{"id":7439,"date":"2025-03-25T02:54:05","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T02:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7439"},"modified":"2025-03-25T02:54:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T02:54:05","slug":"yes-its-binding-the-oglesby-referendum-isnt-advisory-shaw-local-news-network","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/princetonillinois.com\/?p=7439","title":{"rendered":"Yes, it\u2019s binding: The Oglesby referendum isn\u2019t advisory – Shaw Local News Network"},"content":{"rendered":"


If Oglesby residents voted to have a city manager and decided they didn\u2019t like it, they\u2019d need to hold a referendum four years later to revert to the current form. Naperville attorney Karl Ottosen spelled out other pros and cons at a Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, forum on the referendum set for April 1. <\/span>(Tom Collins)
A common question asked about the April 1 referendum is whether it\u2019s advisory or binding.
\u201cSome people think this is advisory, and it\u2019s not.\u201d
At a Wednesday forum, Oglesby<\/a> Plan Commission Chairman Ken Ficek tried to quell such confusion once and for all. The referendum is binding, he said, and the city would hire a city manager with a majority \u201cyes\u201d vote.
\u201cSome people think this is advisory, and it\u2019s not,\u201d Ficek said.
To eliminate additional confusion over how a manager form of government would work, the commission brought in a guest speaker: Karl Ottosen, a Naperville attorney who has represented municipalities and school districts and who agreed to speak for free.
\u201cI don\u2019t have any skin in the game,\u201d Ottosen said. \u201cI don\u2019t care.\u201d
But Ottosen said there are pros and cons to be aware of.
Karl Ottosen speaks <\/span>Karl Ottosen discusses the pros and cons of Oglesby’s proposed hiring of a city manager. <\/span>(Tom Collins)
First, a manager wouldn\u2019t necessarily report to the mayor. The manager is hired by the City Council, which in Oglesby\u2019s case means a three-vote majority would result in a person getting day-to-day authority over the departments.
\u201cIf this were to pass, [then] the manager is in charge of the departments, not the City Council,\u201d he said.
Second, if Oglesby found it didn\u2019t work, it would have to wait four years to hold a referendum on whether to abandon the managerial form of government. The clock starts ticking the date a manager is hired, not when the question passes.
\u201cI have no knowledge of [a city] that has done so,\u201d Ottosen said. \u201cI don\u2019t know of one that has rescinded it.\u201d
Third, the council would enter into a contract with a city manager. That contract, he said, should not exceed the mayor\u2019s term of office.
Ottosen further noted that he\u2019s not for or against a managerial form of government. Oglesby, however, is in a rare category having a commission form of government while considering adding a city manager \u2013 and an experienced city manager in Oglesby\u2019s budget might not be easy to find.
\u201cThe commissioner is a little funky by itself. The managerial form is funky,\u201d Ottosen said. \u201cWelcome to Illinois.\u201d
Ficek noted that it isn\u2019t the form of government that decides a city\u2019s success or failure.
\u201cIt\u2019s really the people who are elected who make the difference,\u201d he said.
Notable questions or comments from the floor:<\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network
Copyright \u00a9 2023 Shaw Local News Network<\/p>\n

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If Oglesby residents voted to have a city manager and decided they didn\u2019t like it, they\u2019d need to hold a referendum four years later to revert to the current form. Naperville attorney Karl Ottosen spelled out other pros and cons at a Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, forum on the referendum set for April 1. (Tom Collins)A common question asked about<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t