6.
City Council Combined Special Meeting/Work Session
- Meeting Date:
- 09/08/2015
- Co-Submitter:
- Stacy Saltzburg, Deputy City Clerk
- From:
- Stacy Saltzburg, Deputy City Clerk
- Department:
Co-Submitter:
TITLE:
Boards and Commissions: Process Update
DESIRED OUTCOME:
Council Direction
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City Council uses every opportunity to establish community participation programs to allow for citizen involvement and input. The City's many boards and commissions are created to allow Flagstaff citizens to take an active role in City government. A number of questions have come up recently concerning Boards and Commissions and staff is looking for Council direction on how they would like these issues resolved.
The first issue is that of specialty appointments to Boards and Commissions. Specialty appointments are those appointments that are filled by an individual who has specific qualifications or designations. For example, the Open Space Commission has seats designated for a member of a natural and cultural science and the Tourism Commission has a seat designated for a member of the hospitality industry. There has been discussion as to who determines the qualifications of applicants to fill certain seats and if those qualifications need to be outlined better in the commission authority. Alternatively, there has been discussion about eliminating these specialty seats altogether.
Another issue is that of the Council Interview Teams. At a work session on February 24, 2015, staff gave the Council a presentation on how the interview teams are determined using a random rotation. At that time, the Council directed staff to continue using the rotation, but asked that they review prior appointments to make sure the same councilmember was not appointing multiple times to the same commissions. Since that time, staff has evaluated some other options that may make the process more fair and consistent.
Lastly, the Commission on Diversity Awareness has been inactive for some time. There has been recent interest in the commission and staff needs direction from Council on how to move forward. At one time there had been some general discussion about redefining the purpose of the commission.
The first issue is that of specialty appointments to Boards and Commissions. Specialty appointments are those appointments that are filled by an individual who has specific qualifications or designations. For example, the Open Space Commission has seats designated for a member of a natural and cultural science and the Tourism Commission has a seat designated for a member of the hospitality industry. There has been discussion as to who determines the qualifications of applicants to fill certain seats and if those qualifications need to be outlined better in the commission authority. Alternatively, there has been discussion about eliminating these specialty seats altogether.
Another issue is that of the Council Interview Teams. At a work session on February 24, 2015, staff gave the Council a presentation on how the interview teams are determined using a random rotation. At that time, the Council directed staff to continue using the rotation, but asked that they review prior appointments to make sure the same councilmember was not appointing multiple times to the same commissions. Since that time, staff has evaluated some other options that may make the process more fair and consistent.
Lastly, the Commission on Diversity Awareness has been inactive for some time. There has been recent interest in the commission and staff needs direction from Council on how to move forward. At one time there had been some general discussion about redefining the purpose of the commission.
INFORMATION:
There is no Council goal that specifically addresses Boards and Commissions; however, boards and commissions do provide input and recommendations based on City Council goals that may pertain to the board or commission work plan.