19 - BOARD & COMMISSION REVISIONS & ENHANCEMENTS

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Item No. 19 memorandum TO: Mayor & City Council FROM: John Godwin, City Manager SUBJECT: BOARD & COMMISSION REVISIONS & ENHANCEMENTS DATE: May 11, 2017 BACKGROUND: Council- appointed volunteer boards, commissions, and committees are extremely important to any city. They provide new and different insights, expand the expertise of the city, offer opportunities for citizen involvement and participation, and can serve as excellent training grounds for future council members. In order to ensure that volunteer members, and the boards and commissions on which they serve as a whole, are functioning properly and well, we need to review and revise our operating procedures and policies from time to time. I have attached two documents that address boards and commissions, their roles and responsibilities, one a revised existing document, the other a new one. STATUS OF ISSUE: The first is a revised Policies and Procedures, with additions underlined and deletions stricken, and all changes highlighted. Most of the suggested changes are for clarification, to reflect ordinance changes, or to make the policies consistent with the way our boards actually function. One substantive change is a requirement that members meet the same membership qualifications as council members; specifically they must be registered Paris voters. Another change is required participation in an orientation conducted by the city manager or other appropriate staff to fully explain their duties and responsibilities. This is in addition to the state - mandated public information and open meetings training that is done online before taking office. We have not always done a good job of preparing volunteers for their service, and in order to make that service less frustrating and more productive, I have put together a listing of the duties, responsibilities, and prohibitions of board members. These are meant to help new members understand their roles and functions, thereby enabling them to contribute as much as possible. There is also a list of council duties; similarly, we have not always done a good job helping new council members either, and when things are not clear, misunderstandings can and do occur. BUDGET: NA.