AGENDA #5g
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Advisory Board Appointment Schedule Process
DATE: August 25, 2003
BACKGROUND
At the June 9 Council meeting a Council member requested information regarding the advisory board appointment schedule process.
DISCUSSION
The Council Procedures Manual sets out a nomination and appointment process to be followed when recruiting applicants for advisory boards and commissions (excerpt provided as Attachment 1).
The process is outlined as follows:
Recruitment of citizens to serve on advisory boards continues throughout the year, as mid-year vacancies frequently occur. Applications are kept on file in the Town Clerk’s Office through two spring recruitment cycles, unless notified by the applicant that they no longer wish to be considered for a vacancy. Applicants are contacted prior to their names being placed on a ballot to ensure their continued interest in serving on an advisory board.
CONCLUSION
The process as described above was developed by a Council Committee and adopted by the Council to establish a means of recruitment and selection of applicants for vacancies on Town advisory boards and commissions. The Council may revise the policy as it wishes.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Excerpt from Council Procedures Manual regarding Nominations and Appointment Procedures (p. 3).
2. January 27, 2003 agenda item regarding Notification of Board and Commission Term Vacancies (p. 5).
Excerpt from Council Procedures Manual, Revised September 1999
CHAPTER II – COMMITTEES
F. Nominations and Appointment Procedures.
1.a. Nominations and Appointment Process. (Resolution 85-R‑29) (Amended by Resolution 89‑1‑23/R‑9.)
In January of each year, the Town Clerk shall notify the Council and all Chairs of boards and commissions of those members of boards and commissions whose terms expire June 30. The Town Clerk shall advertise vacancies from January through March in a newspaper of general circulation within the community and such other means as may be deemed effective, including, but not limited to, mailings to community organizations, public service announcements, and letters of invitation to citizens who have expressed interest throughout the year.
Beginning in March, the Town Clerk shall distribute to the respective boards and commissions the applications that have been received to date from eligible citizens wishing to serve. The Town Clerk will not forward applications to boards and commissions if the applicant’s eligibility has not been determined. Upon verification of an applicant’s eligibility the Town Clerk shall forward the application to the board or commission for consideration.
The Council requests that the boards and commissions review all applications and recommend candidates to the Council for each vacancy, unless the board or commission declines to do so. The board or commission's recommendation shall be submitted in writing to the Town Clerk no later than April 25. If a board or commission elects not to recommend applicants, it is requested that the board or commission notify the Town Clerk of this decision in writing by April 25. Notwithstanding recommendations from boards and commissions, the Town Clerk shall forward the names and applications of all eligible persons interested in appointment for the vacancy on a board or commission and the board or commission recommendations to the Council for its consideration. The Council may choose to not consider appointments without a recommendation from the board or commission.
Applications received after the Monday prior to the Council’s regular business meeting at which nominations or appointments are scheduled shall be held until another vacancy occurs, thus allowing the Town Clerk to verify the applicant’s eligibility and the board or commission to make a recommendation.
All applicants for the board or commission shall be nominated by a resolution on the Consent Agenda. At the next regular meeting following nominations, the Council may make additional nominations and make appointments, provided that the applications of the nominees and recommendation of the board or commission have been distributed to the Council in the agenda packet for the meeting at which the appointments are scheduled. If possible, Council Members are to mark and sign their ballots prior to the meeting, and forward them to the Town Clerk at any time prior to the start of the meeting. The Town Clerk will announce the results of the balloting at the appropriate time during the Council’s meeting. If vacancies remain (applicants did not receive 5 or more votes), the Council may immediately hold further rounds of balloting to fill the vacancies, or may postpone filling these vacancies until the next regular meeting.
Beginning with the first regular meeting in May, and through the second regular meeting in June (four consecutive regular meetings of the Council), the Council may consider appointments to three or more boards and commissions per meeting.
AGENDA #4c
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Joyce A. Smith, Town Clerk
SUBJECT: Notification of Board and Commission Term Vacancies
DATE: January 27, 2003
The attached resolution would establish a schedule for nominations and appointments to boards and commissions and to the Orange Water and Sewer Authority Board of Directors, for terms that expire on June 30, 2003.
In accordance with the Town Council Procedures Manual, we have compiled a list of board and commission appointments that will expire on June 30, 2003: a total of 34 term expirations are expected on this date. Under existing Council procedures, 11 of these board and commission members are ineligible for reappointment because they have served two consecutive terms on the same board or commission. If the Council wishes, this provision may be waived or revised to permit longer terms of service. By copy of this memorandum, chairpersons of affected boards and commissions will be notified of expiring terms.
The next step in the process is for the Mayor and Council to invite interested citizens to submit their applications for vacancies. The Town will accept applications for the vacancies through the end of April 2003. This deadline may be extended, if necessary.
Unless Council directs staff otherwise, applications received to date will be distributed in early April to boards and commissions (including boards or commissions with Council Screening Committees: Board of Adjustment, OWASA Board of Directors, Planning and Transportation Boards) for their consideration of applicants. By late April, applicable boards and commissions would provide their appointment recommendations to the Council.
The Town Council Procedures Manual provides that appointments to boards and commissions may occur at each of the four regular meetings in May and June.
Adoption of the attached resolution would set the schedule for these nominations and appointments.
A RESOLUTION REGARDING THE PROCESS FOR CONSIDERING APPOINTMENTS TO TOWN ADVISORY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS (2003-01-27/R-3)
BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council hereby adopts the following schedule for appointments to Town advisory boards and commissions:
May 12 Orange Water and Sewer Authority Board of Directors
Planning Board
Technology Committee
May 28 Historic District Commission
Transportation Board
Library Board of Trustees
Chapel Hill Public Arts Committee
June 9 Board of Adjustment
Community Design Commission
Greenways Commission
Parks and Recreation Commission
June 23 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board
Housing and Community Development Advisory Board
Human Services Advisory Board
Personnel Appeals Committee
This the 27th day of January, 2003.