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Commissioners debate placing responsibilities in bylaws vs. dated appendix
Summary
Onancock commissioners debated whether to keep a 'key responsibilities' list in the bylaws or move a detailed, dated version to an appendix and reference the town code. Several members favored an appendix with citations and attorney review.
Chairperson Greer led a detailed review of proposed bylaw language and a recommendation from Speaker 3 to remove a long "key responsibilities" section that duplicates the town code. Speaker 3 argued that embedding code text into bylaws would make the bylaws go out of date whenever the code changes and suggested leaving statutory responsibilities in the code and placing a short reference or dated appendix instead.
Several commissioners agreed to a compromise: retain a concise responsibilities statement in the bylaws for quick reference and put a fuller, dated responsibilities list in an appendix with citations to the town code. Committee members asked that the draft include code citations and hyperlinks in the online authoritative copy when the package goes to the town attorney for legal review. "I deleted all of that because it seems to me that that didn't belong in the bylaws," said Commissioner Holdren; commissioners asked staff to research the proper code sections before final submission to the attorney.
