Elgin councilmen try to stop another from attending meeting remotely

Two Elgin City Council members tried - and failed - to prevent a colleague from attending Wednesday's council meeting via phone.

Councilmen John Prigge and Terry Gavin objected to Councilman Rich Dunne - who was in Texas on business - from attending the meeting remotely.

"I do think it's very cumbersome," Prigge said, pointing to delays and background noise in the council chamber's audio system.

Attending meetings remotely might be justified when the council discusses weighty topics, such as the city's budget, but not with "light" agendas such as Wednesday's, Prigge said.

Gavin touted never missing a meeting in his two terms on the council. "If you have a conflict and it happens over and over, you have to make your decision. Where are your priorities?" he said.

City council members can attend meetings by telephone, video or Internet connection for reasons including illness, disability, emergencies, or reasons related to their employment or city business.

However, that can't happen if two-thirds of the council members physically present at the meeting vote against it.

No more than two members can attend remotely at the same time.

This was the fourth time Dunne phoned into a meeting, and Councilwoman Tish Powell has done so once.

The rule allowing remote attendance was established by majority vote two years ago; Prigge, Gavin and Councilman Toby Shaw voted "no."

Shaw was absent Wednesday because he was in St. Louis in his role as a coach for a robotics team participating in the world championships, Councilwoman Carol Rauschenberger said.

The other council members all voted in favor of allowing Dunne to attend remotely.

Mayor David Kaptain said he believed Dunne, who works as a fire program specialist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was deployed to Texas to help with recent flooding.

"The city council should be proud of what he does, not pick and be petty," Kaptain said.

Prigge, an auctioneer, retorted, "That's like me being deployed to Skokie for my job."

Dunne didn't comment during the discussion, but Thursday said he was in Texas to attend a conference.

"They're entitled to their opinion," Dunne said of Prigge and Gavin.

However, "as technology moves forward, these are the things (allowing remote attendance) we should avail ourselves of."

Councilman John Steffen said he agreed the council chambers' sound system is problematic, but believes remote attendance can encourage a wider pool of people to run for spots on the city council.