More village board meeting drama

I-ro-ny: incongruity between a situation developed in a drama and the accompanying words or actions that is understood by the audience but not by the characters in the play—called also dramatic irony, tragic irony.

The characters in the ongoing drama of the Barrington Hills Board of Trustees treated us (or should we say, exposed us) to another episode at the last board meeting that occurred on August 27, 2012.  The entire event is audio recorded for posterity in the Village audio files of the meeting, available here.  We may not have the visuals of reality television, but we certainly have the drama.

The board passed a series of new rules restricting public comment at the August meeting.  As we have previously written in these pages, President Abboud and his followers already relegated public comment to a few minutes at the end of village board meetings, often to the wee hours of the night when few citizens can endure. Obviously these are tactics designed to deter and derail public disapproval and scrutiny of board activity.

But that was not enough for our administration.  At the August meeting, on top of the existing restrictions on the time and duration of public comment, the board passed a number of rules to restrict the content and manner of public statements. For example, under the new rules, public comments “shall not impugn motives; be contentious, slanderous or boisterous.”  These hopelessly vague and subjective standards are then to be judged by President Abboud:  “Any person called out of order by the President shall immediately stop speaking and shall abide by the President’s direction.”

We do not dispute the need for civil discourse and decorum at public meetings. But in the hands of our local Caesar, we fear these rules will serve only to stifle further public participation in local government.

Now for the ironic part:  At the same meeting where the board passed new rules for public comment, Trustee Joseph Messer launched a tirade against an effort by Trustee Gianopulos to clarify the interpretation of the controversial Home Occupation Ordinance.  Among other things, Trustee Messer accused his fellow trustee of “screw[ing] around with petty politics.”  Messer ranted that Trustee Gianopulos ought to “get off [his] butt and propose some text” and that comments Gianopulos previously submitted to the ZBA were “useless.”  He then characterized Trustee Gianopulos as a “Johnny-Come-Lately” whose observations on the issue were hard to consider.

Doesn’t that sound like conduct that impugns motives, and is slanderous, contentious and boisterous?  Wouldn’t Trustee Messer’s statements violate the very same rules for public comment passed by the board that same night?  Of course the answer to both questions is a categorical yes. But the contradiction seemed to escape Trustee Joe Messer, who went on and on insulting his board colleague for proposing an official clarification of the hotly contested Home Occupation Ordinance. Trustee Messer was out of order and out of line.

Board meetings provide drama in our sleepy village. We believe, however, that it is time to change the channel–before drama gives way to tragedy for our Village.

–     The Observer