Boards And Commissions

The citizen committee addressing parks, boards and commissions has been studying the city charter with the task of bringing some continuity and uniformity to more than 80 boards and commissions functioning within city government. The issues being considered by the citizens committee have focused on the following areas for boards and commissions:

They be advisory and accountable to elected city officials.

They be diverse in their members to reflect a cross section of the general community.

The community have greater access to boards and membership on them by varying the meeting times outside the normal work day.

The Park Board remain fiscally independent but the percentage of funds received from the general budget may be raised or lowered from the current 8 percent.

That the length of all terms be three years with no more than two consecutive terms.

On the last point particularly the committee is seeking clearer direction. The current charter does not specify a uniform length of term, but most vary from three to five years with two consecutive terms. Critics of the 10-year length say board members become less creative, resistant to new ideas and susceptible to burnout. Limiting the total time to six years, they say, creates a fresh flow of people and ideas.

Others say some boards require highly technical knowledge and engage in long-term projects requiring lengthier terms in order to function at an efficient level. xxxx