The Gurnee Village Board on Monday adopted guidelines and decorum standards for anyone speaking at public meetings.
The board approved an ordinance that codified those procedures for public comment in a 5-1 vote, with Trustee Jeanne Balmes the only one voting against the measure.
For the most part, the ordinance doesn’t cover new ground, according to Village Administrator Patrick Muetz, but instead makes those standards official.
“I’d say 90% of what’s in this ordinance was already in practice,” Muetz said during the meeting.
He said that some of the new items include adding public comment before the consent agenda during Village Board meetings, as well as at the end of meetings. The first public comment period can only last up to 30 minutes, with each speaker limited to three minutes. In addition, speakers can only discuss items on that meeting’s agenda.
Previously, there was only one opportunity for public comment at the end of each board meeting.
Now, at the end of each meeting, there will be a 60-minute window for a second round of public comment, also with a limit of three minutes per person. The comments after the meeting can be about agenda items or “items that are within the realm of the village’s responsibility,” Metz said.
He added that everything else included in the ordinance was already being done, including speakers asked to address the board directly, with no back-and-forth dialogue and people asked to reserve time to speak on a sign-up sheet.
“I want to thank the board, and [Mayor Tom Hood] specifically, for codifying what [Muetz] has referred to as common practice,” village resident Keith Owen said. “There’s common practice, and there’s what’s the rule.
“This organization has lots of rules about a lot of things, and I thought that this was one that was important to have down, not only to encourage people to come and speak before the board, but also to give the board the opportunity to hear directly from the people before they make decisions,” he said.
Owen added that he believes it’s important to have an opportunity for public comment at the start and end of each meeting.
“I know in the past, testimony from people has really held sway for some of you,” he said.
Muetz said that he worked with Village Attorney Bryan Winter on clarifying the rules regarding public comment at meetings and drafted the ordinance. He said that the village will post the new, codified rules on the council chamber’s doors, as well as on the village’s website.
Gurnee isn’t the only community in Lake County to adhere to a three-minute limit when it comes to public comment. Waukegan enforces a three-minute limit on in-person audience members who choose to speak during meetings, and also requires them to register on a sign-in sheet posted on the doors of the council chambers. Highland Park also limits public comment to three minutes.
