Des Moines Citizens Advisory Board sets subcommittee size, term and reporting rules ahead of council confirmations

The Citizens Advisory Board agreed June 25 to formalize how its subcommittees will be structured and how the board will report to the City Council, adopting a minimum membership of three and a maximum of nine for subcommittees, a four-year subcommittee term with a two-year review, and a practice that a CAB member will take official reports to council meetings.

Those decisions were reached during a meeting convened as the city transitions the former Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) into the reconstituted Citizens Advisory Board. Bonnie Wilkins, director of administrative services for the City of Des Moines and acting staff liaison while Tara Vaughn is on vacation, told members they will “stagger the initial terms” after the council makes appointments. Wilkins said, “after tomorrow's appointments, we need to stagger the initial terms,” noting the city will assign initial two- and four-year terms to prevent the whole board from expiring at once.

The measures matter because the CAB and its subcommittees — including human services, senior services and arts — will screen…