Village President Cracks Down on Public Comments

Buffalo Grove residents were reminded of the village’s protocol for public speaking and introduced to a couple of changes Monday night. 

In short, citizens were reminded to be respectful to the Village Board and were asked to sign in before speaking. They may also have to be a little more patient; Village President Jeff Braiman said citizen comments will now be heard at the end of the meetings, rather than toward the beginning.

Referencing a 2010 ordinance outlining board meeting procedures, Braiman indicated he particularly intends to enforce the portion that says questions or concerns from the audience “shall not include any disrespectful remarks or comments relating to individuals. All members of the public addressing the Corporate Authorities shall, at all times, maintain proper decorum.”

“… no comments shall be addressed to individual members of the Corporate Authorities, Village staff or other members of the public,” the ordinance continues. “Speakers shall use every attempt to not be repetitive of points that have been made by others. Individual citizens may be allotted up to ten minutes as determined by the Village President to present their points unless in the Village President’s discretion more time is allotted.”

Furthermore, citizens who wish to address the board will now be asked to fill out a form with their name, contact information and an explanation of their question or comment before speaking.

Braiman said the new sign-in form and his reminder of the village’s expectations stemmed “in part” from the . She addressed the board for about 20 minutes that night, during which time she directed some comments to specific elected officials, including a suggestion that Braiman step down as village president.

“If somebody comes in, not necessarily her, and hijacks the meeting for 15 minutes … then we can get done with the business of the village,” Braiman said, explaining why he presented the protocol for guests’ behavior.

He noted that most nearby villages allow three or five minutes for residents to deliver their remarks, and officials in other communities have expressed surprise upon learning that Buffalo Grove allows 10. While the village doesn’t plan to reduce that time, “When you take advantage of it, that’s a different situation,” Braiman said.

In the event of a lengthy board meeting, he said he reserves the option to place public comment earlier on the agenda.

“We always have the right to do that,” he said. “If we find that one person has signed up, we can move them up.”

A village staff member greeted guests at the door Monday night, inviting them to fill out the form if they wished to speak. As has been done at other recent meetings, another staff member sat ready to time anyone who spoke. At this meeting, no one did.

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