Village of Wayne Board did not violate OMA by not reading written public comment aloud

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Via electronic mail The Honorable Eileen Phipps President Village of Wayne 5N430 Railroad Street Wayne, Illinois 60184 c/ o clerk@villageofwayne. org RE: OMA Request for Review — 2023 PAC 77314 Dearlis and Ms. Phipps:

This determination is issued pursuant to section 3. 5( e) ofthe Open Meetings Act OMA) ( 5 ILCS 120/ 3. 5( e) ( West 2022)).

BACKGROUND

On July 13, 2022, submitted a Request for Review to the Public Access Bureau alleging that the Village of Wayne Board of Trustees (Board) violated OMA at its July 5, 2023, meeting by failing to read aloud a written comment she had submitted prior to the meeting. stated that she attended the meeting via Zoom, and that the public cannot participate interactively through that option. She stated that, on the morning of July 3, 2023, she e- mailed a written comment to the Village and received a reply from the Village Clerk stating that the comment was received after the cutoff date. She asserted:

also stated that she had submitted written comments on previous occasions, and all were read into the record at meetings. She further stated that "[ t] he agenda for the meeting is not released until after noon on Thursdays. It is impossible to submit a public statement addressing an agenda item prior to the agenda being published. i2 provided copies of the July 5, 2023, meeting agenda, her e- mailed submission, and a copy of a resolution adopting a public comment policy, which she explained the Board voted on at the July 5, 2023, meeting.

On July 20, 2023, this office forwarded a copy of the Request for Review to the Board and asked it to provide this office with copies of its July 5, 2023, meeting agenda, minutes, and any Board rules governing public comment in effect at the time ofthe meeting, together with a written response t ' OMA allegations. On July 21, 2023, this office received a written response. That same day, this office forwarded a copy of the Board's response tcl, she replied on July 24, 2023.

DETERMINATION

It is " the public policy of this State that its citizens shall be given advance notice ofand the right to attend all meetings at which any business of a public body is discussed or acted upon in any way." 5 ILCS 120/ 1 ( West 2022). So long as public bodies allow the public to attend meetings in person, they may, additionally, live stream a meeting on a website, social In its response to this office, the Board denied that it improperly restricted the public from addressing its members and asserted that, at the time of the meeting, " the Village had no time or other limitation on addressing the Board in person and anyone appearing at the meeting was and is given the opportunity to speak. i3 The Board contended that the agenda provides " as an accommodation, that persons may, at their option, also submit written comments which will be distributed to the Board. i4 The Board's July 5, 2023, meeting agenda stated, in relevant part:

The Public Comment section is intended to give the public an opportunity to present a comment or opinion to the Board of Trustees. * * * Public Comment should be limited to this portion of the agenda and the public shall not interrupt the Board during the remainder of the meeting. Written comments received by the Clerk will be distributed to the Board. 151 At the bottom, the agenda further stated: " Any Public Comments submitted in writing to the Village Clerk * * * prior to noon on the Thursday before the meeting will be distributed to the Board with their packets. i6 The Board acknowledged that the agenda provides a cut- off time for submitting written comments. However, it highlighted that ' comments were nevertheless distributed to its members in their meeting packets, as stated in the e- mail from the Village Clerk. The Board further contended that its " President recited that the written comment had been received and summarized its content."' The Board confirmed that the public has the option of attending the meeting remotely via Zoom, but argued that it was not required "to also provide for remote statements from the public so long as the meeting is held in person and the In reply to that answer, argued that she had a reasonable expectation that her written comments would be read aloud based on the Board' s previous practice of doing so: " Written comments, submitted by multiple residents, have been read aloud into the public record over the past year and a half or so. Every one of my public statements was submitted after noon on the Thursday prior to the meeting. i10 ls also disputed the Board' s claim that it had summarized the content of her written public comment at the meeting and provided a link to a recording of the meeting. She contended that the President merely stated that the email contained 'comments generally related to the resolution 23- R- 14 adopting public comment policy.'" Additionally, noted that the Board has changed how written comments are entered into the record several times over the past year, and that the July 5, 2023, meeting minutes did not mention any public comments that were received or entered into the record. She also asserted that " village residents fought to get Zoom access for residents to attend village meetings because the location where the village meetings are held is not ADA compliant. * * * The written public comment is the only opportunity afforded to those residents who attend virtually." 12 It is undisputed that the Board did not read aloud, verbatim, ' written comment at the July 5, 2023, meeting. As discussed above, a public body may, but is not required by any provision of OMA, to offer options for the public to speak remotely during in person meetings. 13 Ill. Att'y Gen. Req. Rev. Ltr. 76163, at 2 The Board' s response to this office The Public Access Counselor has determined that resolution of this matter does not require the issuance of a binding opinion. This letter shall serve to close this matter. If you have any questions, please contact me at the Chicago address listed on the first page of this letter.

Very truly yours,