TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Krishna Namburi, City Manager
FROM: Dan Atchison, City Attorney
SUBJECT:
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Governance assessment recommendations for Boards and Commissions
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Good Governance
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SUMMARY:
summary
This report recommends that a guideline be established to limit the number of boards or commissions an individual may serve on to two. It also includes updates on current and upcoming work to implement the Salem Governance project to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the City boards and commissions.
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ISSUE:
Shall City Council adopt a guideline limiting the number of boards or commissions an individual may serve on to two?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Adopt a guideline limiting the number of boards or commissions an individual may serve on to two.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
Service Limits: Establishing a guideline of two board or commission (“governance groups” or “groups”) concurrent appointments per person may increase opportunities for more community members to participate. The City aims to engage a diverse range of knowledge, skills, and experiences on its governance groups, and making more positions available to more people supports this goal. This guideline would not apply to members of the Budget Committee and the Civil Service Commission, who may only serve on those groups.
The limit is proposed as a guideline as opposed to an outright prohibition to retain flexibility for Council if Council determine circumstances warrant appointing an individual to more than two groups.
Application Updates: As directed by Council, additional questions have been added to the Board and Commission Application, modeling in part from the City’s Revenue Task Force 2024 application format. The objective is to gain additional depth of knowledge about candidates.
Position Qualifications: Many groups have specific requirements for some or all of the group’s positions, such as detailed experience in aspects of art curation or history for the Public Art Commission, or property or business ownership for the Downtown Advisory Board and URA advisory boards. Council expressed interest in reducing the level of specificity in these requirements where feasible, to allow for greater diversity in representation on for certain board and commission positions and giving Council flexibility in filling vacant group positions, while retaining expertise that may be needed for a given group.
Staff are seeking feedback from the boards and commissions on the qualifications for their members and will present recommendations to Council in February.
Council Liaisons: City Council approved a recommendation that some groups should have a councilor liaison. Some Councilors have routinely attended or liaised with some City boards and commissions over the years. Establishing a process by which liaisons are requested and assigned will increase transparency and access to this valuable connection with City Council. Staff will implement the concept as described in the attached Council Liaison Framework previously approved by Council.
BACKGROUND:
This recommendation and updates are based and build upon the Governance Implementation Project, commissioned by City Council with Baker Tilly (formerly Moss Adams LLP). The scope of work included an assessment of governance group practices to identify opportunities to streamline and simplify structure and processes.
Gretchen Bennett
AIC Community Services Director
Attachments:
1. Council Liaison Framework
2. Application (revisions highlighted)