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Council divided over whether new committee would add bureaucracy
Summary
At a Newport workshop, one long-serving councilor opposed creating another committee, arguing council and staff should handle appointment issues; proponents said a temporary advisory group would create consistency and ease the workload on chairs and staff.
A longer-serving councilor pushed back on the proposal for an ad hoc committee, saying the council and staff already carry responsibility for the boards and commissions and that adding another committee would be duplicative. The councilor said they had not observed the problems described by proponents and that existing liaison and staff support should be used instead. “I would not support this,” the councilor said during the discussion.
Supporters including Councilor Smyth and Councilor Bennett said the proposal is not intended to take authority from council or chairs but to produce practical tools — a handbook, onboarding procedures and templates — that would make volunteer time more effective. Smyth emphasized the advisory character of the idea and pledged to change the draft wording to reduce concerns about oversight.
