Washington County Health & Human Services on Oct. 28 presented amended bylaws for the Aging and Veterans Services Advisory Council (AVSAC) and described the process used to update the advisory council's governing document.

The board heard from Mira Samantel, director of Health & Human Services, and Rebecca Miller, AVSAC program supervisor, who said the amendments align the council bylaws with clarified federal rules from the Older Americans Act and increase visibility and clarity for veteran participation on the council.

Why it matters: The Older Americans Act (OAA) requires area agencies on aging to maintain a senior advisory council; updated federal rule language promulgated in 2024 required local AAAs to implement changes by October 2025, staff said. The proposed bylaws update clarifies member expectations, conflict-of-interest language and the council's purpose and membership composition.

Details presented to the board: Rebecca Miller told commissioners AVSAC is a 19-member council with 13 regular voting members and six alternate or nonvoting members. She said the membership framework largely follows OAA guidance and the state unit on aging's definitions of greatest social and economic need, though the county refines those categories based on a local four-year community needs assessment.

Miller said the updated bylaws add clearer language on veterans'involvement, creating a named position to ensure ongoing veteran representation rather than leaving veterans as general, unspecified members of the public on the advisory council. She said county council reviewed the draft bylaws during the advisory-council revision process and that AVSAC voted in September to forward the document to the board.

Board schedule and next steps: Miller told the board the amended bylaws will be placed on the consent agenda for the board's Dec. 9, 2025 meeting for formal consideration. She said the packet provided to the board includes the revised bylaws, a tracked-changes version and a separate member expectations and code-of-conduct document that the council will be able to amend without returning to the board in most small instances (changes would be reviewed by leadership and county counsel per the package description).

Comments from commissioners: Commissioners praised the work and asked questions about how the added veteran language would change AVSAC's work plan and annual area plan. Miller said that including veterans as a named role in the bylaws helps ensure that veterans will be identified as a distinct focus area in the county's four-year area plan and its annual updates.

Ending: Chair Catherine Harrington and commissioners thanked staff and volunteer council members for the review and the council's work group. Miller said she anticipates bringing the documents back as a consent item on Dec. 9 and offered handouts for commissioners and board staff.

Attribution: Remarks about the federal requirement and the council composition were taken from Rebecca Miller and Mira Samantel's presentation to the board; commissioners' questions and praise were reflected in the meeting transcript.