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Council splits over liaison assignments after mayor reassigns MCE representative
Summary
A council dispute over liaison assignments erupted when Mayor McMillan reassigned a Ross representative on the Marin County Energy (MCE) board and recommended other seat swaps; the council ratified the new assignments 3-2 after public debate.
A dispute over committee and joint-power authority (JPA) liaison assignments that began behind the scenes became a focal point of the May 8 Ross Town Council meeting, with council members split over whether the mayor acted appropriately in making assignment changes.
Council members said liaison appointments have traditionally been handled collaboratively, with the mayor asking council members which assignments they prefer before forwarding recommendations to the full council. At the meeting a council member (identified in public comment as an affected representative) said the mayor "unilaterally decided to remove me from the MCE board" without consulting the member. The council member urged colleagues not to ratify the assignments, calling the change "a troubling precedent." (Transcript: public comment by a council member raising procedure concerns.)
Mayor McMillan told the council she had received multiple complaints from members of the MCE board about the town's representative and recommended that Ross replace the sitting rep with another council member to preserve Ross's ability to influence regional decisions. "When a positive relationship no longer exists, we must find a new approach with a different person representing the town of Ross," Mayor McMillan said. She recommended Council Member Salter serve as alternate on MCE and move another council member onto ABAG.
Council members debated whether the mayor's actions followed the town's procedures manual. Some council members said the manual gives the mayor discretion to appoint liaisons each year; others said decades of practice favored collaborative assignment and that unilateral removals are uncommon and disruptive. One council member said members of the MCE board and several residents had written in supporting the outgoing representative.
After discussion and public comment, a motion to ratify the mayor's liaison and JPA assignments carried on a 3-2 roll call. Mayor McMillan, Council Member Dowling and Council Member Kircher voted yes; Council Member Salter and Mayor Pro Tem Robbins voted no. The council's vote immediately implemented the new assignments.
Ending: The council approved the new liaison assignments by majority vote. Several council members and members of the public asked that future liaison changes be handled more transparently and publicly to avoid similar disputes.
