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Brownsburg hires consultant planner; town manager to serve as interim administrator
Summary
At its June 23 meeting the Brownsburg Advisory Planning Commission was told the town contracted a professional planner to work weekly while the search for a director continues; staff will continue to prepare formal recommendations and a new open-door law change will require additional agenda disclosures starting July 1.
Town of Brownsburg Advisory Planning Commission members heard June 23 that the town has contracted a professional planner to work one day a week and that Town Manager Cook will serve as interim administrator while the town continues its search for a planning director.
The announcement came after Commissioner Humphreys asked who will make formal recommendations on cases. Town Manager Cook said the consultant will assist staff but “she will not be serving as director at this point. It's just a consultant that will help us through.” Cook added, “I have contracted with a professional planner who's going to come in once a week, and she's going to start this Bridal. And she'll be working with staff and working on those recommendations.”
Why it matters: who prepares and signs staff recommendations matters for the administrative record that the Advisory Planning Commission uses when reviewing zoning and development cases. Commissioners pressed for clarity on whether recommendations would come from the consultant or town staff; staff confirmed recommendations that appear in staff reports will come from town staff and will be developed among members of the review team.
Commissioner Humphreys asked, “Who who is making the decision on recommendations at this point?” That prompted the town manager’s announcement and a later clarification from staff that “the staff report will include a staff recommendation and how that's been developed will be decided among the staff that's part of the review of all the various cases.”
Commissioners and staff also discussed how the town's Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) will guide staff recommendations. A staff member noted the UDO’s administrative provisions, saying the UDO “sets forth general administration procedures, I believe, in Article 1,” and that those procedures will be followed when interpretation is required.
Separately, a staff update flagged changes to the state open-meetings rules that take effect July 1. A staff member told commissioners the new law will require meeting notices and agendas for appointed boards to include each commissioner’s name, the authority that appointed them and the length of their terms. The staff member said the change will be reflected on future agendas so commissioners are not surprised when they see the additional information.
No formal personnel action was taken at the meeting; Cook said the town will continue recruitment while the consultant assists in the interim. The consultant’s weekly visits, staff said, are intended to help maintain case processing and packet preparation until a permanent director is hired.
