk could distribute proposed changes via email to provide members time to review while preserving transparency.
Council President Salvatore agreed that substantial, last‑minute changes should be provided in writing and distributed in a timely way so members can review, accept, reject or propose revisions on the floor. Several council members said they would prefer written amendments rather than verbal changes delivered during debate.
No formal rule change was adopted during the meeting. The council adopted its rules for 2026–2027 as printed and noted that a written‑amendment practice could be implemented administratively through the clerk and law department.
Next steps - Law Director Horvath and the clerk were asked to facilitate a practice for proffering and distributing written amendments to reduce surprise changes on the floor. - Council may consider a formal rules amendment at a later meeting if members decide to codify this practice.
