Miami Lakes councilors push draft attendance rules for advisory committees; chairs to review

Town of Miami Lakes committee chairs and council members on Feb. 4 agreed to circulate a proposed set of changes to the town’s committee attendance rules for review and comment by committee chairs.

The proposed changes, introduced by Vice Mayor Marrera and amended in discussion, would: reinstate a bright-line trigger tied to three unexcused consecutive absences or four nonconsecutive absences in a calendar year as grounds to begin a removal process; set an automatic removal if a member accrues five absences in the same year; clarify that serving on more than one committee does not let a removal or resignation on one committee affect membership on others; and prevent a person who was removed or resigned from returning to the same committee for a fixed period (the draft text sets 90 days).

Supporters said the rules are meant to stop what some speakers described as “gamesmanship” — members resigning to avoid an automatic termination and then being reappointed. Town staff and several committee chairs pressed for a straightforward notification and execution process so chairs and liaisons can enforce attendance standards rather than leaving enforcement to ad hoc council interventions.

Committee chairs raised exceptions and process details. The draft allows the chair to excuse absences for medical reasons, military orders, work obligations and other circumstances the chair deems appropriate; military activation would not count against quorum, the draft says. Several chairs asked for leniency for student members who miss meetings for school exams and for a clear process for notifying members and the appointing council member before removal.

Council members and chairs also discussed adding limits on reappointment after removal; one speaker recommended extending the 90-day ban in the draft to one year to prevent immediate reappointment by an appointee. The vice mayor and staff recommended circulating the current draft to all committee chairs by email, collecting edits over two weeks, and returning a consolidated proposal to council for formal consideration in March.

The council did not take a formal vote on a final rule at the Feb. 4 meeting. Instead, members agreed to a procedural step: the town will email the draft rule changes to committee liaisons and chairs, liaisons will collect feedback, and the vice mayor’s office will compile comments into one package for the council’s consideration. Staff said the item is expected to be brought back to the council as a proposed rule modification at a future meeting (target: March).