PRECA 03-02-1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Concept Plan; Reorganization of City Advisory Boards and Commissions BACKGROUND New Brighton's advisory boards and commissions have been created over the years to address certain legal and policy needs of the city council.. Many had a functional relationship to a city department's responsibilities or to issues that were particularly-salient at one time. As the council and staff reviewed the city's goals and 5 year plans at a recent retreat it became obvious that our boazds and commissions may not be structured in a way that most effectively allows them to address problems and issues that move the city towazds accomplishing its goals. Nor does the structure encourage citizen involvement in our democratic process. The effect of this has been evident in the poor attendance at some committees and the confusion over roles and purposes at others. At the retreat, council and staff discussed what made a board and commission valuable from the perspective of a member, staff, and council. The ideas generated include the following: Member's perspective as to what makes a committee effective: -outcome or product is seen as useful -significant purpose -opportunity to change things or power to influence (listened to or actual outcomes are achieved) -cohesiveness among members in that the group works well together -celebrations-substantiates worth of the group's effort -meaningfulness and consistency of task -good process for decision malting -beneficial to the member Staff's perspective as to what makes a committee effective: -ideas that make a difference for the community -better insights that support outcomes that the staff is trying to achieve -lack of conflict with the group -members aze committed -knowledge or ability of the members relative to the Boazd or Committee's purpose -clear understanding on a part of the members as to what the role of the committee is, relative to the city organization Council's perspective as to what makes a committee effective: -conflicts are anticipated and dealt with before they become problems The council identified several committee structural questions that they would also like to discuss and implement changes where deemed appropriate. They include the following: -size of committees -whether chairs should be appointed by council or elected by members -whether membership terms should be limited -what is the best way to recruit and select members -who should staff the groups -how should poor attendance be handled