HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-22-21 Public Comment - R. Zimmer - Board Consolidation 2From:Ralph Zimmer
To:Cyndy Andrus; Terry Cunningham; I-Ho Pomeroy; Jennifer Madgic; Christopher Coburn
Cc:Jeff Mihelich; Greg Sullivan; Melody Mileur; Mike Maas; Jesse DiTommaso
Subject:Recommendations for Increasing Validity of Citizen Input
Date:Tuesday, June 22, 2021 11:41:10 AM
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Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Mayor Andrus
Deputy Mayor Terry Cunningham Commissioner I-Ho Pomeroy
Commissioner Jennifer Madgic Commissioner Christopher Coburn
From my perspective, there are two components to the proposed board consolidation: (1)
the decision on which boards to combine and how many members the resulting boards shouldhave and (2) nitty-gritty logistical details on such things as the process of selecting members,
tenure restrictions, etc. In this email I am going to address those nitty-gritty logisticaldetails. I have broached these details to the Bozeman (Area) Pedestrian and Traffic Safety
Committee (PTS or PTSC), but the following comments are basically my own commentsderived from many years serving on many committees (before I retired, I was routinely on
over thirty committees at a time and often chaired six or more of them) plus my own personalthoughts as a citizen.
What I am about to write is very similar to some statements I sent you about a month ago
but I am expanding on what I said then.
1. Membership should be open freely and equally to individuals residing within andoutside of the city limits. City employees live inside and outside the city limits. somepeople own property inside the City but live outside. Some people live say five milesoutside the city limits but work inside the city. All of this should be irrelevant. Thereshould be no language that exceptions could be made. Depending on their knowledgeand interests, everyone should be equally eligible for membership regardless of where they
live, work, or own property.
2. The chairperson of each Super Board and joint boards should be elected by thevoting membership of the respective board. (There could be a "backup" provision if theelected members do not elect their own chairperson for any reason.)
3. To insure true citizen input, agendas should be developed by the boardchairpersons in consultation with the staff liaison, not the other way around.
4. City staff should prepare DRAFT meeting minutes for approval by the boards.voting members
5. For ALL advisory boards, tenure restrictions should be no less than those of ourState legislators (i.e., eight years, not four years). This would foster institutional
memory and promote development of informed citizen input. It should be made clear ifservice on a direct predecessor group counts or does not count towards fulfilling thetenure restriction (e.g., service on the Parking Commission county towards tenurerestrictions on Transportation Super Board?)\. The tenure policy must make it clearhow gaps in service are counted (e.g., someone who "tenures out" after eight years ofservice is able to start another eight years of service id they sat out for say two years)..
6. Any ordinances and resolutions developed to implement the board consolidationshould be given to the existing boards at least one full month before they are presented tothe City Commission. That will enable the respective boards to consider the nitty-grittydetails at a monthly board meeting before the City Commission considers their adoption.
You may well ask how do these points affect citizen input. I will admit that eachindividual point probably has little effect. However, collectively they give the staff the
opportunity to shape the boards into they type of group giving the type of input that matchesthe staff's thoughts and desires. That means they are tending to give staff input, not citizen
input.
Let me mention just three things. First would be the staff selecting board chairpersonsrather than the boards selecting their own chairpersons. Second would be the proposal gives
the PRIMARY responsibility for preparing agendas to the staff rather than to the chairperson. Third would be the proposed very strict (i.e., short) tenure limits. That prevents a board
member from developing institutional memory and from staying on the board long enough todevelop the skills and knowledge needed to be a truly effective board member.
Let me take a step backward look at the big picture. The proposed consolidation will
decrease, not increase, the number of citizens serving on advisory boards. As I recall, theproposed consolidation would cut the total number of citizens serving on the City's advisory
boards by APPROXIMATELY half. Granted there would be a larger turnover in some ofthose slots when people like Ralph Zimmer are tenured out but looking out over an extended
period of time there still would be fewer citizens serving on boards.
However, it is not just a question of how many slots there are It is also a question ofwhat those slots are. Some citizens who have special interest or expertise in one particular
area may be more reluctant to volunteer for a board in which their particular interests are just asubset of the time and effort they will have to contribute. '
Ralph W Zimmer, Chairperson
Bozeman (Area) Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee
cc: Jeff Mihela ] Greg Sullivan
Melody Mileur Mike Maas
Jesse DiTommaso Marilee Brown