Council Adjournment Policy

In an effort to keep Lawndale City Council meetings from running into the wee hours of the morning, Mayor Sarann Kruse has proposed a policy of ending the bimonthly meetings at 11 p.m.

The proposal, which the city staff was asked to draft into an ordinance, was tentatively supported at Thursday’s meeting by Councilmen Larry Rudolph, Harold E. Hofmann and Dan McKenzie. (Councilwoman Carol Norman was absent.)

Debates among council members and a handful of city activists have caused Lawndale City Council meetings, which begin at 7 p.m., to run sometimes past midnight.

In recent months, Kruse has been under fire by activists for trying to shorten the meetings by restricting public comment to periods before and after the council discusses agenda items.

Several residents have urged the City Council to allow residents to speak during the council discussion of each agenda item so that residents’ opinions can be considered when the council votes.

During Thursday’s council meeting resident Steve Mino accused Kruse of trying to silence the voice of the people.

“Why don’t you people close the door and have your meetings (in private). . . . That’s what is going to happen next,” he said.

Kruse said Lawndale provides residents with more opportunity to speak than most cities.

City Atty. David J. Aleshire told the council that under city law the mayor can decide how the meetings are run but her decisions can be overturned by a majority vote of the council.