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City manager outlines plan to reorganize La Verne advisory committees; council asks for public input
Summary
La Verne27s city manager presented options to realign advisory committees into functional groups and to draft a uniform ordinance setting appointment and governance rules; council directed staff to return with a proposal in early 2025 after public outreach.
City Manager Ken Domer told the La Verne City Council on Oct. 21 that staff reviewed the city27s ad hoc and formal approaches to creating advisory committees and will return with a draft ordinance to standardize membership, appointment and removal processes.
Domer said the review, conducted beginning in 2023, found a mixture of resolutions and ordinances had been used and that only the Planning Commission holds discretionary authority by state law. "This is not something that I will bring back based on your direction in November or December," Domer said, "I see this being sometime in the first three or four months of 2025." He proposed grouping committees by subject (Public Works/Active Transportation, Community Services/Parks & Recreation, Finance/Measure LV oversight) and converting the Youth Sports body to a working group focused on scheduling and field use.
Members of the public urged the council to preserve cultural-heritage functions and broaden outreach. Kathy Kusk, speaking for the La Verne Historical Society, asked the council to add an architectural and scenic preservation commission to strengthen protections and to pursue state and federal grant opportunities. Another resident warned against shifting entirely to district appointments: "it becomes much more who's your buddy where do you live," the commenter said, urging that open application processes and broad outreach remain options.
Councilmembers emphasized intentional recruitment across districts, diversity and transparency in selection. Several members asked staff to produce an org chart showing how proposed committees would relate to departments and to return in February 2025 with a public-engagement plan and draft ordinance language. No action was taken; the item was for direction and public input only.
The city docket notes staff will prepare an ordinance draft and implementation timeline in early 2025 to carry out the changes discussed.
