Council directs policy revision on board alternates, names temporary alternate for solid waste advisory board

Vancouver City Council on Feb. 3 directed the city attorney to return with proposed revisions to Council Policy 01/1933 to create a clearer process for naming alternates and to provide the mayor discretion to appoint last‑minute replacements for required board representation.

Nina (city attorney’s office) summarized the existing process: the mayor consults councilors at the start of each year about board and commission assignments and presents recommendations to full council for approval. Council asked staff to draft policy language that, beginning in 2026, would require the mayor to appoint both a primary member and an alternate for boards where council participation is required, and to permit the mayor to appoint a “last‑minute” temporary replacement for a single meeting if both the primary and alternate are unavailable.

Because a Solid Waste Advisory Board meeting was scheduled for the week of Feb. 3 (Feb. 6), and an assigned alternate could not attend, council used the interim authority available on the dais to nominate and appoint Councilor Diana Perez as the alternate alternate to the Solid Waste Advisory Board for that specific meeting. The motion to appoint Perez passed by voice vote.

Councilors discussed preferences for flexibility rather than a rigid alternate‑to‑alternate list; some members suggested using a quick availability check among councilors to identify a last‑minute replacement rather than relying exclusively on multiple predesignated backups. Staff said they will return with proposed policy language to implement the changes for the remainder of 2025 and the full annual process beginning in 2026.

Council also requested staff check whether particular board bylaws would limit interim appointment options for voting at some boards; staff said they would include those considerations in the policy revision.