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Wauconda may change meeting schedule

This article has been corrected: The Wauconda village board does not need to vote to elminate two monthly committee-of-the-whole meetings from its schedule. Those meetings aren't included in village code, so only a policy change is required. That's effective immediately.

For the first time in decades, Wauconda's village leaders are considering trimming their meeting schedule.

Under the new plan, the board would meet on the first and third Tuesday of each month rather than the first four Tuesdays.

The move is designed to boost efficiency and free up more time for staff members who prepare the agendas and documents for meetings.

"Our meetings will go a little longer, but they'll be more efficient," Trustee Linda Starkey said during a discussion Tuesday night at village hall.

The other trustees informally backed the plan, too. The board could approve the change when it meets July 1.

Under the current schedule, the board holds voting sessions on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. The meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays are committee-of-the-whole sessions at which trustees and staff members discuss issues but don't take any action.

Under the proposal schedule, the board would discuss business and vote on matters at each session.

The proposed changes stem from discussions board members and Mayor Frank Bart had in May with an expert in effective government from Northern Illinois University.

Bart publicly suggested trimming the meeting schedule in October 2013, but trustees rejected the request at the time.

The schedule for board meetings was established by ordinance in 1993, village records indicate. There are no such formal rules for committee-of-the-whole meetings, Village Administrator Doug Maxeiner said.

In a related discussion Tuesday, trustees rejected a proposal to move board meetings to Monday nights. A few trustees work on Mondays, which scuttled the idea.

Trustees also opposed a proposal to tweak the rules for public comment at meetings.

The board voted in April to limit public comment at board meetings to the start of each session.

At committee-of-the-whole meetings, people are allowed to voice opinions on discussion items as they arise.

When the new meeting schedule starts, audience members will be allowed to comment at the start of all meetings and to comment on new agenda items as they arise.

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