Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman said the village is losing staff because of long board meetings with lots of questions and occasional “off-track” comments that can cause agenda items to be delayed.
At the July 9 finance committee meeting, only one of two items on the main agenda were discussed: the village’s proposed property tax levy policy. But a presentation on American Rescue Plan Act funds allocated to the village had to be delayed, because the first item took the full hour allotted for both.
The village board does not shy away from robust discussions that go late into Tuesday evenings and sometimes to the early hours of Wednesday mornings. But it appears some village staff might be exhausted by unfinished discussions and delayed action.
“We are losing staff because we have five-hour meetings,” Scaman said. “It is not fair to keep them here.”
The village board must vote to extend meetings beyond 10 p.m. They frequently do.
Scaman, at the end of the July 9 finance committee meeting, asked board members to email and call staff ahead of time to get answers to their questions and therefore stay on task at the board table. She emphasized the need to listen to other board members and make a collective decision.
“You’re not learning at the board table,” she said, addressing her colleagues. “You’re the ones making the decisions.”
“I’m not inclined to table the next agenda item, but I’m very tempted to because we’re holding off people who’ve been working 14 hours today to have their liquor license approved tonight,” Scaman said, referencing an upcoming item on the regular board meeting agenda following the finance committee meeting. “Because we didn’t necessarily come prepared for the agenda as presented.”
No board members addressed Scaman’s comments at the meeting.
But in a Facebook group called Polite Politics Oak Park, Trustee Cory Wesley wrote “I resent the accusation that I’ve ever shown up to any aspect of this job unprepared – I don’t have that privilege.”
The comments were made from his “Oak Park Trustee Cory J. Wesley” Facebook page, which Wesley uses to make posts and comment about issues related to his official duties, making it a public forum.
Wesley goes on in the comment to explain that as a Black man in a majority white community, who worked hard to be elected, he calls out biases when necessary, and proposes “radical solutions,” with evidence and logic to back him up.
“I. AM. NEVER. UNPREPARED.” Wesley wrote.
“No one likes long meetings,” he later continued. “But my job is to push for the best decisions possible for The People of Oak Park.”
Wesley wrote that he has voted for meetings to go beyond 10 p.m. out of respect for those who show up to participate. Community members frequently speak during public comment, both at the time for non-agenda comments and before agenda items.
But he also wrote “I will no longer vote to extend out meetings nor will I participate in any that extend beyond 10 p.m. unless the item in question is judged, by me, to be something of paramount importance.”
Wesley wrote that he is a busy member of the community, active not only in local government but with his family and day job. He said he puts in time and effort to understand agenda items by talking to colleagues and coming up with new ideas.
“I don’t stay beyond 10 p.m. because I find it fun or because I have the privilege of free time,” he wrote. “I do it because I volunteered for this job and I consider it my duty to do it well.”
Wesley declined to comment further at Wednesday Journal’s request.
Scaman told Wednesday Journal that her comments were “over generalized and harsh” and that they were unfair to direct at the entire board. She said she trusts all members are well prepared.
“More often than not I believe our conversations are incredibly thoughtful and demonstrate that this is a hard working board with diverse perspectives that benefit the community at large,” she wrote in an email.
However, each trustee prepares differently, she said. She said she encourages board members to reach out to staff before meetings so that discussions can revolve more around hearing from the public and others at the table. Rather than reiterating information, she said in an email, seeking “lengthy” clarification or “questioning our staff in a manner that appears as if we are challenging their professional opinions when as elected individuals we can simply and respectfully disagree.”
“Trustee Wesley is a valued member of the Village Board and a Trustee that I respect immensely,” she also wrote.
Update 7/15/24: This story was updated to include a statement from Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman.