Hoffman trustees can occasionally phone it in

Hoffman Estates officials continue to discuss the viability of being able to attend meetings electronically if they are out of town and can't be at village hall.

The remodeled board room will have the proper speaker equipment so trustees would be able to hear the village board talk about topics or listen to residents' concerns. That could be via phone or video conferencing.

However, Village Attorney Art Janura points out that the board could have a problem when it comes to dialing into executive sessions, which are closed to the public. Janura worried that the person on the outside could be in a room full of people or someone else could be eavesdropping on the line.

Officials are allowed to hold private sessions for 23 topics including land purchases and litigation. Sessions are recorded and archived, and eventually made public.

Hoffman Estates officials may have a reason to be cautious. Last year village officials announced that 31 years of closed session minutes, from 1959 to 1990, had been lost, reportedly in the move into the current village hall. That was before state law required them to be audio recorded.

The village board is leaning toward excluding executive sessions from electronic attendance. Officials are also limiting it to attendance at village board and committee meetings. The board will likely take a formal vote on the matter later this year.