A recurrent question is whether one governing board member may give his or her proxy to another, when the first member cannot attend a meeting, allowing the proxy holder to vote on behalf of the proxy giver. (The proxy might … Read more
A problem springs up every 10 years, with the new census numbers, in cities, counties, and school units that elect their council members, commissioners, and school board members from districts: how, and how much, to take race into account in … Read more
The mayor is on vacation and therefore the mayor pro tem is presiding at the regular council meeting. The city is one in which the mayor votes only to break ties. When a vote comes up, does the pro tem … Read more
A few of my posts have discussed the limited bases upon which city and county board members may be excused from voting, and the lack of clarity in the statutes about how this should be done. I’ve mostly focused on … Read more
State law creates an affirmative duty for local governing board members to vote on matters that come before the board. Last week’s post discussed provisions that allow members to be excused from voting for specific reasons. In all other cases, … Read more