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Information Regarding Public Comment at City Council Meetings
Periodically, the City council has encountered situations where individuals making public comments during council meetings have not followed the decorum rules adopted by the council in accordance with guidance from the Illinois Attorney General Public Access Counselor (PAC). These rules will be enforced by the Mayor or Mayor Pro-Tem to help maintain order and ensure meetings are conducted professionally.
This policy is in place to help maintain control of the meeting and prevent unnecessary escalation or arguments. However, individual council members may choose to respond to public comments at their discretion.
Anyone attending a council meeting is welcome to speak with the Mayor, commissioners, or legal counsel following the meeting. Maintaining a respectful and professional atmosphere during council meetings is important to the effective conduct of city business.
1. The PAC says…public comment must be provided at all meetings
Although language in an earlier version of the draft legislation that expressly required public comment at meetings was eliminated in the final version of the bill, in the PAC's view, every meeting must provide public comment. That would seem to encompass regular, special, and even committee meetings if they fall under the OMA.
2. The PAC says…the public comment requirement applies to subsidiary bodies
According to the PAC, every public body, including subsidiary bodies like the finance committee of the city council, must provide public comment at every meeting.
3. The PAC says…each public body (including subsidiary bodies) must establish rules
Every public body, including subsidiary bodies, must formally adopt rules for public comment. According to the PAC, relying on "past practices" is not enough to comply with 2.06(g).
4. The PAC says…a public body can establish time limits for public comment
Time limits on individual public comment and the total time allowed for public comment are acceptable, so long as they are adopted formally in established rules.
5. The PAC says…a public body can limit comments to topics germane to the agenda
The PAC issued an opinion that public bodies can restrict the content of public comment to matters listed on the agenda of a special meeting. It's not clear whether the PAC would extend this to regular meetings.
6. The PAC says…a public body can establish and enforce rules on decorum
According to the PAC, public bodies can interrupt and even remove members of the public who are violating the public body's rules.
7. The PAC says…public comment can be provided at any point in the meeting
The PAC does not care when public comment is provided (beginning or end of the meeting) so long as it is provided at every meeting.
8. The PAC says…public officials are not obligated to respond to comments
The PAC stated in a number of opinions that 2.06(g) is intended to allow the public to address members of a public body and does not require the public body members to answer questions or engage in debate.
9. The PAC says…section 2.06(g) does not address members of a public body
2.06(g) protects members of the public, not members of the public body who may be silenced by the chair of the public body.
10. The PAC says…there is no violation if there is no request to speak
A member of the public cannot claim a violation of 2.06(g) unless he or she has been prevented from speaking at a meeting. So, failing to list public comment on an agenda is not a violation.
There are two key pieces of advice that all public bodies should take from these opinions, which although advisory do provide some guidance.
First, the PAC’s position is clear that every meeting of every public body (including subsidiary bodies) must include an opportunity for public comment. Allowing public comment at regular but not special meetings, or excluding public comment at committee meetings, would constitute a violation of section 2.06(g) in the PAC’s opinion.
Second, the PAC interprets section 2.06(g) to impose an affirmative obligation on every public body (including subsidiary bodies) to establish written rules for public comment at meetings. Having a long-standing policy on public comment is not enough to meet this obligation, at least not for the PAC. A municipality would be well advised to consult with its municipal attorney to ensure that its governing board and all subsidiary bodies and committees have established written rules to govern public comment at their meetings.
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