Hooper City Council adopts ordinance 2025-06 revising planning commission appointment process

The Hooper City Council on Dec. 18 adopted Ordinance 2025-06, which revises the city’s planning commission appointment process by removing the planning commission chair and a planning commission member from the selection panel and restoring prior language on removal of members.

Council discussion focused on who should sit on the selection panel and how removal should be handled. Council Member Hill said paragraph 5, which previously required "good cause" and a hearing before removal, should be retained; Hill moved to approve the ordinance with paragraph 3 amended to omit the planning commission chair and member and to keep paragraph 5 as in the current code. City Attorney Darren advised that appointment authority rests with the mayor but removal and procedures have legal implications; he said the interview panel would make recommendations while the council retained final approval.

Council Member Fowers seconded the motion. The ordinance motion carried following affirmation in the meeting (aye votes recorded for Fowers and Hill in the roll-call-style confirmation recorded in the discussion). The ordinance as amended limits the formal selection panel to the mayor, a council member, and the city planner, while leaving removal procedures (requiring council vote and previously existing hearing language) in place per the council’s direction.

Next steps: ordinance adoption completes this change in appointment procedure; implementation will follow existing administrative processes for recruiting and filling planning commission vacancies.