President and Board of Trustees

123 Madison Street Village of Oak Park Oak Park, Illinois 60302 www.oak-park.us Meeting Minutes President and Board of Trustees Tuesday, October 29, 2024 6:00 PM Village Hall I. Call to Order Village President Vicki Scaman called the Special Meeting to order at 6:04 P.M. II. Roll Call Present: 7- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Parakkat, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley Absent: 0 III. Agenda Approval It was moved by Trustee Robinson, seconded by Trustee Wesley, to approve the Agenda. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. V. Non-Agenda Public Comment There was no public comment. VII. Village Board Committees There were no comments. IX. Regular Agenda A. ORD 24-158 An Ordinance Amending Chapter 2 (“Administration”), Article 1 (“Officers and Employees Generally”), Section 2-1-6 (“Compensation of Elected Officers”) of the Village of Oak Park Village Code to Establish Compensation of the Village President. President Scaman noted that any changes to compensation would be in effect starting with the next term on April 1, 2025. Trustee Parakkat read a prepared statement. He said we are not here to incentivize career politicians. These are short-term part-time elected positions with term limits and the compensation should reflect that. We are already at the high end of Board compensations. These roles are about service to the community. Other than increasing compensation, he said he thinks we should address specific barriers to service like child care or Village of Oak Park Page 1 Printed on 12/4/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 29, 2024 improving the efficiency of our meetings. Spending more time on tasks because you have the availability and then expecting to be compensated for that extra time spent is not appropriate. These positions are designed to be part-time and it's unfair to ask taxpayers to compensate for an individual's personal decision to treat the role as full-time. He said he does not support raising the compensation for the Village President and Trustees though he believes the Village Clerk's full-time position should justify a modest increase of 10% to 15% with provisions for periodic cost of living adjustments. Trustee Straw said a lot of the impetus for these adjustments is aligning compensation with community expectations of these roles and equity considerations. You have to have both a call to service and the privilege to volunteer enough time to be here. Instead of aligning compensation to other communities, we should align it to community expectations of this role in the specific context of the Village of Oak Park. He said he thinks each of these increases is appropriate. President Scaman said we do not have term limits here. At least two past Village Clerks have made it into a career of 16+ years. Much of the money that we end up earning ends up being used to serve and invest right back into the community. It was moved by Trustee Straw, seconded by Trustee Wesley, that this Ordinance be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 6- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 1- Village Trustee Parakkat ABSENT: 0 B. ORD 24-159 An Ordinance Amending Chapter 2 (“Administration”), Article 1 (“Officers and Employees Generally”), Section 2-1-6 (“Compensation of Elected Officers”) of the Village of Oak Park Village Code to Establish Compensation of the Village Trustees. Trustee Robinson said she would abstain from the vote. Trustee Wesley said the item of attracting more people to pursue this position is the responsibility to democracy and to the people that we have. Part of that responsibility is to ensure that the power continues to rest with the people. The only way the people can check our power and hold us accountable is if our elections are competitive. The ability to set salaries for these positions is in an ordinance. The power of the Board is purely Village of Oak Park Page 2 Printed on 12/4/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 29, 2024 legislative and allows us to change ordinances. He said we are now executing our responsible role to the people and to democracy by evaluating the job responsibilities of this role and elevating these salaries to a place where we think it should encourage more competitiveness in our elections so that the people maintain their accountability and their check on our power. It was moved by Trustee Straw, seconded by Trustee Buchanan, that this Ordinance be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 4- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 1- Village Trustee Parakkat ABSENT: 0 ABSTAINED: 2- Village Trustee Enyia, and Village Trustee Robinson C. ORD 24-160 An Ordinance Amending Chapter 2 (“Administration”), Article 1 (“Officers and Employees Generally”), Section 2-1-6 (“Compensation of Elected Officers”) of the Village of Oak Park Village Code to Establish Compensation of the Village Clerk. Trustee Buchanan inquired about the cost of living adjustment (COLA). Trustee Wesley asked if there is consensus to add a 3% COLA increase. Trustee Robinson said she would like to include language that requires a bi-annual review so a future Board would be able to put a pause on an annual increase. Trustee Straw asked if a future Board would be able to implement compensation changes for the Clerk every two or four years. Assistant Village Attorney Rasheda Jackson said the change would have to be brought by an ordinance. Village Manager Kevin Jackson said the Board can set the timeframe for reviewing the compensation of the entire body. Trustee Straw asked if the Board can change the Clerk's compensation mid-term. Manager Jackson confirmed that is how the ordinance reads so it would not take effect until the next election. Trustee Straw said any Clerk over the course of four years is going to have functionally experienced a pay cut given inflation. He said he would be in favor of at least some cost of living adjustment and he thinks 3% makes sense. Trustee Buchanan said she likes the idea of reassessing on a regular basis and would like to see it built in. Village of Oak Park Page 3 Printed on 12/4/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 29, 2024 Trustee Parakkat asked if we can stipulate whether it is one or two years and leave it open-ended for discussion. Manager Jackson said any adjustments will not take effect until the next election so it is a matter of the language the Board decides to use. The language could be reflective of a COLA consistent with what the Village does with its employees on an annual basis. Trustee Wesley noted the Clerk does not report to the Village Board. This starts to become a performance review if we discuss whether or not to increase the salary every year. Trustee Robinson said she is comfortable with the language referenced by Manager Jackson for permanent non-union employees. She said she wouldn't want the Clerk to be singled out negatively. Trustee Enyia said for now he would be comfortable looking at a percentage increase over time and then reviewing every four years. This is a full-time role that we are trying to keep up with the times and we haven't been doing that. President Scaman recommended working to be as consistent with staff as possible. Any review that would happen after the April 1 election would not take an effect until the following election in 2029. She recommended having a committee meeting in a non-election year to identify a regular schedule process for an equity analysis for the future. Village Clerk Christina Waters said she wholeheartedly agrees in terms of the COLA discussion that it should align with staff and the Village budget. She said agrees with the language suggested by Manager Jackson. Trustee Straw noted the Illinois Constitution prohibits making modifications to elected salaries during their terms. He wondered if a number determined in-house by staff will pass muster under that provision. Without knowing that, he said he prefers it to be a fixed percentage. Manager Jackson noted the Board determines what the COLA will be during the annual budget process. Attorney Jackson said she has not done that legal research but she imagines that because a set fixed amount was done in the past, that is the way we should set it going forward. Trustee Robinson noted the ordinance would only be about the increase by itself, not the base pay. Manager Jackson said the Board could delay its vote on this Item until the November 4 meeting. Village of Oak Park Page 4 Printed on 12/4/2024 President and Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes October 29, 2024 Trustee Wesley said he would like to vote on the base salary today and bring it back on November 4 as an amendment to the ordinance if approved tonight. It was moved by Trustee Straw, seconded by Trustee Buchanan, that this Ordinance be adopted. The motion was approved. The roll call on the vote was as follows: AYES: 6- Village President Scaman, Village Trustee Buchanan, Village Trustee Enyia, Village Trustee Robinson, Village Trustee Straw, and Village Trustee Wesley NAYS: 1- Village Trustee Parakkat ABSENT: 0 X. Adjourn It was moved by Trustee Robinson, seconded by Trustee Straw, to Adjourn. A voice vote was taken and the motion was approved. Meeting adjourned at 6:46 pm, Tuesday, October 29, 2024. Respectfully submitted, Deputy Clerk Hansen Village of Oak Park Page 5 Printed on 12/4/2024