Lombard trustees to test attendance by phone call

For the next six months, members of the Lombard village board will be able to call in to attend meetings electronically if they can’t attend in person because of work, events where they are representing the village, illnesses or emergencies.

Approval of the electronic attendance policy came just in time for Trustee Peter Breen, who said he needs to be in Colorado on business during the village board’s next meeting, a budget hearing scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 11.

“That’s why I really would appreciate the ability to call in,” Breen said. “I’m elected to represent the interests of the people of District 4.”

The policy was approved so the board can experiment with phone conferencing technology next week in Breen’s physical absence and determine if the system is adequate. But it expires in six months at the request of two trustees who opposed the measure.

“Being on a phone line, there’s no way you can compare it to being involved in the meeting before, during and after,” said Trustee Keith Giagnorio, who voted against the policy. “Part of the job is to be at the meetings.”

Trustee Greg Gron also opposed the policy, saying he would only support electronic attendance for officials away from Lombard for work reasons, not illnesses or emergencies, which could be too broadly defined.

“(The policy) is so open to abuse,” Giagnorio said. “If it becomes so convenient, why would anyone show up?”

Trustee Bill Ware originally opposed the policy, but amended it so anyone who wants to attend a meeting electronically must notify the village clerk a week ahead of time, which he said should prevent abuse. Ware then voted in favor of giving electronic meeting attendance a try for six months.

The village’s phone conferencing technology has been used twice in the past 15 years to allow trustees who were very ill to listen to meetings but not vote, Village Manager David Hulseberg said. The system has been tested recently and Hulseberg said it should be sufficient for how much he predicts it will be used during public meetings.

But Village President Bill Mueller said he thinks the technology is not good enough and the village will need to invest in an upgrade if the electronic attendance policy is to be extended past its six-month lifespan.

“I’ve been on boards where we’ve used electronic communication (at meetings) and I don’t think it works,” Mueller said. “I don’t believe our equipment will provide as good of communication as we need.”

Any elected official who uses the electronic attendance policy will have to call from a land line and announce if he or she is leaving or rejoining the conversation or can’t hear.

The policy became effective immediately and is set to expire July 5.