What’s Changing – And Why It Matters

Under Ordinance 2025-37, nearly every clause that supports open deliberation and shared governance is being gutted or rewritten. Here’s what’s at stake:

1. Meeting Cancellations Now at Mayor's Whim

Current law allows the Council to set meeting dates, with changes requiring full Council input. The proposed amendment gives cancellation power to the Mayor, City Manager, or a simple majority of the Council—a dangerous precedent that allows key meetings to be quietly scrapped without public scrutiny.

2. Agenda Control Removed from Elected Members

Previously, any two alderpersons could place an item on the agenda. Under the new rules, that power is stripped. Now, only the Mayor, City Manager, or a majority of the Council can add items—effectively silencing minority alderpersons and shielding the administration from uncomfortable questions.

3. Mayor to Chair the Committee of the Whole

Under the current ordinance, alderpersons rotate chairing the Committee of the Whole, fostering equal leadership and transparency. The new amendment hands that power permanently to the Mayor, granting her outsized influence over the city’s most important deliberative body.

4. Gag Order on Council Members

A new “Council Requests of Staff” section forces alderpersons to submit any request for information through the City Manager. Responses can be delayed, denied, or indefinitely postponed at the Manager’s discretion. This bottleneck functionally prevents independent inquiry—especially from critical voices.

5. Punishment for Dissent

Fines for “violating decorum” have increased from $100 to $250. The ordinance also redefines absence from meetings as a punishable offense based on subjective determinations by a Council majority. This opens the door to retaliatory enforcement against political opponents.

6. Manipulated Reconsideration Rules

Currently, motions for reconsideration must follow strict standards. Under the proposed changes, reconsiderations can now be passed by a simple majority—giving the majority bloc the ability to reverse decisions they don't like, even after valid votes.

Who’s Backing the Power Grab?

This ordinance is being championed by Mayor Jodi Miller and City Manager Rob Boyer and is expected to pass with the support of Aldermen Klemm, Sellers, Shadle, Johnson, and Parker—a bloc that has consistently voted in lockstep with the Mayor’s agenda. Meanwhile, public outcry has grown from residents and community leaders who view this as a betrayal of Freeport’s democratic principles.

What It All Means

This isn't just an administrative update—it’s a hostile reengineering of Freeport’s government. It concentrates power in fewer hands, shuts out opposing views, and weakens the Council’s ability to hold the executive branch accountable. In short, it’s not governance—it’s control.

Mayor Miller’s administration has already faced allegations of cronyism, misuse of public resources for private festivals, and censorship of public comment. Now, with Ordinance 2025-37, she is poised to rewrite the rules entirely—tilting the playing field toward her own political survival.

The People’s Response

Residents deserve more than rubber-stamp government. They deserve open meetings, responsive leadership, and a Council that reflects the diverse voices of our community. This ordinance does the opposite. It silences dissent, shields the Mayor from accountability, and transforms our legislative branch into a ceremonial one.

Fighting4Freeport calls on every resident to contact their alderperson and demand a NO vote on Ordinance 2025-37. Show up. Speak out. Because if this passes, the people of Freeport won’t just be losing their voice—they’ll be surrendering it.

TAKE ACTION
📞 Call or Email your alderperson
🗳️ Attend the next Council Meeting
📢 Share this article

— Fighting4Freeport