Athens-Clarke County committee recommends streamlining several advisory boards, updates to BAC handbook

The Athens-Clarke County Government Operations Committee spent most of its April 20 meeting reviewing a wide-ranging staff report that recommends restructuring several locally appointed boards and commissions, clarifying how construction-code appeals are handled, and updating the BAC (boards and commissions) policy manual.

The staff presentation summarized outreach to commissioners, BAC chairs and staff liaisons and proposed a mix of changes: letting the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) handle infrequent construction-code appeals rather than maintaining a separate local Construction Board of Appeals; keeping separate pension and deferred-compensation oversight bodies; sunsetting the currently inactive Commission on People with Disabilities and folding disability work more explicitly into the Human Relations Commission’s remit; keeping the Tree Council, Greenway Commission, Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful and Athens in Motion as separate bodies but improving coordination and ex-officio representation; formalizing SPLOST oversight as a BAC moving forward; and consolidating the six existing TAD advisory committees into a single 10-member TAD advisory board.

Why it matters: the proposals are framed as efficiency and coordination measures while preserving technical expertise and local priorities. Staff told the committee that many of the affected BACs are high-functioning and resist consolidation, but that some boards meet infrequently or face quorum and staffing challenges.

On construction-code appeals, staff outlined three options: keep the local Construction Board of Appeals, assign appeals to the local hearings board or administrative hearing officer, or designate the DCA to hear appeals. Staff said the Construction Board of Appeals brings trade-specific expertise (HVAC, electrical, plumbing) that is valuable if an appeal is technical, but that appeals are now very rare. “Our deviation from those codes has been very limited,” the staff presenter said, noting Athens’ general alignment with state minimum codes. Several commissioners said their initial preference was to send such rare appeals to DCA because the state writes and interprets the underlying codes, while retaining local ability to adopt targeted local deviations.

Committee members and BAC chairs raised recurring trade-offs: consolidation can reduce coordination overhead but can sacrifice subject-matter knowledge or the ability to align with national/state partner structures. For example, Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful (KACCB) described benefits tied to being part of a national/state network and operating a nonprofit arm that helps with donations and program delivery; the Tree Council noted that an identified tree board is required to maintain Tree City USA status, which supports federal grant competitiveness. Staff said one targeted change would reduce the Tree Council’s membership from 15 to 12 to help with quorum troubles.

The committee discussed SPLOST and T-SPLOST oversight structures at length. Staff’s recommendation is to formalize SPLOST oversight as a BAC (ordinance-based) for future cycles, while allowing existing mayor-appointed citizen committees (which helped design referendum packages) to complete their current charges. For TADs (tax allocation districts), staff proposed consolidating six advisory committees into a single committee to centralize local technical knowledge and make it easier to assemble district representation; staff said that consolidation could be phased so standing TAD advisory groups may opt in as appropriate.

Committee members also reviewed proposed changes to the BAC handbook. Key policy changes in the draft manual include: requiring a staff liaison to be a nonvoting member unless the ordinance specifies otherwise; prohibiting dual service on more than one BAC where specified; a clearer attendance/removal process and an expedited reappointment pathway for high-performing volunteers; and a requirement that bylaws be consistent with the enabling ordinance and filed with the clerk. Staff explained the proposed automatic-removal triggers: relocation outside the county; failure to complete required training within 180 days; or absenteeism defined as missing 50% of the prior year’s meetings, missing six of the last 12 meetings, or missing three consecutive meetings. The draft also includes an appeal process for removals and an option for BACs to refer a removal recommendation to the commission for final action.

Budget, timing and next steps: staff said consolidating certain oversight functions and adding stipend payments would carry implementation costs; the draft packet includes a cited annual fiscal impact of roughly $47,000 tied to formalizing consolidated SPLOST/T-SPLOST oversight and related handbook changes. The committee asked staff to hold the handbook for additional review and agreed to return to several membership-determination questions at the next meeting. Staff said ordinance changes would be required for most formal structural changes; one item (Athens in Motion) is currently enabled by resolution and staff recommended moving it to ordinance if consolidation or formalization is pursued.

What committee members said: some commissioners urged retaining local control where subject-matter familiarity is important; others emphasized efficiency and the infrequency of some appeals or meetings. Commissioner Fisher said his initial view was to send rare construction-code appeals to the Department of Community Affairs. Multiple BAC chairs and liaisons provided written feedback and made clear high-functioning groups prefer to remain independent but favor improved cross-BAC coordination and shared annual reporting.

The committee did not take final ordinance votes at the meeting; staff will draft specific ordinance language and return with a redlined BAC policy manual and membership proposals for further review.