The Library Board of Trustees believes it is in the best interest of its residents and taxpayers that the fullest participation and attendance in all board meetings be achieved whenever possible; and
The use of electronic conferencing for meeting attendance and voting requirements, at least in come governmental meetings, is permissible so long as the meeting is conducted in accordance with 5 ILCS 120 Open Meetings Act (OMA) as amended by IL Public Act 101-640 Government Emergency Administration Act.
The OMA allows attendance at public body meetings through video or audio conference, without physical attendance; and The Board in all scheduled regular, special, and committee meetings comply and intends to comply with all other OMA provisions.
The Board of Library Trustees, having considered all aforesaid matters, hereby adopts this policy to be used when needed, to make use of the capabilities for conferencing by electronic means or any other type of conferencing for its meetings as more specifically set out in this resolution, and to adopt, establish, and set forth the rules of the Library Board of Trustees applicable thereto:
- All pertinent provisions of the Open Meetings Act must be complied with, including specifically the proper notice of any regular or special meeting, the proper record-keeping or minutes of each meeting, and the appropriate agenda preparation for each meeting, which also shall be posted along with the notice of the meeting; in particular, any use of closed sessions shall comply with the provisions of the act.
- That sufficient security and identification procedures be employed, either at the outset of any meeting or at any time during the meeting as appropriate, to ensure that all members attending for discussion or voting purposes are authorized members with the right to speak and vote.
- Pursuant to the Open Meetings Act, a quorum of members of the Board must be physically present at the location of the meeting. Only additional members, i.e., those members not part of the required physically present quorum, may attend by video and or audio conferencing or by other electronic means.
- All board members attending meetings by electronic conferencing shall be entitled to vote as if they were personally and physically present at the meeting site so long as a physical quorum is present, but their votes shall be recorded by the secretary as done by electronic attendance.
- A board member who attends a meeting by video or audio conference must provide notice to the recording secretary or clerk of the Board at least 24 hours before the meeting unless such advanced noticed is impracticable.
- A board member may attend a meeting through electronic conferencing if his or her physical presence at the meeting is prevented due to (i) personal illness or disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the board; or (iii) a family or other emergency.
- As soon as it becomes apparent to the Board that a meeting will include electronic conferencing, all subsequent notices of the meeting shall indicate that one or more board members will or may be attending by electronic means. If the notice of the meeting has already been disseminated and posted, a follow-up notice indicating the above shall be placed as soon as possible. In the event any news media have filed the annual request for notice of meetings, they shall receive an updated notice in the same manner as given to all members of the board.
- The meeting minutes shall include, but need not be limited to; (i) the date, time, and place of the meeting; (ii) the members of the board who were either present or absent from the meeting and whether those members in attendance were physically present or present by audio conference, video conference, or by other electronic means; and (iii) a summary of the discussion on all matters proposed, deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken.
- This policy shall not be construed to mean that conferencing by electronic means shall be regularly used or used at every meeting of the board but shall be used only as necessary to allow the participation of board members who are unable to attend in person due to such circumstances listed in provision 6 of this policy.
- The location of the meeting included on the notice shall be equipped with a suitable transmission system (e.g., A speakerphone) so that the public audience, the library members in attendance, and any staff will be able to hear any input, vote, or discussion of the conference and that the member attending by electronic means shall have a similar capability of hearing such input, vote, or discussion.
- Pursuant to 5 ILCS 120/7 (e)(1-10) at which time the Governor or the Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health has issued a disaster declaration related to the public health concerns because of a disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, and all or part of the jurisdiction of the public body is covered by the disaster area.
- The Board president will determine if it is practical or safe to hold the meeting in person at the library.
- At least one member of the board, the library’s attorney, or the library’s director shall be physically present at the regular meeting location, unless unfeasible due to the declared disaster.
- A roll call will be conducted to verify each Board member’s participation, regardless of their physical location, their ability to hear the meeting and all discussion and testimony.
- Each Board member participating by video or audio conferencing under the above conditions is considered present at the meeting for purposes of determining a quorum and participating in proceedings.
- All votes are conducted by roll call and each vote is recorded.
- All members of the public can attend the meeting at the regular location, if feasible, or the board must make alternative arrangements for the public to attend via video or audio conferencing.
- A verbatim record of the meeting, in the form of an audio or video recording must be available to the public for at least 18 months.
Revised 02/2023