AGENDA #5d

Memorandum

TO:             Mayor and Town Council        

FROM:            Joyce A. Smith, Town Clerk

SUBJECT:       Report on Advisory Board Appointment Process

DATE:             June 10, 2002

BACKGROUND

At the January 18 Planning Retreat, the Council requested a report on the current advisory board appointment process.  This was in response to a citizen who spoke at the January 14, 2002 meeting regarding a petition he had presented at the June 11, 2001 meeting.  At the January 28, 2002 meeting the Town Attorney issued a report that spoke to the statutory limits of the appointment process (please see Attachment 2).

The Council also inquired about alternative forms of appointment to advisory boards.

DISCUSSION

Attached are excerpts from the Council’s Procedures Manual that outline the nominations and appointments procedures (Attachment 3) which were adopted by the Council in 1985 and last revised in 1999.  The appointment process to advisory boards includes steps outlined below:

1. The Town Clerk advertises opportunities for service at the beginning of each year or as necessary.
2. Interested citizens fill out applications for nomination and return them to the Town Clerk.
3. The Town Clerk enters all of the applications into a tracking table, which lists the names of citizens and the boards for which they wish to apply.  This document is an internal document used by the Clerk’s staff for tracking purposes.
4. A letter is sent to applicants acknowledging receipt and thanking them for their application.
5. The Town Clerk fills out the Vacancies Chart, which lists boards with openings and the schedule for consideration of appointment by the Council.  This Chart is an internal document used by the Clerk’s staff for tracking purposes.
6. Copies of applications are filed in the folder of each board for which each person applied.
7. Applicants who are nominated receive a post card notice acknowledging their nomination, and noting an approximate schedule of appointments by the Council.
8. If the applicant is appointed, a letter is mailed to their residence.
9. For those applicants not chosen, a letter is sent to them informing them that they were not chosen but that their application will remain on file for two years from the date of application unless they request that their application be removed from consideration.

The Town Clerk created a list of seven questions in order to explore how other local governments recruit and appoint members to advisory boards.  These questions were then sent on the North Carolina Clerks’ listserv:

1. Do your elected officials appoint advisory board members by voting as an elected body?
2. Do your elected officials bring forward applicants of their choosing, to be voted on by the elected body?
3. Do your elected officials recruit citizens to apply for membership on advisory boards?
4. Or, do your elected officials fill vacancies by some other means?
5. Do your advisory boards make recommendations to your elected body regarding who among the applicants might be best suited for membership on that board?
6. Do your advisory boards, or your elected officials, conduct interviews of applicants for advisory boards?
7. Do you use any other method of making appointments to advisory boards?
8. Your government’s population and number of elected officials would be helpful.

We received responses from nine nearby local governments, and their responses were compiled for analysis (please see Attachment 1).  We also contacted Fleming Bell, Professor of Public Law and Government at the Institute of Government who specializes in local government law, and Andy Romanet, General Counsel at the League of Municipalities.  Neither of them was aware of a community using a process substantially different from the one used in Chapel Hill.

SUMMARY

Some of the results of the survey are listed below:

• All nine local governments appointed members to advisory boards as a body, and only Raleigh has no formal application process. 
• All of the local governments, with the exception of Wake County, responded that elected officials recruit citizens, although Cary, Guilford County, and Forsyth County indicated that citizens must still go through the application process. 
• Only Raleigh stated that they filled vacancies in some other manner; however, they did not elaborate on their methods.
• None of the responding governments conducted applicant interviews.
• When asked if the local governments appointed in any other manner, Winston-Salem responded that the Mayor has the power to appoint advisory board members.

ATTACHMENTS

1.         Local Government Advisory Board Selection Procedures (p. 3).

2.         January 28, 2002 memo from the Town Attorney (p. 5).
3.         Excerpt from the Council’s Procedures Manual regarding Nominations and Appointments (p. 13).