Title
Approval of an Ordinance Amending Advisory Committee and Commission Membership
Recommended Action
Committee Recommendation:
General Government Committee unanimously recommends amending Municipal Code regarding the number of members on certain advisory committees and commissions and their appointment by the City Council.
City Manager Recommendation:
Move to approve on second reading the attached ordinance recommended by General Government Committee.
Report
Issue:
Shall the number of members be changed as recommended by General Government Committee?
Staff Contact:
Cathie Butler, Communications Manager, 360.753.8361
Presenter(s):
None. Consent Calendar Item.
Background and Analysis:
The background and analysis have not changed from first to second reading of the ordinance.
Number of Committee Members:
In 2012, General Government Committee recommended and Council approved changing the number of members on the Planning Commission from 11 to 9. When developing the recommendation, General Government Committee, with assistance from Councilmember Langer, discussed qualities of high performing committees, including optimum number of members. Staff also researched committee size in other Washington State communities and determined that most advisory committees and commissions have between 7 and 9 members, unless additional members are needed for certain tasks or a specific number is required by State law.
General Government also discussed this topic with advisory committee chairs in 2013 and 2014, and again at its March 18, 2015 meeting. Other than the Heritage Commission which has some task-oriented subcommittees due to the regulatory nature of its work, committee chairs concurred with the 9 member proposal.
Cross-Committee Appointments and Liaisons:
In addition, the chairs of Planning Commission and the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee asked that General Government discuss changing the long standing ordinance requi...
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