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Council debates mayoral appointment power for committees and term limits for members
Summary
Councilors discussed adding council consent to mayoral appointments to city committees to broaden participation and reduce perceived favoritism, and raised the possibility of term limits for committee members and elected officials as part of the charter review.
Councilors discussed changing the charter language that vests committee appointment power solely in the mayor and proposed adding a consent step by the council to make appointments more transparent and inclusive.
Councilor Andy Davis said the proposed change would insert a consent step of the council for appointments and removals to city committees, comparing it to a presidential appointment-with-senate-consent model. Councilor Andrea Melzarella and others said they had experienced frustration in past appointments and supported a clearer, more democratic appointment process.
The group also discussed term limits — councilor Liz Adams suggested exploring term limits for both council and committee members — and staff pointed to section 3.2 that already sets four-year terms for elected positions but does not limit consecutive terms. Council asked staff to check existing code and return with options for term-limit language if desired.
