To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Sally Misare, Town Clerk
Title
Discussion/Direction: Interview and Appointment Process for Citizen Boards and Commissions
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
Each year, the Town of Castle Rock solicits applications from citizens interested in volunteering to serve on the Town’s Boards and Commissions. The ad asking for volunteers is currently running in the News Press, and information regarding current vacancies is available on the Town’s website. The deadline for submitting applications is April 22nd.
Below is an overview of the past process used for interview and appointment of Board and Commission members. Staff is seeking direction from Council as to whether this process should be continued, or whether there are changes which Council would like to make to the process.
Discussion
The Town currently has openings on 11 Citizen Boards and Commissions. Commission members serve staggered two year terms, (except for the Election Commission, which by Charter has three year terms), and are limited to a total of three, two year terms, or six years. All Boards and Commissions have some vacancies each year. Current members of a Board or Commission who wish to continue serving must apply for reappointment.
Historically, interviews for all vacancies have been conducted on a single night. This allows citizens applying for multiple openings to participate in interviews for each one. The scheduling of these appointments is coordinated by the Town Clerk’s office.
The general guidelines for conducting interviews and scheduling appointments that has been followed by Council in past years are as follows:
1. Copies of all applications for all Commissions will be distributed electronically to each Councilmember.
2. Applicants are interviewed by a panel of three people including:
a. The primary Council liaison to the Commission, or where no liaison is assigned, the Councilmember member designated to act as a liaison to the Commission for the purpose of interviewing applicants. In the past the Town Clerk was given the discretion to make these assignments on an as needed basis. If Council would prefer to make these assignments, please advise.
b. The Chairman of the Commission, or if unavailable, a person designated by the Chairman for the purpose of interviewing applicants If the Chairman of the Commission is applying for appointment, an alternate representative must be designated. (Staff liaisons will contact their Commission to inform him/her of this process)
c. The Staff liaison to the Commission. The primary function of the staff liaison will be to advise the applicant on technical issues related to the functions of the Commission. The staff liaison will not make recommendations regarding appointments.
3. All interviews are conducted at Town Hall. If an applicant is unable to attend an interview on the designated evening, it is left to the discretion of the sub committee to determine an alternate time for an interview if desired. The Town Clerk schedules interviews approximately 15 minutes apart; applicants will report to the Town Hall Atrium and will be directed to the appropriate room for interviews. The Sub Committee should interview all applicants for a Commission, including incumbents, and including those who indicated that a certain Commission was their second or third choice.
4. In prior years, the issue as to whether the interviews were open to the public was raised. The Town Attorney’s office advises there is no legal requirement to have these interviews be open, however the final determination on this issue is at the discretion of Council.
5. Prior Councils directed that no citizen should be appointed to more than ONE commission. Those citizens who are already serving on a commission, and selected for appointment to different commission, will be offered the option of which Commission to serve on. Appointment to one Commission may be made contingent on resignation from another Commission.
6. Once all interviews are completed, recommendations for appointment will be submitted to the Town Clerk. The Clerk will work with staff liaisons to determine if there are citizens recommended for appointment to more than one commission, and to work through any issues related to the applicant’s preferences and the needs of the Town. A list of those applicants recommended for appointment will be circulated among Councilmembers. Councilmembers are encouraged to share any concerns regarding recommended appointments and to advise the Clerk as to any recommended changes to appointments.
7. There is NO requirement to appoint everyone who applied for a certain Commission, even if the number of applicants was less than or equal to the number of vacancies.
The above outline summarizes the procedures that have been used in the past; Council has discretion to make any changes to the process which it deems desirable or appropriate. If Council chooses to use this process again, staff will be requesting a Special Meeting on May 10th in order to conduct the interviews.
Please let me know if you have any questions.