Maricopa council seeks clearer roles, liaisons and code changes for standing advisory committees

Maricopa city council members, committee volunteers and staff met to review the city’s three standing advisory committees and agreed to pursue clearer role definitions, more active council liaisons and draft changes to city code.

Committee members, volunteers and several council members said the current rules leave committees underused and unclear about whether they should advise staff, run events or help implement projects. The council directed staff to prepare draft code changes and asked council liaisons and committee chairs to meet and develop annual objectives tied to the city’s futures planning process.

City code and the committees’ origin: The city’s standing committees named in the code are the Parks, Recreation and Libraries Advisory Committee; the Age Friendly Advisory Committee; and the Cultural Affairs and Arts Committee. Presenters read portions of the city code (referred to in the meeting as City code section 2.15.130) and Resolution 14-26 (which established the Age Friendly initiative) to explain existing duties and limits on committee authority.

Why it matters: Committee members and council liaisons said better definition and a clear annual calendar would let volunteers do substantive work — such as organizing the Age Friendly Expo or supporting cultural events — while keeping work within the city’s staff capacity. Several speakers tied committee planning to the council’s annual futures-planning and budgeting cycle so committee proposals that require staff time or funding can be assessed in advance.

What volunteers and council members said: Ron, an Age Friendly committee member, described prolonged frustration with limited opportunities: "We feel like we're sitting there and not doing much and can't contribute much," and urged the council not to discontinue the committee but to give it clearer tasks and support. Elizabeth Howell, also with the Age Friendly committee, said: "This is an opportunity for you guys to clarify what it is we're really supposed to be doing and how we're supposed to go about doing it." The City Manager told the council he believes "the staff liaison should not be the de facto committee chairman," and recommended giving committee chairs more authority to call meetings and use ad hoc subgroups.

Council direction and next steps: Council members generally supported reorganizing how the three committees function rather than eliminating them. The council indicated it will: - Have assigned council liaisons work with each committee chair to set goals and organize an initial meeting to define objectives and an annual calendar tied to futures planning. - Ask the City Manager and city staff (including the city clerk/Tina as staff contact) to draft revised committee language to replace restrictive or unclear code language, retaining only the existence of three standing committees in the municipal code and moving operational details into more flexible policy language. - Consider modest seed funding or budget adjustments, or encourage committees to seek sponsors, when committees identify work requiring staff time or money.

Committee-specific notes: The Age Friendly committee — established by Resolution 14-26 and described in meeting remarks as a seven-member advisory group — emphasized intergenerational programming, outreach and the annual senior expo. Cultural Affairs and Arts members and councilors discussed focusing the committee’s role on supporting local arts and culture groups (rather than running every event), possibly leveraging gallery sales or commissions to seed grant programs. The Parks, Recreation and Libraries grouping prompted discussion about whether it should remain combined or be restructured given parks, libraries and recreation now sit in different departments.

Other process issues highlighted: Volunteers and council members pressed for clearer expectations about meeting frequency (committee chairs should be able to call meetings as needed), training (the city now provides two trainings per year), public-notice obligations, and limits on committees doing staff functions. Several speakers recommended two council liaisons per committee at the outset to provide continuity across election cycles and to ensure coverage when one liaison is unavailable.

What was not decided: No formal ordinance or resolution was adopted during the session and no formal vote was taken to amend the code. Council members asked staff to draft proposed code revisions and for liaisons and chairs to produce committee goals for review at futures planning and later council consideration.

The council asked staff to return draft language and encouraged committees to present a brief annual report to council once objectives are set. The mayor also reiterated an interest in inviting youth participation on committees as a training and leadership opportunity.