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Ross council ratifies liaison assignments after heated debate over mayor’s unilateral changes
Summary
The council voted 3–2 to ratify new committee and liaison assignments after objections from two council members who said the mayor had unilaterally reassigned them without following the procedures manual.
A majority of the Ross Town Council voted 3–2 on May 8 to ratify committee, subcommittee and liaison appointments the mayor made for the coming year after a protracted and at times rancorous debate over process and precedent.
Council Member Matt Salter and Council Member Elizabeth Dowling objected publicly to the way Mayor McMillan assigned representatives to joint powers authorities and regional boards, saying the mayor did not seek council members’ preferences before changing longstanding assignments. Salter said he was removed from the MCE (Marin Clean Energy) board without prior discussion and assigned to ABAG, which he opposed; Dowling said similar unilateral changes had disrupted board relationships and the MCE board itself.
Mayor McMillan defended her choices, saying the mayor’s authority under the procedures manual includes appointment power and that she received multiple complaints about a council representative’s conduct on MCE. She said her goal was to preserve the town’s ability to influence decisions by placing representatives who can maintain productive relationships on regional boards.
Council discussion included repeated calls from Salter and Dowling for the complaints to be aired publicly at the relevant boards rather than handled in private. Salter and others said they had received letters in support of keeping certain representatives on those boards; the mayor said she had received four complaints to her attention between December and April and had followed up with board members.
After a motion to ratify the mayor’s appointments, roll-call voting was: Mayor McMillan — aye; Council Member Dowling — aye; Council Member Kircher — aye; Council Member Salter — no; Mayor Pro Tem Robbins — no. The motion carried 3–2. A separate procedural motion to reconsider timing of the appointments earlier in the meeting was also made and carried; the council then ratified the appointments effective immediately.
Council members and members of the public urged clearer, more public processes going forward; several speakers recommended that liaison changes be discussed in public sessions or at the affected JPA boards rather than behind closed doors. The town manager and town attorney were asked to clarify procedures and the relationship between mayoral authority under the procedures manual and council expectations for collaborative appointment-setting.
