Title
Joint Meeting of City Council with Board and Commission Chairs and Vice Chairs to Review and Improve Overall Effectiveness of Commission Meetings
Report
BACKGROUND
On November 14, 2023, the City Council held a joint study session with Board and Commission (B/C) Chairs and Vice Chairs. The purpose of the study session was to convene an annual discussion regarding B/C effectiveness, and to invite input from B/C members to the City Council.
The input during this annual round of discussion was substantial. The November 2023 meeting resulted in over a dozen suggested improvements or modifications for consideration. Of those, 10 were administrative in nature and the majority of those have been implemented already or are in progress by staff. The remainder, 7 items, were policy-based and were referred to the Council Subcommittee on Boards and Commissions (Subcommittee) for consideration.
On February 14, 2024, the Subcommittee provided comments on several operational changes (RTC No. 24-0106) made in response to the feedback received at the joint study session. The Subcommittee also discussed several policy or procedural items, some of which would require policy changes (or even a Charter Amendment), and others of which are more operational suggestions. The Subcommittee's discussion included items raised at the November joint study session as well as additional items introduced by the Subcommittee. The Subcommittee requested staff follow up after its February meeting and met again on June 26, 2024 to further refine its recommendations to the full Council.
On September 24, 2024, the City Council reviewed the Subcommittee's recommendations (RTC No. 24-0644) and provided the following direction:
1. Direct the Arts Commission to identify work plan items related to dynamic, interactive and literary art forms for 2025.
2. Increase the size of the Human Relations Commission from 5 to 7 members in time for the 2025 recruitment cycle.
3. Direct staff to return wit...
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