Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance Commission Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Vacaville adopts new commission appointment policy and establishes applicant review committee
Summary
The council adopted a revised commission appointment policy creating an applicant review committee (two council members, department representatives, two community members) to vet candidates and provide a ranked list to the mayor; the council added an expectation that councilmembers not on the committee refrain from contacting applicants until mayor nominations are published.
The Vacaville City Council on Jan. 27 adopted changes to its commission appointment policy to create an applicant review committee that will screen and interview commission applicants and provide a ranked list to the mayor for appointment consideration.
City Attorney Andrea Bloboff said the committee would not remove the mayor’s appointment authority under California Government Code; it would provide vetted recommendations. The proposed committee membership is two council members, the department directors who staff the respective commissions (planning and parks & recreation), and two community members.
Council debated transparency and whether non‑committee councilmembers should contact applicants during the vetting period. Members agreed on a policy amendment asking councilmembers not on the applicant review committee to refrain from contacting applicants until the mayor publishes nominations for ratification, to avoid confusion for applicants and preserve the integrity of the vetting process.
Mayor John Carley appointed Councilmember Chapman and Councilmember Stockton to the review committee and named Kathleen Ramos and Sean McMahon as the two community members; the council ratified those appointments by voice vote. Staff will post the updated policy and proceed with the applicant review process for current commission vacancies.
The policy change also extends the retention of applications from six months to one year, clarifies that appointees filling vacancies serve the unexpired term, and makes other administrative adjustments to improve applicant transparency and recordkeeping.
