Rules of the Board
1. A majority of the members of the County Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
2. Any business not placed on the agenda 48 hours before the Board meeting will be held over until the next special or regular meeting.
3. All questions relating to the priority of business to be acted upon shall be decided by the Chairman without debate.
4. All votes taken by the County Board on resolutions and substantice motions must be by roll call "Aye" or "Naye" vote, unless excused by the Chairman for extenuating circumstances by member's request. The voting order will rotate each and every meeting.
5. No member shall absent themselves from meetings of the Board without giving notice to the Chairman. No member shall leave the meeting until adjournment, unless excused by the Chairman.
6. Substantive motions should be submitted in writing. Every motion shall be reduced to writing if the Chairman or any member requests it. Reports of standing committees should be made in writing for the purpose of future records at the request of any Board member.
7. No motion or proposition on a subject different from that under consideration shall be admitted under color of an amendment.
8. When a motion is made, it shall be stated by the Chairman, or read by the Clerk at the request of the Chairman, before being debated or voted upon.
9. Any member may call for division of the question when it contains more than one distinct proposition.
10. When a motion or proposition has been stated by the Chairman, or read by the Clerk, it shall be deemed to be in possession of the Board, but it may be withdrawn at any time before decision or amendment by consent of the Board.
11. When a question is under debate, no other motion shall be received, except motions to adjourn, to lay the question on the table, to commit to amend, to postpone to a certain time, to postpone indefinitely,or a motion for the previous queston (2/3 vote), which several motions shall have precedence in the order in which they are named. No motion to postpone indefinitely, being decided, shall be again allowed at the same stage of the question or proposition.
12. The names of the members offering and seconding a motion or resolution shall be entered in the minutes.
13. No member may speak until they are recognized by the Chairman. No spectator may speak unless they are called upon by the Chairman and no person other than a member of the Board (or the Clerk or the State's Attorney or the Administrative Assistant) may ask for recognition by the Chair unless they have business on the agenda or a Board member asks for recognition on their behalf.
14. When two or more members arise at once, the Chairman shall name the one who is to speak first.
15. When a member is about to speak in debate or deliver any matter to the Board, they shall rise and respectfully address the Chairman and confine themselves to the question under debate.
16. No member shall speak longer than ten minutes at one time on any question except by leave of the Chair.
17. When the Chairman is putting a question or addressing the Board, or when a member is speaking, no member shall walk out of or across the room, or pass between the member speaking and the Chairman or engage in private discourse.
18. The Chairman or any member of the Board may call out of order a member who is speaking out of turn or otherwise transgressing the Rules of the Board.
19. Any member called to order shall immediately take their seat until the point of order is decided.
20. A motion to adjourn, having once been made and lost, shall not be put again, or the motion recognized, until action has been taken on some other question or resolution.
21. All propositions, resolution, or orders to create any liability against the County for tax levies or appropriations, whether contingent on a confirmation by popular vote or not, shall require the concurrence of a majority of all the members serving on the County Board for passage.
22. All claims of the County will be approved for payment bi-monthly by a majority vote of the members of the Supplies & Claims Committee.
23. Any business proper to come before the Board may be acted upon at any special meeting of the Board.
24. The rules of parliamentary practice contained in the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the Board in all cases in which such rules are not inconsistent with the standing rules of the Board.
25. Any rule of the County Board may be dispensed with by a majority vote of the members present subject to the Open Meetings Act. Also, a new rule may be added, an old rule modified or eliminated by a majority vote of the members present.
26. The County Board will not authorize payment of assessments or dues to any organization for its members, other officials or appointees, except those provided by statute.
27. The County Clerk shall have the responsibility of seeing that a copy of the minutes of each Board meeting is mailed to each member of the County Board at least 48 hours prior to the next monthly County Board meeting.
28. Notice of all vacancies to which appointments are required to be made by the Chairman of the County Board shall be presented in writing at a regular Board meeting as established and defined elsewhere in these rules, and said appointment shall be made the following month at the next regular meeting of the County Board.
29. At its first meeting following the month in which County
Board members are elected, the County Board shall select the
Chairman and Chairman Pro Tem of the County Board, the Chairmen
of the various standing committees, and the members to serve
on the various committees. Such selection shall be governed by
the following rules:
a. The Chairman and Pro Tem of the County Board
shall be selected by a majority vote of those Board
members present.
b. The Chairman of each standing committee and
the members of each such committee shall be selected
by a majority vote of the Board members present.
c. In the event that the Board consists of more
members from one political party than the other,
the members representing the majority party shall
have first choice of the committee assignments
and the appointment of the Chairman thereof. The
members representing the minority party shall have
the right to choose and assign among its membership
the remaining unfilled committee assignments. It
is the intent of this Rule that the balance of each
committee reflect the balance of the Board.
d. Nothing herein shall be construed as limiting or
negating the legal right and obligation of any
appointment required to be made by the County Board
Chairman.
e. In the event that an election for County Board seats results
in a tie, i.e., six members from each political party comprising
board membership, determination of a Chairman and Chairman Pro
Tem and selection of committee chairs and committee members shall
be as follows:
(1) The party of the County Board member receiving the largest
number of votes in the election resulting in a tie for the members
from each party shall have the opportunity to call heads-or-tails
in a coin-toss conducted by the County Clerk. Such coin-toss
shall be held at a date, time and location as determined by the
County Clerk. All members of the County Board and the press will
be notified by the County Board Administrative Assistant as to
the date, time and location of the meeting.
(2) Those who shall call the coin-toss shall be the Chairmen
of the two political parties or their designate.
(3) The political party winning the coin-toss, shall select from
among its County Board members one who shall serve as County
Board Chairman for a period of one year. From among its members
on the County Board, the other party shall select a Chairman
Pro Tem who shall serve for one year.
(4) The following year, the party with the member who has served
as Chairman, shall select from among its members a person to
serve as Chairman Pro Tem. The other party shall select from
among its members one to serve as County Board Chairman. Both
terms shall be for one year.
(5) The party which does not initially select the Chairman shall
have first choice of a committee chairmanship. Following, the
two parties shall alternate in selecting County Board committees
to chair.
(6) All committees of the County Board shall be divided evenly
between the two political parties except in those instances where
only one member serves on a committee to represent the Board.
In such instances, lots shall determine the committee member
unless Board members determine otherwise.
(7) Once the County Board committees have been determined, they
shall remain with the same chairmen and members for a two year
period or until the next election at which time the County Board
will be reorganized. This does not preclude changes in committee
membership by mutual agreement of the Board members.
30. The County Board may hold a meeting closed to the public
or close a portion of the meeting to the public upon a majority
vote of a quorum present, taken at a meeting open to the public
for which notice has been given as required by law. The vote
of each member on the question of holding a meeting closed to
the public and a citation to the specific exemption contained
in the Open Meetings Act shall be recorded and entered into the
minutes of the meeting. A single vote may be taken with respect
to a series of meetings, a portion or portions of which are proposed
to be closed to the public, provided each meeting in such series
involves the same particular matters and is scheduled to be held
within no more than three (3) months of the vote. Only topics
specified in the vote to close the meeting may be considered
during the closed meeting. All closed sessions will be in compliance
with the Open Meetings Act, which states clearly the exceptions
authorizing the closing of meetings. A vote of each member on
the question of returning to open session shall be recorded.
Minutes taken in closed session must include but not be limited
to:
1. Date, time and place of the meeting;
2. The members of the body recorded as present or absent; and
3. A summary of discussion on all matters proposed and deliberated.
The taking of final action in any closed meeting is prohibited.
A verbatim record of each closed meeting by audio or video recording
will be maintained. The verbatim record may be destroyed without
notification to or the approval of a records commission or the
State Archivist under the Local Records Act no less than eighteen
(18) months after the completion of the meeting recorded but
only after:
1. the County Board approves the destruction of a particular
recording; and
2. the County Board approves minutes of the closed meeting that
meet the written minutes requirements.
Minutes of that portion of any meeting closed to the public shall
be kept by the County Clerk and the Clerk of the County Board
and maintained in a separate file. Such minutes shall be available
for public inspection only after the County Board has determined
that it is no longer necessary to protect the public interest
or the privacy of an individual by keeping such minutes confidential.
The County Board shall review minutes of closed sessions at
each regular May and October meeting to determine whether such
minutes or any portion thereof shall be made available for public
inspection.