TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Keith Stahley, City Manager
FROM: Dan Atchison, City Attorney
SUBJECT:
title
Governance Assessment Implementation Update.
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Good Governance.
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SUMMARY:
summary
Recommendations from the Council Boards and Commissions Subcommittee to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the City boards and commissions (“Governance Groups”).
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ISSUE:
Shall the City Council adopt the recommendations contained in this report to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the City’s governance groups?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Adopt the recommendations contained in this report to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the City’s governance groups.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
This report sets forth recommendations presented to and adopted by the City Council Boards and Commission subcommittee concerning governance groups. These recommendations include proposed council policies implementing annual reporting and work plans for governance groups; consolidation of Urban Renewal Area advisory boards into a single board, standardization of governance group bylaws and updates to the application process.
Annual Reports and Workplans
Recommendation: Require governance groups to provide annual reports and annual workplans to City Council.
The complexity and depth of the annual reports and workplans will vary depending on the nature of the governance group, and should include summaries of key accomplishments, outreach efforts, and equity-related work over the prior year. Annual reports should also include metrics, including the number of meetings and instances where meetings were cancelled or lacked a quorum. An annual plan will summarize group priorities for the next year, such as areas to focus outreach or in providing recommendations to council.
Councilor Liaisons
Recommendation: Establish a council policy providing guidance on when a councilor liaison should be assigned to a governance group.
A councilor liaison can provide a council perspective to the group and bring relevant information back to city council. Councilor liaisons would be appointed by the Mayor at the discretion of the Mayor or upon recommendation of council or the governance group.
Guidelines for determining whether a liaison should be appointed include the complexity of the issues faced by the group; the scope or impact of the group on the community; alignment of the group’s purpose with council priorities, and; interest from councilors in serving as a liaison.
Governance Group Review
Recommendation: Establish a framework/policy that sets the standards for regular review of governance groups.
Council review of governance groups could occur during the annual report process. Criteria for review would include the potential for consolidation of groups if multiple groups have similar purposes and if additional responsibilities could be added to a group without overburdening the group.
Sunsetting a group could be considered if the group is not fulfilling a priority need for the community or if the group has become dormant. Creating a new governance group could be considered if the group has a distinct purpose not fulfilled by another group, that purpose is aligned with the City’s goals and priorities, and if the City has sufficient staff and resources to effectively support the group.
Standardized bylaws and updates to the application process
Recommendation: Direct staff to develop and implement a standard template and set of minimum requirements for all governance group bylaws or rules.
The framework would include sections on; purpose, membership requirements/qualifications, structure, meeting frequency, rules and consideration of business, conduct and ethics.
Recommendation: Direct staff to update the application materials and process for residents to apply for group openings.
The updated application would include the applicant’s ward, information regarding their connection to Salem (live, work, volunteer experience), voluntary demographic information such as age, gender and race/ethnicity, languages, education, and relevant experience. An amendment to the Code may be considered to establish a goal to expand membership on governance groups to be more representative of the community.
Improved logic and form features to limit the number of groups that may be applied for and adding the ability to link reference documents.
Next Steps
In early 2025, Staff will provide council proposed changes to group eligibility requirements in early 2025, recommendations on the neighborhood association and begin work on review of the Salem Charter.
BACKGROUND:
The 2024 Governance Assessment reviewed the City Charter, Neighborhood Association program, and the City’s boards and commissions (“governance groups”) to find opportunities to improve their efficiency, effectiveness, equity and relevance to the City and community. In early 2025, staff will bring recommendations concerning the neighborhood association program to Council in early 2025 and seek Council direction on review of the City Charter and potential changes.
Dan Atchison
City Attorney
Attachments:
None.