El Paso council directs review of dormant or inactive boards and commissions

The El Paso City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to direct the city manager and city attorney to review all city boards and commissions to identify dormant panels, quorum problems and opportunities to consolidate or otherwise improve operations.

Council members said the review is intended to make boards and commissions work more efficiently and to ensure appointees are able and willing to serve. Mayor Pro Tem Chavez, one of the item sponsors, said the move follows an onboarding review and staff reports that some panels "have not met quorum in a while." "All we're asking is for the city attorney and the city manager to review these boards," Chavez said.

The item, placed by Chavez, Representative Rocha and Representative Trejo, drew support from colleagues who described examples of boards failing to meet and urged better communication with council offices about vacancies and resignations. Representative Limon said he had served on boards that met twice in two years because of quorum issues and called the situation "disheartening." Representative Acevedo urged clearer status labels on the city's public listings so residents and the media can distinguish dormant boards from active ones with vacancies.

Public commenters and current board members urged procedural fixes. Lisa Turner, who identified herself as a member of the El Paso Women's Rights Commission, told council that boards need the ability to set hybrid meeting rules, to record excused absences, and to use alternates or substitutes to preserve quorums. "We need something like that for our boards. So if you miss three or four times, then that should be an automatic disqualification if you haven't been excused," Turner said.

Council members made a motion to approve the direction; Mayor Pro Tem Chavez moved, Representative Acevedo seconded, and the motion passed unanimously.

Council staff will now work with the city attorney's office to inventory boards and commissions, identify those that are inactive or chronically under quorum, and return with recommendations on consolidation, revised quorum rules, substitute/alternate arrangements, or procedural changes to improve notice and member accountability. No specific timetable was announced at the meeting.

The vote does not itself change board charters or modify quorum rules; the motion directs staff to perform a review and report back.