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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION <br />Topic Report: Review Policy for Appointing Board and <br />Commission Members <br />By: Givonna Reed Kone, Human Resources Manager <br />Background <br />The City is currently conducting an (re)appointment process to fill several board and <br />commission seats that became vacant on December 31, 2008. This process is governed <br />by the City's Policy for Appointing Board and Commission Members. Staff is bringing <br />this item forward to update the new and returning City Council Members on the City's <br />policy and process, and to seek direction regarding how to proceed with the current <br />process. <br />The City's Policy for Appointing Board and Commission Members (attached) indicates <br />that prior to the expiration of their term, board and commission members who wish to be <br />reappointed must respond to a questionnaire provided by the City. Questionnaire <br />responses are then evaluated by the evaluation panel, which consists of the three <br />members of the Personnel Committee and the chair and vice chair of the incumbent <br />applicant's board or commission. Recommendations for reappointment are then <br />considered by the Personnel Committee and forwarded to the City Council. If <br />incumbents are not reappointed by the City Council, the vacancies are then advertised to <br />the general public. The Economic Development Authority is an exception in that <br />recommendations for appointment are made by the Mayor to the City Council, as per the <br />City Code and state statute. <br />On September 24, 2008, applications for reappointment (questionnaires) were considered <br />by the evaluation panel. To -date, the recommendations of the evaluation panel have not <br />been presented to the Personnel Committee due to scheduling conflicts. Most recently, it <br />was determined that, as per the City's Policy for Appointing Board and Commission <br />Members, the reappointment process would be delayed to allow the 2009 City Council to <br />make appointments. The next step in our process is that the recommendations from the <br />September evaluation panel meeting would be presented to the Personnel Committee <br />after the new City Council term begins. <br />As required by the Charter, staff has published a general advertisement for board and <br />commission vacancies with the knowledge that there is currently one vacancy for which <br />there is no incumbent seeking reappointment. Staff has received a few applications from <br />the general public in response to, the recent advertisements and there are a few <br />applications on file from previous recruitment processes that could be considered <br />depending on which seats remain vacant at the conclusion of this reappointment process. <br />Staff is seeking direction regarding whether the City Council would like to continue with <br />our current recruitment process as outlined in the policy or consider changes to the policy <br />and process. One change that staff would propose for consideration is adjusting term <br />expiration dates to the spring which would create a smoother process by allowing <br />incumbents to continue to serve without interruption until any newly elected City Council <br />