Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Committee Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parks board discusses enforcing 75% attendance rule for citizen committees, asks staff to draft procedures
Summary
The board reviewed a Volunteer Coordinating Committee proposal to formalize a 75% attendance standard for advisory committees and asked staff to draft clearer procedures for chairs and the recorder's office to handle absences and potential removal.
Board members on March 10 discussed ways to make the city's existing 75% attendance requirement more operational across committees, including clarifying the role of chairs, creating an excused/unexcused absence distinction, and giving staff guidance on how to follow up with members who miss multiple meetings.
Councilor Kohler, who serves as liaison to the Volunteer Coordinating Committee, said some committees have members who do not attend regularly and that staff need clearer direction to ensure quorums. "The volunteer coordinating committee doesn't have the authority to bump somebody off a committee," Kohler said; the board discussed whether a clearer multi-step communications process could speed resolution and reduce quorum problems.
Board members stressed compassion for life events while also urging more proactive chair involvement and earlier outreach to members with attendance challenges. The board requested that staff return with recommended language and procedures so chairs and the recorder's office have a consistent way to handle attendance issues.
