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Council establishes nominating panel for honorary poet laureate, corrects library-board language
Summary
The council adopted a resolution creating a nominating committee for an honorary city poet laureate, amending the language to reference the Schenectady County Library Board of Trustees and setting a biannual appointment cycle beginning Sept. 8.
The City Government Operations committee on Monday approved a resolution to create a nominating committee that will select candidates for an honorary Schenectady Poet Laureate, and the council corrected the draft language to specify the Schenectady County Library Board of Trustees as one of the participating bodies.
Councilmember Williams said the draft returns to the council as a transparency measure and that the item does not create a civil-service position. Jim (city counsel) clarified the role is honorary and unpaid: “There is no civil service title for poet laureate. Honorary — this is an honorary title … they’re not an employee of the city,” he said.
Under the approved language, the nominating group will include representatives from four existing bodies and will allow those organizations to vet nominees; the council set Sept. 8 as the date to begin the biannual appointment cycle. Councilmembers discussed whether the nominating panel would accept public recommendations and agreed the panel would receive applicants once the resolution is adopted.
The committee passed the resolution with amended language and the council recorded the motion as approved by voice vote; staff said the nominating committee and the poet laureate role will be a living document that can be refined in future cycles.
