January 23

Charter Review Commission
2008 Meeting Minutes

February 7, 2008 Meeting Minutes - REVISED

Members Present: Carl Snyder, Robert Casaletta, Council Person, Michelle Tippie and Phil Whaley. Members Not Present: Angel Caswell

Also Present: Village Administrator, Dennis Recker, Village Solicitor, Phil Davis, Council Members: Bill May, Debbie Curry, Jim Miller, Frank Billings and Joe Wielinski

The meeting was called to order by Phil Davis who suggested the first order of business be the election of Commission Chairman and appointment of officers.

Nomination of Carl Snyder for Chairman by Phil Whaley, second by Rob Casaletta. Nomination accepted and passed by vote - 4 Ayes.

Chairman Snyder then appointed Rob Casaletta as Vice Chairman and Phil Whaley as Secretary. Appointments approved by acclamation.

Motion by Chairman Snyder to accept the previous meeting minutes of April 21, 2005, second by Phil Whaley and passed by vote - 4 Ayes.

For the benefit of the Commission, Phil Davis discussed the Commission's role with respect to the Village Charter. The following are some of the key points:

* Commission should meet annually to review the provisions of the Charter.
* Commission should review any items submitted for consideration to update or revise the Village Charter.
* Commission must submit to Village Council a report of its recommendations by June 1 of each year any suggested changes or revisions in the Charter, signed by all members of the Commission.
* Commission does not create legislation. Village Council reviews the Commission's report and may decide to create legislation to place any of the recommendations it believes are warranted on the ballot for an electorate vote in November.
* Commission Member terms are staggered four-year term, except the Council-Appointed Member has a one-year term.
* All Commission meetings are open to the public, but are not public meetings (allowing open interaction from the public).
* The Commission is advised to have public input submitted in writing.

Village Administration will prepare each meeting's agenda from written input it receives from the Commission Members.

It is suggested that monthly Commission Meetings be held prior to the June 1 report deadline.

Motion by Phil Whaley to schedule meetings on the first Thursday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in March, April, and May. No second. Schedule approved by acclamation. Chairman may cancel meetings if there are no items on the agenda.

Phil Davis then discussed e-mail correspondence in light of sunshine laws with respect to having closed discussions between Commission Members.

Requests for items to be placed on the Agenda should be sent to Dennis Recker after review of legal framework by Phil Davis.

Rob Casaletta suggested that all requests for agenda items be sent to Dennis Recker a week in advance of the meeting.

Dennis Recker will distribute the agenda and previous meeting minutes to the Commission Members prior to the scheduled meeting.

Carl Snyder stressed the importance of setting the agenda items prior to the meeting so Commission Members can adequately acquaint themselves with the agendized items.

Phil Davis then discussed the option for any elector (registered voter living within the Village a minimum of two years) to propose a charter amendment without recommendation of the Commission or sanction of Council by initiative petition. He also noted that for Council to place ca charter revision on the ballot, they must pass the required ordinance 75 days prior to the election.

Phil Davis suggested that discussion and documentation of the reasons for placing an item on the agenda for Commission review take place in the Commission meeting and not in the written request itself. He also suggested that we only consider appropriate and legally valid revision requests.

Carl Snyder discussed the electronic recording of Commission Meetings as an aid in producing accurate meeting minutes. Dennis Recker pointed out that the meeting minutes only need to reflect the results of motions and actions taken by the Commission and not verbatim documentation of discussions. Phil Davis also pointed out that any tape recordings of the meetings are public records subject to archival by the Records Commission.

Carl Snyder requested that any items for the next meeting agenda be sent to him via e-mail, with the Charter article requested for discussion noted, and he will forward to Dennis Recker for legal review and placement on the agenda.

Motion to adjourn by Rob Casaletta, second by Michelle Tippie. Passed by vote - 4 Ayes.

March 6, 2008 Meeting Minutes

Members Present: Carl Snyder, Robert Casaletta, Council Person, Michelle Tippie, Phil Whaley, and Angel Caswell. Also Present: Village Administrator, Dennis Recker, Village Solicitor, Phil Davis, Council Members: Bill May, Debbie Curry, Jim Miller, and Maridee Curry

The meeting was called to order by Carl Snyder at 6:35 p.m.

The minutes from the February 7, 2008 meeting were approved as amended as follows:

Paragraph 7 - "Change Phil David to Phil Davis " Paragraph 14 - "Change Carol Snyder to Carl Snyder " Paragraph 15 - Add "with the Charter article requested for discussion noted" after . . . via e-mail.

The agenda items were discussed at length with the following decisions being agreed upon:

CHARTER ARTICLE II

1. Section 2.01 "Conflict of Interest"
a. The discussion centered on the definition of who is considered an employee and what determines a person's status as an employee, with particular respect to the question of whether a volunteer who receives a monetary stipend is considered an employee.
b. A discussion also took place regarding the original intent of the Charter language regarding the definition of an employee, and if the interpretation of who is considered an employee has changed over the years since adoption, then should we redefine or clarify that language to accurately reflect the current interpretation.
c. Phil Davis noted that the Commission can recommend that Council adopt a definitional clarification that more accurately defines employee status without actually changing the original Charter language and requiring a vote of the electorate.
d. A copy of the current Village Employee Handbook, page 16 and 17, which defines employment classifications, and Exhibit A, which defines pay classifications for specific employee positions, was provided to the Commission Members for review.
e. It was noted that elected and appointed officials are technically not employees, but do receive compensation that is set by ordinance.
f. The consensus of the Commission was that it is clearly stated in the handbook who is an employee and who is not.
g. There was a discussion regarding the public perception of a perceived conflict of interest when a Councilperson who is also a fireman votes to buy additional fire fighting equipment.
h. Phil Davis noted that there is only a conflict of interest where you are in a position to give yourself a personal gain by virtue of your Council position. He also stated that if any Council Member has a direct financial interest in any item brought to Council for a vote, they should excuse themselves from voting on the issues.
i. At the conclusion of discussions regarding Section 2.01, the Commission felt that there should be a recommendation made to Council in the 2008 Report to clarify the intent of the Charter language regarding the definition of an employee for their confirmation and ratification. This action would not require a revision of the Charter language. The language of that clarification will be drafted in the final report. 2. Section 2.06 "Appointed and Elected Offices" a. The Commission felt that no change in Charter language was necessary after Section 2.01 is clarified regarding the definition of an employee.

CHARTER ARTICLE III

1. Section 3.02 "Qualifications (Council Members)"
a. The Commission felt that no change in Charter language was necessary after Section 2.01 is clarified regarding the definition of an employee.

2. Section 3.05 "Quorum"
a. A discussion of what constitutes a public meeting took place.
b. Phil Davis noted that in order for a discussion between a quorum of Council Members to be considered a public meeting and, therefore, restricted by current "Sunshine Laws", Village (Public) business needs to have been discussed.
c. No changes to Charter language on this section was proposed.

3. Section 3.07 "Vacancies and Resignations:
a. After discussion, it was recommended that the word "Municipal" be removed from this section so that filling of vacant Council positions can occur during the next available election instead of the next Municipal Election which only occur on a two-year cycle.

4. Section 3.08 "Meetings" a. Discussion on this item was deferred until the April meeting.

CHARTER ARTICLE IV

1. Section 4.02 "Qualifications (Mayor)
a. The Commission felt that no change in Charter language was necessary after Section 2.01 is clarified regarding the definition of an employee.

2. Section 4.07 "Election of a Successor in the Event of a Vacancy"
b. Discussion on this item was deferred until the April meeting.

TERM LIMITS

1. Discussion on this item was deferred until the April meeting.

CHARTER ARTICLE X

1. Section 10.04 "Right to Serve" change in Charter language was necessary after Section 2.01 is clarified regarding the definition of an employee.

The Commission agreed to conduct a formal vote on all of the issues discussed at this meeting during the April meeting after all Commission Members had a chance to digest the issues further.

It was decided to schedule the April meeting for Thursday, April 10, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05. p.m.

April 10, 2008 Meeting Minutes

Members Present: Carl Snyder - Chairman Robert Casaletta - Vice Chairman Phil Whaley - Secretary Michelle Tippie - Council Member Angel Caswell - Commission Member. Also Present: Dennis Recker-Village Administrator, Phil Davis-Village Solicitor, Maridee Curry - Council Member Jim Miller - Council Member Bill May - Council Member Debbie Curry - Council Member

The meeting was called to order by Carl Snyder at 6:40 p.m.

Phil Whaley handed out corrected meeting minutes from the March 6, 2008 meeting that were read individually and approved - 5 AYES.

Old Business

As was discussed at the March 6 meeting, the previously discussed items on the March 6, 2008 agenda were formally voted on as follows:

Article II, Section 2.01, "Conflict of Interest" - Clarification of original Charter language intent: "The term employee shall be defined by the Village of Whitehouse employee handbook on pages 16 and 17 as of June 1, 2008".

Motion to Approve - Rob Casaletta 2nd - Michelle Tippie Vote - Approved - 5 AYES

Article II, Section 2.06, "Appointed and Elected Offices" - Clarification of original Charter language intent: "The term employee shall be defined by the Village of Whitehouse employee handbook on pages 16 and 17 as of June 1, 2008".

Motion to Approve, Rob Casaletta 2nd - Michelle Tippie Vote - Approved - 5 AYES

Article II, Section 3.02, "Qualifications (Council Members)" - Clarification of Original Charter Language Intent: "The term employment shall be defined by the Village of Whitehouse employee handbook on pages 16 and 17 as of June 1, 2008"

Motion to Approve - Rob Casaletta 2nd - Michelle Tippie Vote - Approved - 5 AYES

Article X - Section 10.04, "Right to Serve" - The Committee affirms the current Charter language of this section.