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Goddard council adopts revised senior center advisory board ordinance and bylaws
Summary
The City of Goddard voted 5–0 to adopt revised ordinance language and bylaws for the senior center advisory board, clarifying that the board will provide input and volunteer support but will not hire staff or enter contracts; the council will approve bylaws and staff will solicit board input on director recruitment.
The City of Goddard council unanimously adopted revised ordinance language and bylaws for the senior center advisory board after a staff presentation that said the changes were meant to clarify roles and preserve volunteers' input.
"We have redrafted the senior center ordinance and bylaws to clarify the oversight and authority prior to hiring a new full time senior center director," the city attorney told the council during the presentation, saying the drafts make clear that advisory board employees "will report through the city's normal administrative structure" and that the board "does not hire, supervise, discipline employees, enter contracts, [or] approve spending outside the budget process." The attorney said the drafts also call for regular reporting to the board chair on expenditures, fundraising and grant activity.
The revisions, staff said, recognize the board "as a meaningful partner" whose institutional knowledge should inform programming and outreach while preserving the city's legal and financial authority. Council members asked questions about how the board would be involved during the director recruitment and how reporting would work while the director vacancy is active; staff said the city will solicit board input during recruitment and include the board in the director's annual performance evaluation.
Council moved to waive the reading of the ordinance and then voted to adopt the ordinance and bylaws; the roll call vote was 5–0.
The ordinance places governance and administrative responsibilities with the city while directing staff to provide consistent transparency to the advisory board. Staff said there is no direct fiscal impact from adopting the governance changes and that any reporting and administrative tasks will be absorbed into minimal staff administration of the senior center. The council also thanked volunteers and advisory board members for their engagement during the revisions.
The council recorded no separate amendment to the policy during the meeting; staff will return with final, cleaned‑up language after legal review if any clarifications are needed.
