Seat Pleasant council approves multiple committee appointments and moves to reform charter

The Seat Pleasant City Council on Jan. 12 approved multiple citizen appointments to advisory bodies and confirmed members of a newly formed Charter Review Committee, taking steps the council described as intended to improve operational efficiency.

Council moved to appoint Ryan Walters to the Ethics Commission and subsequently approved Walters’ appointments to the Economic Planning and Growth Advisory Commission and the Charter Review Committee. The motion to appoint Walters to the Ethics Commission was moved by Speaker 10 and seconded by Speaker 4; that appointment was recorded as passing 5 to 1. Additional appointments — Robert Wood and Brianna Meadows — were approved for the Charter Review Committee (Brianna Meadows’ appointment was recorded as passing unanimously).

Council members discussed whether residents who are appointed should be invited to attend public sessions so the public can meet them. One council member suggested that applications for board and committee appointments be placed in executive content only when appropriate. Council members also raised the question of whether appointees should serve on multiple committees; staff said nothing in the charter forbids members from serving on multiple bodies except the personnel appeals board.

Speaker 10, who described originating the charter review idea, said the council wants a governing document that supports operational efficiency and urged more volunteers: the committee needs additional members to reach quorum for a full 10-member body. Council and the mayor said recruiting more volunteers will be a priority and suggested exploring modest stipends for some committees during the budget process.

What passed: Multiple appointments were approved by recorded votes during new-business items; the council also agreed to the initial membership of the Charter Review Committee and asked staff to continue recruitment. No charter changes were adopted at the meeting; the appointments create the working membership that will review the charter in future meetings.

The council did not set specific next-step dates for the charter review committee at the meeting, but members discussed holding the joint planning committee monthly and the full coalition (and by analogy the charter review process) on a quarterly schedule.