Elected officials and city staff discussed Pekin city business with residents several times last year at town hall meetings and other get-togethers.
Mayor Mary Burress held "Coffee and Conversation" sessions at a Pekin coffee shop. Council members Jake Fletcher and Dave Nutter held a question-and-answer session at a Pekin restaurant.
City staff held town hall meetings at City Hall that covered home rule, tax increment financing [TIF] and city code enforcement. Council member Peg Phillips led the TIF discussion.
In an effort to have consistent messaging to the public and draw a distinction as to which of these additional meetings are governed by the Open Meetings Act and which are not, city staff presented a draft "town hall policy" to the Pekin City Council Monday.
The policy will be brought back to the council after feedback from the council is received and changes are made, if necessary.
Under the policy, additional meetings would be identified as a special council meeting, town hall or political event. Special meetings and town halls would be subject to Open Meetings Act rules.
No more than six town halls could be held in a year, according to the policy, because they require city resources like a location, public notice, the presence of city staff, IT support for recording or streaming the meeting, and security.
"There's no rush on this [policy]," said Josh Wray, the city's economic development director, filling in for City Manager John Dossey, who missed the meeting for family reasons. "It's just a thought, because we do want to have more public engagement. We do want to present more information to the public, be more transparent.
"But we don't want to have a meeting every other week in addition to our regular council and other city public meetings."
A political event under the policy may not have more than two council members present. Three council members is a majority of the seven-member council's quorum, and triggers Open Meetings Act rules, said City Attorney Jim Vasselli.
Vasselli will make a determination, if needed, if a meeting is subject to the Open Meetings Act.
Illinois Election Code rules could apply to a political event.
Fletcher said he doesn't think the policy is needed. That was one of the options presented Monday to the council.
"If you read the Open Meetings Act, it spells out everything. We [council members] all had to read it, and take a short test on it," he said. "These are just more rules that aren't needed."
Nutter said he had concerns about the wording of some sections of the policy and would detail them in communications to staff.
