RACINE - Congress does it, the Racine County Board does it, but it's still up in the air whether the City Council will add a prayer to its meetings.

4th District Alderman Jim Kaplan has proposed adding a moment of silence or prayer before every City Council meeting. The aldermen voted Tuesday to defer any decisions until next year.

The aldermen discussed the idea at their Committee of the Whole meeting, which is made of all the aldermen and takes place before the City Council meeting. A date has not been set yet for the next discussion.

Kaplan has watched the way that Congress has conducted a prayer and he believes a moment of reflection is a good thing for the City Council.

"If it's good enough for both houses of Congress … then I don't see why we should be any different," Kaplan said.

Kaplan has been an alderman since April 2006 and said he has been thinking about City Council prayer before that.

"I think it's something I can do and I can at least offer it," Kaplan said.

But not all of the aldermen are for a City Council prayer or moment of silence.

9th District Alderman Terry McCarthy said religion should be kept private and said they should leave the meetings the way they are.

The City Council already says the Pledge of Allegiance, which includes God, McCarthy said.

2nd District Alderman Robert Anderson asked about potential legal concerns about saying a prayer before a city government meeting.

There have been past lawsuits dealing with government prayer, said City Attorney Rob Weber.

But a silent meditation or invocation, the act of calling upon a deity, is legal as long as it is not used to advance a particular religion, according to Weber.

After listening to the discussion, Ron Peterson, 74, told the aldermen during a public comment period that they should say a prayer before their meeting.

"(Our forefathers) never intended a wall between the church and state," Peterson said.

He said there is a tremendous historical value in prayer, which the City Council should take part in.

But for now there is no prayer. The aldermen said the Pledge of Allegiance Tuesday for their meeting and then began their business.