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Discussion of Advisory Boards and Commissions
PURPOSE: The purpose of this work session item is for the Town Council to discuss advisory boards and commissions.
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Department
DEPARTMENT: Town Clerk
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Contact
CONTACT INFORMATION: Wesley Barker, Town Clerk, wbarker@carrboronc.gov <mailto:wbarker@carrboronc.gov>, 919-918-7309
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Council Direction
COUNCIL DIRECTION:
_X__ Race/Equity ____ Climate ____ Comprehensive Plan ___Other
Council Direction Statement
The Town Council will discuss advisory boards and commissions at this work session. It should be noted that the Advisory Board Recruitment and Appointment Policy is currently being evaluated using the Racial Equity Lens tool. The Racial Equity Tools will be applied for any proposed amendments to advisory board policies and/or procedures that may come out of this work session and that would be brought back to Council for adoption.
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Information
INFORMATION: The discussion of advisory boards and commissions will include several topics that include the following: A) Potential Consolidation of Advisory Board and Commissions, B) Rule of Procedure for Town Boards and Commissions, C) Requested expansion of Climate Action Team, D) Remote Meetings, E) Liaisons Between Boards, F) Stipends, Childcare, Meals, and Transportation, and G) Interpretation Services. These discussion topics are included Part II in Attachment A. Some additional information relating to these topics are included below. A presentation on interpretation services will be made at the work session.
The current Rules of Procedure for Town Boards and Commissions is included as Attachment B. This document was last amended by Council on 9-13-2022 to add more context around number 12 of the Rules of Procedure entitled: “Remote Participation by Board and Commission Members.”
The Advisory Board Recruitment and Appointment Policy is included as Attachment C. This policy was adopted on 11-21-2017. Text amendments to this policy were approved by the Town Council on 12-1-2020 and 4-13-2021, respectively, to the section entitled “Composition” which related to expanding the racial and ethnic diversity on advisory boards and commissions.
An excerpt of the Town Code, which details information and makeup of the Climate Action Team (CAT), is included as Attachment D.
Attachment E is a draft amendment to the Carrboro Town Code, Chapter 2, Article II, which would add a new section, 2-19, entitled “Remote Participation by Council Members.” This has been drafted by the Town Attorney.
Attachment F includes compiled information on advisory boards and commissions from neighboring jurisdictions and some other jurisdictions similar in population size as Carrboro.
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Fiscal and Staff Impact
FISCAL IMPACT: There will be some fiscal impact if the Council approves stipends, or other services, for advisory board and commission members. These costs would need to be built into the advisory boards budget.
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Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION: At this time, there are no recommendations from staff as Council members will need to first discuss these various topics surrounding advisory boards and commissions and make any recommendations back to staff.
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