Charlottesville city leaders used a joint session on Sept. 11 to press staff for steps to address persistent recruitment and quorum problems on the Police Civilian Oversight Board, including a council request to explore compensating board members.

Acting PCOB Chair Jeff Frasier said the board is “really just dead in the water at the moment” because it cannot reach a quorum and urged the clerk and council to accelerate recruitment and extend application windows.

Council members raised compensation as a possible tool to increase participation. Several council members and staff said the city attorney had researched whether compensation is allowed under state law and that limited legal pathways exist, including recategorizing a board as an advisory body under Va. Code § 15.2-1411. City staff said a phased approach would allow council to prioritize which boards or commissions would receive compensation first and to return costs for budget approval.

City staff described other practical barriers to recruitment that they said reduce applicants from historically underrepresented groups: childcare, transportation and technology burdens for volunteer service. Councilors suggested nonfinancial options such as making those positions preferential in appointment scoring, but several members urged exploring pay first as a test because it might immediately reduce participation barriers.

On outside legal counsel, staff said the board has been without independent counsel for some time because of procurement rules and fee rates: staff reported high hourly rates from potential outside counsel and noted a recently issued RFI for counsel. A councilor said the city had previously budgeted roughly $500,000 for PCOB attorney fees in an earlier budget cycle; staff said attorney-fee funding and procurement limits complicate quick hires. Staff asked for direction and offered to produce options and a phased funding plan for council consideration.

The council asked staff to return with a proposal: identify a shortlist of boards to prioritize for compensation, outline legal steps to enable compensation, estimate costs and recommend a phased rollout. Acting Chair Frasier also requested the clerk extend listings to gather applications so the board can fill seats and restore quorum.

Ending: Council directed staff to study compensation options and recruitment steps and to bring recommendations back for council consideration; no compensation policy or budget change was approved at the meeting.