More Community Interaction Could Come to City Council Meetings

With a sparse agenda, the Oak Forest City Council took time during its Tuesday, July 12, meeting to cover more ground on a topic that could increase communication between the council and community members.

Mayor Hank Kuspa, during the old business portion of the meeting, sought the council's opinion on giving residents time to voice approval or concerns prior to council votes, rather than during the public comments portion of meetings, which usually follows all votes cast.

The four aldermen present voiced support for Kuspa's idea—with some caveats. The council said that comments should be limited to three minutes, and that the council would be able to limit comments if they became redundant.

Alderman Dan Ensing (5th Ward) said that he liked the idea and that other cities and villages in the area use similar methods for public comments before votes.

“We're not recreating the wheel here, we're just borrowing it,” he said.

The council agreed to have city staff look into the matter and that it could come before council to be voted on in the future.

Earlier in the meeting, during the consent agenda, Kuspa asked for the approval or acknowledgment of 11 items that included meeting minutes and a police activity report for the month of June. The consent agenda was approved 4-0 by the council.

Afterwords, the council adjourned to executive session to discuss the setting of the price for sale or lease of real estate owned by the city of Oak Forest, and to discuss employment, compensation, discipline, performance or dismissal of specific employees of the city of Oak Forest. There were no votes taken on either of the matters discussed in executive session by the council.

The next Oak Forest City Council meeting will be held at 8 p.m. on July 26 at .