HomeMy WebLinkAbout7A - Council Policy Guidelines for Boards and CommissionsCITY OF BOULDER
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM
MEETING DATE: Apri18. 2004
AGENDA TITLE Considerat~on of a mouon approvmg Council policy guidelines for boards
and commissions.
PRESENTERS Joann Roberts Stacy, Acting Ass~stant City Manage
Al~sa Lew~s , Director of Sup ort Services/C~ry Clerk
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY•
A d~scussion occurred at the recent Council retreat concernmg the relarionsh~p between the city's
Boards and Commiss~ons and the Council Listed below are a series of prmciples that staff
thought it heard durmg the Council's discussion. On March 9`h durmg the Council Dynamics
discussion, Council md~cated support for bringing these prmciples forward for Council approval
as follows Smce March 9`~', add~tions to the l~st of prmciples have been made at the suggestion
of city staff who work closely with Boards and Commissions. The list of suggested principles is
included as Attachment A for your review and considerat~on.
• Impacts:
Budgetary None expected.
Staff Time: If Council approves gu~dmg prmciples for Boards and Commissions, Joann
Roberts Stacy and ALsa Lewis will present these prmciples to the mdiv~dual Boards and
Comm~ss~ons, on behalf of Council. It is ant~cipated that this will take approximately 25
hours of staff time
Staff recommendation:
Staff recommends approval of the gwdmg prmciples for Boards and Commissions, as outlined in
Attachment A and with any changes or amendments as suggested by Council.
Approved By
Frank W. Bruno,
City Manager
• AGENDA ITEM q PAGE_1_
ATTACHMENT A
Board and Commission Guiding Principles
1) City pohc~es are estabhshed by the City Council. With the exception of limited (often
charter-based) circumstances, the role of Boards and Commissions is advisory to the city
Council.
2) All policy expressions on nat~onal, mternational and statewide ~ssues should come from
Council and not from md~v~dual Boards and Commiss~ons. Boards and Comrrussions
may suggest that Council take pol~cy pos~t~ons by resolution, but should not
mdependenUy issue such resolutions.
3) When several Boards and Commissions rev~ew elements of a given proposal or issue,
staff reports to Council should reflect the peispectives of all reviewmg Boards and
Commissions.
4) When members of a Board or Commissions disagree about a g~ven issue or pohcy,
Council expects to be appraised of the disagreements and of the reasoning underlymg the •
vanous pomts of view
5) City staff ultimately is responsible for supportmg Crty Council. Council expects staff to
prov~de the best professional ~udgment regarding issues and pol~cies, whether or not
Boards and Commissions agree with those professional judgments. Staff should inform
Council when a Board or Comm~ssion disagrees with the staff's posrtion and, when
possible, explam the basis of that disagreement.
6) It is CounciPs des~re to use Boards and Commiss~ons as the first step for gathering
communrty feedback on controvers~al issues as a means of crearing viable options.
7) The city manager is responsible for the budget recommendat~on to City Council. When a
Board or Comm~ssion disagrees wrth the city manager's budget, the manager should be
noti£ied as a matter of courtesy prior to the Board or Commission members addressmg
Council
8) Board and Commission members who w~sh to explain or advocate positions to Council
should ~denhfy themselves as a board members and clarify whether they are speakmg for
a personal pos~hon or on behalf of the major~ty or mmority position that the Board has
taken.
AGENDA ITEM # PAGE 2 •
9) Council members should iefrain from discussing with Board members any quasi judic~al
~ssues coming before the Board. For matters that are not quasi ~udicial, Council members
may discuss a pomt of view with Board members but should clarify that this perspective
may not represent the position of the Council as a whole.
10) Staff takes direcuon from the city manager, except as authorized by the Charter.
Boards and Commiss~ons may request research or other work of staff, but if the work
requires more than what staff determmes is reasonable, the Board or Commission,
supported by a ma~onty of inembers at a meetmg, must make a direct request of the city
council.
In add~t~on Che ciry mamtams a Board and Commiss~on Webs~te as an additional resource to its
Boards and Commissions. The site is located at
http //www ci boulder.co.us/cmo/boa~ds/bcmdex html
•
• AGENDA ITEM # PAGE_3_