Bloomfield council tables SOP for appointments, reinstitutes committee on committees

Councilors debated a proposed standard operating procedure (SOP) governing appointments to town boards and commissions and decided to delay formal adoption pending additional committee review.

Councilors raised concerns about an "enhanced rubric" for evaluating applicants and said they wanted the full evaluation materials before voting. India Rogers, the director of operations and communications, told the council that staff planned to develop a rubric with committee input and suggested reinstituting a committee on committees to finalize the evaluation tools and process. "My idea was is that that was something that will be developed either through this committee or possibly down further in your agenda," Rogers said.

After discussion, a motion to table the SOP discussion was made and carried on a voice vote; the council agreed to postpone action until the committee on committees could take up the matter. Councilors repeatedly noted the backlog of volunteers waiting for appointments — one councilor said the town had "about 150 volunteers" and roughly 100 appointments outstanding — and urged a timely follow-up.

The council then moved to reinstate the council subcommittee on committees to shepherd the SOP review and appointment work. The motion to reinstate passed unanimously; the council named Councilor Gobin as chair of the subcommittee, with Councilor Debean Brown and Councilor Waterhouse as members. Councilors discussed giving the subcommittee an explicit charge to review the SOP, propose an evaluation rubric and return recommendations to the full council for a vote.