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Councilmembers and commissioners said they don't want commissioners who represent <br />only special :interests or their own interests. <br /> <br />Recommendation: <br /> <br />It would be helpful for each commission to establish a few core qualifications they <br />consider essential for members of their commission. The Councilmembers could review <br />those qualifications and add any that are of particular concern to them. Such a list could <br />be used to determine appropriate interview questions and to aid in recruiting candidates. <br /> <br />Size of Commissions <br /> <br />The prevailing opinion of the commissioners who completed the questionnaire is that the <br />more people there are on a commission, the harder it is to ensure that everyone's opinions <br />are heard..The argument for expanding some of the commissions is that it would allow <br />more community interests to be represented. <br /> <br />Recommendation: <br /> <br />There doesn't appear to be a good reason to expand the size of the existing commissions. <br />While it is true there are currently more people interested in serving on the Park & <br />Recreation Commission than there are available seats, that is not sufficient reason to <br />make a permanent change that will have such a significant effect on the operation of the <br />commission.: It would be more effective for the City Council to clearly communicate to <br />all the commissions, its desire for broad representation and to enforce that desire through <br />the appointments it makes. <br /> <br />Term Limits <br /> <br />Of the 39 cities responding to the survey: <br /> <br />44% (17of39) <br />28% (11 of 39) <br /> <br />15% (6of39) <br />8% (3 of 39) <br />72% (28 of 39) <br /> <br />Have no term limits for commissions <br />Have term limits for all commissions (Burnsville, Cottage Grove, Eagan, <br />Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Lino Lakes, Minnetonka, Richfield, Rosemount, <br />Roseville, Shakopee, St. Anthony) <br />Have term limits only for Charter Commission <br />Have term limits for some commissions (Arden Hills, Bayport, Chaska) <br />Require incumbents to reapply when their terms are up <br /> <br />Although Co~uncilmembers were fairly neutral about term limits, most commissioners <br />who completed the questionnaire thought they were a good idea. The proviso added most <br />often was that it takes at least a year for a commissioner to get up to speed and term limits <br />should allow for that learning curve. <br /> <br /> <br />