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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-143 - ADMIN Resolution - City Council - 2003/10/07RESOLUTION NO. 03-143 A RESOLUTION AMENDING RESOLUTION #01-023 RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS WHEREAS, the St. Louis Park City Council has established certain boards and commissions to serve as advisory to the City Council; and WHEREAS, the City Council wishes its various boards and commissions to comply with all regulations to which they are subject concerning conduct of meetings including those provisions contained in the Minnesota State Statutes, the City Charter and the Municipal Code; and WHEREAS, The attached rules and procedures will serve as a guideline for operating those boards and commissions and set standards for the conduct of staff and commission members. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of St. Louis Park hereby amends the "Rules and Procedures for Boards and Commissions" attached as Exhibit A and shall adhere to the rules as stated therein unless revised by a majority vote of the City Council. Reviewed for Administration: Adpted by the City Council October 7, 2003 4,e- / ty anager / Attest: CI Clerk Ma . / A Resolution No. 03-143 -2- Rules and Procedures for Boards and Commissions Adopted as Appendix A to Resolution No. 03-143 October 7, 2003 A. Boards The St. Louis Park City Charter grants the council authority to form various boards and commissions by ordinance. Boards and commissions serve in an advisory capacity to the city council and are conferred various degrees of decision making power. The City Council is the sole policy making body of the city. Some boards and commissions include in their membership persons appointed by the school board. Boards and commissions of the city which have been created by ordinance are as follows: • Board of Zoning Appeals • Charter Commission • Economic Development Authority 2 • Housing Authority • Human Rights Commission • Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission • Planning Commission 411„. • Police Advisory Commission • Telecommunications Commission In addition, other ad hoc groups may be formed as needed by resolution of the council. B. Staff Liaisons Each board and commission is assigned a staff liaison. Duties of the staff liaison are, in general, to facilitate or assist in the meetings, to record attendance and to provide information and direction as requested by the commission. It is also the responsibility of the staff liaison to inform the city council of any problems or issues that may arise. C. Membership Membership requirements are set by ordinance. All board and commission members are appointed by the council or, in some cases, by the school board. Youth members may be appointed and are conferred voting status except in the case of the Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals. The Charter Commission operates under the same rules and procedures with certain exceptions. Charter Commission members apply to and are appointed by the District Court and are created by and subject to provisions dictated by state statute rather than city ordinance 2 The ordinance creating the Economic Development Authonty (EDA) specifies that the membership of the EDA will be comprised of the current membership of the City Council. Resolution No. 03-143 -3- D. Qualifications Members must be St. Louis Park residents, but need not have expertise in any particular area. Willingness to serve and be involved are the most important attributes of members. Per Resolution #01-078, the city council will not consider applications for appointment to advisory commissions from regular full-time or part-time employees. E. Attendance Regular attendance at meetings is a requirement for continued membership on any board or commission. Irregular attendance and frequent absences are detrimental to the entire group and put undue pressure on those members who do attend meetings. Regular attendance allows members to learn about and discuss issues in depth which contributes to more effective decision making. Continued absenteeism is considered grounds for dismissal by the council. F. By -Laws Each board and commission shall create their own by-laws and meeting procedures. Copies of the by-laws should be forwarded to the city manager's office whenever changes are made. G. Meetings Meeting times and locations are set according to each commission's by-laws. A quorum of the board is made up of a majority of members currently appointed. All meetings will be conducted in accordance with the Minnesota Open Meeting Law, the City Charter and the Municipal Code of Ordinances. The proceedings of the meetings should be conducted using standard parliamentary procedure. The City Council has adopted The Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure, as their guide and that publication is available in the clerk's office. A simplified summary of these procedures is also available for use by commission chairs and staff liaisons. H. Minutes and other Records Minutes of each meeting should be prepared and maintained by the staff liaison or designee. Following commission approval minutes should be forwarded to the city clerk's office for placement on the city council agenda. All board and commission records must be maintained in accordance with the city's records retention policy. Please contact the city clerk's office if you have questions regarding retention and preferred storage medium. I. Annual Report Each board or commission must report to the council once per year. A wntten report should be prepared which includes activities undertaken in the past year and goals for the coming year. council will then meet with the group in a study session to discuss the report and other issues of concern to the commission. The report should be submitted to council for review prior to the study session meeting. Resolution No. 03-143 -4- J. Recruitment When a vacancy occurs it is the responsibility of the staff liaison to inform the city manager's office of the vacancy. Recruitment is typically done using any combination of advertising opportunity available. Local newspaper, Park Perspective, direct mailing, neighborhood newsletter, the city's website, etc. are all acceptable forms of advertisement. Applications are maintained by the city manager's office and are forwarded to interested citizens upon request. In certain instances a supplemental application may be created to determine suitability of candidates. Upon receipt of the application a representative of the city manager's office will contact the applicant to acknowledge receipt of the application and to discuss the interview and appointment process. Applications will be retained in the active file one year following receipt. K. Candidate Review Process Wntten applications are forwarded to councilmembers for review as openings occur. Councilmembers will inform the city manager's office of the candidates they wish to interview based upon their review of wntten materials. Interviews are conducted by the city council, usually prior to a Monday evening meeting. Following the interview the city manager's office will mail a thank you letter to each applicant with information regarding next steps in the process. L. Appointment Appointments are made by the city council at a regular meeting of the council. Council will inform the city manager's office when an appointment is to be made so that the appointment can be added to the city council agenda. Following the appointment the city manager's office will contact the new member and inform them of their appointment. A copy of the application will also be forwarded to the staff liaison. The staff liaison will provide the new member with meeting information and discuss expectations and pertinent issues with them prior to the next meeting of the board or commission. Appointments are sometimes made to unexpired terms, and often more than one vacancy exists on a commission. In that case, the specific term occupied by the new member is determined by the commission and communicated to the city manager's office. M. Rosters The staff liaison is responsible for keeping an up to date roster of the commission which should include contact information, term of office and date of appointment. When information on the roster changes, a change form should be completed and forwarded to the city manager's office. Resolution No. 03-143 -5- N. Reappointment Reappointments are made as needed by the city council. Performance and attendance by Board and Commission members requesting reappointment will be considered by the Council. Council may choose to reinterview any commission member as a means to determine whether the commission member should continue to serve. A member may continue to serve beyond their expiration date until a reappointment is made. 0. Resignation When a resignation occurs, a change form should be completed and forwarded to the city manager's office along with a copy of any correspondence that may have been received. The city manager's office will then initiate recruitment to fill the vacant position. A member may continue to serve beyond their expiration date until a successor is appointed. P. Recognition At the beginning of each year council will recognize members who have left their position during the prior year. The city and school volunteer coordinators will plan appreciation activities for all commission members every two years.