Since
the last election there has been a lot of uproar about public comment by
Trustee Burgess. As some may remember not so long ago Sauk Village board
meetings were out of control with both residents and non-residents using the
village board meeting as their personal soap box. Meetings were known to last
into the early morning hours with audience members yelling and fighting and the
need of Police officers (local and County) at all village board meetings.
In
2011 Trustee Derrick Burgess recommended to have the public comment limited in
an effort to bring back order and decorum to village board meetings
The
following is a history behind the amendment of the Public Comment Ordinance.
- June 7, 2011 – Review of Public Comment Ordinance due to village resident’s complaints of long meeting, lack of order and decorum and unable to address the board due to individuals not yielding the floor
- July 5, 2011 – Discussion of Public Comment was added to the agenda at the request of Trustee Burgess
- July 12, 2011 – Village attorney’s made suggestions what other communities have in place at the request and direction of Trustee Burgess
- July 19, 2011 – Trustee Burgess during comments recommended a new format be implemented for public comment (current public comment format)
- July 26, 2011 – Amendment to Public Comment Ordinance when Trustee Burgess placed a motion on the floor to amend the ordinance
Now, Trustee Burgess has changed his mind and wants to turn back time and revert to an ordinance that was proven not to work. Trustee Burgess is also currently inciting residents to disrupt meetings to bring back the type of meetings that lacked order and decorum that we witnessed in the previous administration.
The
public comment ordinance was amended not only to bring back order and decorum
but to also allow all residents the opportunity to speak. In addition, with the
formation of the new committee's residents now have an opportunity to attend the
following committee meetings and discuss key issues with Trustees that chair and co-chair these committees.
Below
are the 2015/2016 Mayoral committee appointments
Community/Public
Relations Committee
·
Chair
Trustee Williams
·
Vice
Chair Trustee Burgess
Public
Works/Lake Michigan Water Committee
·
Chair
Trustee Burgess
·
Vice
Chair Trustee Jones
Public
Safety/Ordinance Review Committee
·
Chair
Trustee Myers
·
Vice
Chair Trustee Tates
Neighborhood
Watch Committee
·
Chair
Trustee Washington
·
Vice
Chair Trustee Myers
Parks
and Recreations Committee
·
Chair
Trustee Jones
·
Vice
Chair Trustee Washington
Budget
and Finance Committee
·
Chair
Trustee Tates
·
Vice
Chair Trustee Williams
The latest rant is not about
freedom of speech…….residents have more meetings now than ever to approach
Trustees about important issues. Additionally, with the appointment of
Village Administrator J.W. Fairman residents have access to someone during normal
working hours.
Don’t be fooled! This is
nothing more than a political ploy to destroy our community, stop the Forward
Momentum in an effort to win the next Mayoral election. If residents really
want to know what’s going on perhaps they should be attending the Trustees
committee meetings they chair and co-chair.