Agenda - Council - 10/14/2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Motion CalTied. Voting Yes: Chairperson Cook, and Councilmembers Kurak, and Pearson. Voting No: None. Case #2: Discussion Regarding Amending the Process for Appointing Board and Commission Members Human Resources Manager Reed stated that on August 5, 2003, Michael Reeve submitted a letter of resignation from the Planning Commission with an immediate effective date. As a result of Mr. Reeve's resignation, there was one vacancy on the Planning Commission. At the AugUst 12, 2003 Personnel Committee meeting, staff sought authorization to begin the recruitment process for a replacement. The City Council authorized staff to advertise the vacancy but asked that responses be provided to the following questions in the interim: The questions and staff's responses are as follows: Can the policy for appointing board and commission members be amended to allow the Personnel Committee to fill a vacancy with someone who has been interviewed within the previous 12 months without conducting a second interview? Section 2.2 of the City Charter, Boards and Commissions, states that "Notice of initial formation and all vacancies shall be published in the city newsletter and in the legal newspaper;" therefore, this action would require an amendment to the City's charter. · The City's Policy for Appointing Members to City Boards and Commissions could be amended to allow for this policy change. If it is the Committee's desire to implement these changes, the interview committee may want to rank applicants daring the first interview so that everyone is clear about who will be appointed if a seat becomes vacant over the next 12 months. Can the City appoint alternates to serve and vote in the event that a Planning Commissioner is unable to attend a meeting? At the June 10, 2003 City Council meeting, the Council discussed the attendance of Planning Commissioners and the possibility of appointing alternates as a way to deal with quorum issues. The consensus was that a letter would be sent to each member stressing the importance of attendance at each meeting and asking Commissioners to contact staff if they are unable to meet the time commitment. That letter has been sent to all Commissioners. If it is the Committee's desire to impleme~nt this change, it does not appear that there is a legal reason why the change could not take pla~e. Staff surveyed other cities and, of those that responded to the survey, three have a policy for- appointing alternates to their commissions and one city had a policy for appointing alternates that has since been discontinued. Two of the cities that responded have attendance policies. Ramsey's attendance policy is as follows: Personnel Committee/August 26, 2003 Page 3 of 6