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By-Laws of the Board of Trustees

Article I. Official Name and Location of the Library

Section 1. The official name of the Library shall be Fremont Public Library District.

Section 2. The location of the Library is 1170 North Midlothian Road in Mundelein, Illinois.

Article II.  Trustees

Section 1. Method of Election and Term Limitation

  • The Board of Trustees consists of seven elected members. 
  • The term of office for Library Trustee is four years. 
  • Three or four Trustees are elected to full terms every two years during the state’s Consolidated Election. Any partial or unfilled terms may also be placed on the ballot.

Section 2. Duties and Responsibilities of the Library Board

  • Appoint and annually review the performance of the Library Director.
  • Meet on a regular basis, no less than 10 times per year.
  • Promote Library interests in the communities it serves.
  • Approve a Disaster Prevention and Recovery Plan.
  • Approve an annual written budget.
  • Approve policies such as but not limited to: personnel; selection of library materials; use of facilities; and investment.

Section 3. Declaring a vacancy.

  • Vacancies for the office of Trustee shall be declared by the Library Board when an elected or appointed Trustee:
    • declines, fails, or is unable to serve;
    • becomes a nonresident of the district;
    • is convicted of a misdemeanor for failing, neglecting, or refusing to discharge any duty imposed upon him or her by the Illinois Public Library District Act (75 ILCS 16/1-1 et seq.);
    • has failed to pay the library taxes levied by the district; or
    • is absent, without cause, from all regular Library Board meetings for a period of one year.

Section 4. Filling a Vacancy

  • When a vacancy occurs the Board President shall appoint an ad hoc committee to interview and recommend a replacement appointee for approval by the Board.
  • The Trustee appointed by the Library Board serves until the next Consolidated Election, unless the vacancy occurs with less than 28 months remaining in the term, and less than 88 days before the next regular scheduled election for the office of Trustee. Any person appointed by the Library Board to fill a vacancy under these circumstances shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term and no election to fill the vacancy.
  • Per the Illinois Public Library District Act, any vacancies not filled by the Board within 90 days shall be remanded to the State Librarian to make the appointment (75 ILCS 16/30-25).

Section 5. Conflict of Interest and Ethics Provisions

  • All Trustees are required to annually file a “Statement of Economic Interests” with the County Clerk’s office.
  • The Board has adopted Ordinance No. FY2003-04-108, An Ordinance Implementing the Provisions of the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act (5 ILCS 430/1-1 et seq.) That ordinance, and other applicable statutes, including, but not limited to, the Public Officer Prohibited Activities Act, (50 ILCS 105/1 et seq.) shall govern all ethical issues that may arise.

Article III.  Officers

Section 1. Definition / Term Limitation

  • The officers of the seven-member Board shall be:
    • President
    • Vice President (which may also serve either as the Secretary or Treasurer, but not President.)
    • Secretary
    • Treasurer
  • The term of each office is two years.

Section 2. Duties
1. President

  • Presides at all meetings of the Board of Library Trustees.
  • Signs papers and documents as appropriate.
  • Appoints committees as the business of the Board may require and serves as a member ex officio on all committees.
  • Prepares meeting agenda with Library Director.
  • Calls for special meetings.
  • Appoints two Board Trustees (other than the Secretary) to audit the Secretary’ records, at the end of the fiscal year and upon change of Secretaries.
  • Shall be the only spokesperson for the Board of Library Trustees.

2. Vice President

  • Performs the duties of the President in the absence of the President.

3. Secretary

  • Keeps an accurate record of all Board Meetings, including minutes of those meetings, the names of those in attendance, the ordinances enacted, the resolutions and regulations adopted, and all other pertinent matters that affect the operation of the District.  The recording of minutes may be delegated to a recording secretary, but the Board Secretary remains responsible for the performance of this duty.
  • Serves as Clerk of Elections.
  • May administer oaths and affirmations as authorized by statute (75 ILCS 16/30-45(g)).
  • Performs the duties of the President in the absence of both the President and Vice President.

4. Treasurer

  • Reviews and works with the Director on accounting of all Library funds.
  • Reviews payment of expenses and obligations as authorized by the Board.
  • Shall be bonded or covered by an insurance policy in an amount as may be required by law.
  • Shall annually employ a certified public accountant to perform an audit of the financial records.
  • Performs the duties of the President in the absence of the President, and Vice President and Secretary.

Section 3. Nomination and Election Procedure

Officers of the Board shall be elected at the first regular monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees following the certification of results from the Consolidated Election. Once the meeting has convened the floor will be open for nominations, including self-nominations. Officers shall then be determined by a majority vote of the Board members present and voting at the meeting.

Section 4. Filling a Vacancy

Upon a vacancy occurring, the Library Board shall appoint a member of the Board to serve in that officer role in the same manner as provided for filling a vacancy under Article II, Section 4 of these Bylaws.

Section 5. Replacement of Officers

  • Officers shall be replaced in their position as an Officer if they miss more than three consecutive regular Board meetings without due cause.
  • In the event that an officer resigns their position prior to the completion of their term but remains a member of the Board, the Board President shall appoint a member of the Board to serve in that role until new officers are elected at the first meeting following certification of the next Consolidated Election.

Article IV. Meetings

NOTE: In the event that the Governor issues a Disaster Proclamation for a public health emergency, the following temporary rules supersede normal procedures as listed in Sections 1 and 3 for holding public meetings and allowing for public comment.

Provided that the Board President makes a local determination that it is not practical or prudent to meet in-person because of the public health emergency, meetings of the Board of Trustees may be held via remote electronic means without the need to establish an in-person quorum nor for each Trustees to have their remote participation authorized by a vote of the Board

All other conditions of holding public meetings will remain the same as required by the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Section 1. Time and Place of Regular Meetings

Each regular meeting shall be held at the Fremont Public Library, 1170 Midlothian Road, Mundelein, IL. At the beginning of each fiscal year the board shall specify by resolution regular meeting dates and times.

Section 2. Quorum for making decisions

Four Trustees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of such business as shall be necessary.

Section 3. Meeting Attendance via Electronic Means

Pursuant to the Illinois Open Meeting Act (5 ILCS 120/7) Library Trustees are permitted to attend Library Board meetings by means other than physical presence. 

Prerequisites, Requirements, Rules and Rights:

Any member of the Library Board may attend a meeting electronically if the member meets each of the following conditions:

  • A quorum of the members is physically present throughout the meeting.
  • A majority of those members physically present votes in favor of allowing the electronic attendance of the member requesting to attend electronically. The availability of working equipment, operating difficulties and communication/technical issues may result in denial of such a request or inability to provide that service, even though a the Library Board voted to approve the request.
  • Physical attendance is required unless the trustee can meet one or more of the following conditions:  personal illness or disability; employment purposes or the business of the Library;  a family, personal or other emergency; or an unexpected childcare obligation. Convenience is not listed as a condition.

The Library Board secretary shall notify all the board members of the request for electronic attendance.

After a roll call establishes a quorum being physically present, a motion must be made to allow for the electronic attendance with a majority of the physical members agreeing to allow the procedure, and the equipment being available and working properly.  Any member participating electronically shall be considered an off-site participant and the meeting minutes will reflect that fact as well as the means of communication.

A Library Board member participating electronically is afforded all of the same rights as board members physically participating as well as being held to the same laws, standards of conduct, Robert’s Rules of Order and voting procedures.

Section 4. Notification of Meetings

  • The Library Board shall be advised of all regular meetings and special meetings by telephone, mail, or e-mail.
  • Notice of all meetings, including an agenda, must be given to any news media requesting to be notified of meetings, and physically posted at the Library and on its website at least forty-eight hours preceding the time of the meeting.

Section 5. Method for Calling Special Meeting:

The President or any three Trustees may call Special meetings.

Section 6. Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern proceedings of all Board meetings.

Article V. Order of Business

Section 1. The order of business for regular meetings shall be set by an agenda, publicly posted in accordance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/2.02). The agenda items, one of which will be approval of all bills and salaries, and the order of the agenda shall be determined by the Board President working with the Library Director. Additional items may be suggested for consideration by any Trustee to the Board President. Binding action shall only be taken on items listed on the publicly posted agenda.

Section 2.   During a regularly scheduled Board meeting, Trustees may delete any agenda item or add, for discussion only, new items that may be necessary for the completion of Library Business.

Section 3.  Members of the public wishing to address the Board of Trustees may do so during that portion of the meeting identified as Public Comment.  Individuals addressing the Board are asked to state their names and limit their comments to five (5) minutes in duration. All commenters must refrain from engaging in threatening, slanderous, or disorderly behavior when addressing the Library Board. The Board President reserves the right to reasonable measures to enforce decorum and order of the meeting.  

Article VI. Minutes

Section 1. Minutes of all meetings of the Board of Trustees shall reflect

  • Date
  • Time of Call to Order
  • Attendance of members of the Board recorded as either present or absent and whether the members were physically present or present by means of video or audio conference.
  • A summary of discussion on all matters proposed, deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken.
  • Time of Adjournment
  • Signature of Secretary of the Library Board of Trustees

Section 2.  Retention, Posting, and Review of Minutes and Recordings

The retention, posting, and review of minutes and verbatims recordings shall comply with the Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/2.06).

Article VII. Library Director

  • The Board shall appoint a Library Director.
  • The Library Director may be terminated by a vote of the Board of Trustees at a regular or special meeting.  A minimum of four affirmative votes is required to begin a termination process of the Library Director.

Article VIII. Committees

Section 1. Standing Committees

  • Finance
  • Personnel
  • Physical Facilities
  • Planning/Policy

Section 2. Appointment of Ad Hoc Committees

The President shall appoint committees of one or more members as the business of the Board may require.  Committees consisting of two or more Trustees shall have a chair.

Section 3. All committees shall have the opportunity to report at any regular meeting. 

  • If the committee has held a committee meeting since the previous or regular or special Board Meeting, then a committee report is mandatory and must be added to the agenda.
  • If a Committee meeting has not been held since the time of the previous regular or special Board Meeting then a report is not required.  A status report on schedules and topics for future committee meetings may be provided.
  • The chairperson of each committee shall make the report for the committee at the Board Meeting.  In the absence of the committee chairperson, a member of the committee shall make the committee report.

Section 4. Committees will only have advisory powers concerning Library business.

Section 5. All committee meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Open Meetings Act.

Article IX. Policies

Written policies of the Fremont Public Library shall be reviewed at least every three years by the Planning/Policy Committee. Any policy amendments, deletions or additions will be brought to the full Board of Trustees for approval. Between reviews, library administration may make minor changes limited to correcting grammatical or clerical errors without full review by the Board of Trustees.

Article X. General

Section 1. An affirmative vote of the majority of all members of the Board present and voting at the time shall be necessary to approve any action before the Board, except when a greater number of affirmative votes is required by statute. 

Section 2. The President may vote upon and move or second a proposal before the Board.

Section 3. The Board shall use the roll-call voting practice for items regarding the passage of all ordinances, resolutions, the passage of all motions that create liability against the library (contracts), pertain to the appropriation or disbursement of funds, or seek adjournment to enter into a closed meeting. All other motions shall be decided by a voice vote unless a roll call vote is requested by one or more Trustees.

Section 4. Amendment procedures

These Board Bylaws may be amended at any regular or special meeting of the Board by an affirmative vote of four Trustees, provided that:

  • The proposed amendment is stated at the previous meeting
  • All Trustees are notified of the proposed amendment at least five days prior to the meeting at which the vote is to be taken.

Section 5. Review Procedures

A committee shall review these Bylaws every three years.

Policy last revised on 3/21/24

Printable version of this policy.