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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCitizen Advisory Board Onboarding Manual 2021-11-24CITIZEN ADVISORY BOARD O N B O A R D I N G M A N U A L 2 0 2 1 A BRIEF INTRODCUTION TO CITIZEN ADVISORY BOARDS Congratulations on being appointed to a citizen advisory board for the City of Bozeman! On behalf of the City, we want to thank you for your willingness to participate in local government. This manual is intended to help you understand the scope, responsibilities, and expectations of your service. Citizen Advisory Boards have been used in American municipal government since the 1970s as a way for local governments to engage citizens in political processes that help shape policy. Their primary purpose is to provide advice from a citizen perspective. Ideally they are made up persons with diverse interests and expertise in order to bring together viewpoints that may not otherwise be heard. The City of Bozeman has set out to “broaden and deepen engagement of the community in city government, innovating methods for inviting input from the community and stakeholders by restricting or combining city boards and committees to more effectively advise the City and engage the public” (Strategic Plan Section 1.2 Community Engagement). In order to achieve this goal, the Bozeman City Commission voted to consolidate some citizen advisory boards and put forth a uniform set of norms, expectations, and clearly defined duties (Resolution 5323) for all citizen advisory boards. This manual intends to expand upon Resolution 5323 so all who participate in the advisory board process clearly understand expectations, norms, procedures, and their role in city government. The first section of this manual is a resource for board members. If you, as a board member, have any further questions, please reach out to your Staff Liaison. The second half of this manual is intended for Staff Liaisons. We encourage everyone who is participating in a citizen advisory board to read both sections to get a full picture of the citizen advisory board process. Lastly, this manual is designed to be a living document and may change as necessitated. The most current version of this document will be publicly available in the City’s High Performing Boards folder within the Laserfiche repository. TABLE OF CONTENTS Part 1 Board Members Agendas Meetings Board Member Expectations Advisory Board Work Plans Part 2 Liaisons and Administrative Staff Agendas Meetings Staff Expectations Appendix 1 2 3 5 6 8 8 10 11 13 Part One Board Members A further description of the duties of the Presiding Officer (Chair and Vice–Chair) can be found in Appendix A, Section 2 of Resolution 5323. All board members are expected to have reviewed the meeting materials in advance every meeting in order to make an informed responsible decision. Citizen Advisory Board members are appointed by the City Commission, or in some cases, by only the Mayor. This makes all board members public officers. While almost all boards have different requirements for their membership, all boards consist of a Commission Liaison, a Staff Liaison, a Chair and Vice-chair, and voting members. Their general responsibilities are as follows: Commission Liaison: It is the Commission Liaison’s responsibility to serve as the primary contact with the Board to the City Commission, assist with resolving questions regarding the role of the City Commission, Staff, and the Board, and make recommendations to the City Commission regarding the Board’s work plan. Staff Liaison: It is the Staff Liaison’s responsibility to provide logistical support to assist in the running of efficient meetings, provide subject matter expertise, and assist in Board specific training. Chair: It is the Chair’s responsibility to facilitate a productive and fair meeting. Chairs will also help the Staff Liaison in the agenda creation process. Vice-chair: It is the Vice-chair’s responsibility to be familiar with the required protocols in order to run a meeting in the absence of the Chair. We will refer to whomever is running a meeting as the “Presiding Officer”. Voting Members: Voting members need to be familiar with the items on an agenda in order to make informed decisions for our community Page 1 Agendas An agenda lays out meeting activities in the order they will be taken up. Meeting agendas are important for a variety of reasons. They ensure meetings are efficient and productive as well as provide notice of the topics to be discussed and actions to be considered to the public so they may participate. Agendas will be published no later than 48 hours preceding the meeting. As put forth in Resolution 5323, all agendas will follow the same general format: Call to Order This will be done by the Presiding Officer. It indicates the official beginning of the meeting. Disclosures Board members will use this time to disclose any conflicts of interest and/or any communications that may bias their ability to make a fair decision. Changes to the Agenda If an item needs to be removed from the agenda, it will be announced at this time. No action can be taken on items that were not publicly noticed so this section will never include items to be added. Public Service Announcements This time can be used to inform the public of relevant upcoming events. Approval of Minutes Minutes from past meetings must be approved by the board. It is best practice to do this at every meeting in order to keep records up to date. Consent Items Consent items are for routine business that requires little to no discussion in an effort to facilitate efficient use of meeting time. Any item may be pulled from the consent agenda for additional discussion at the request of a board member. Public Comments The agenda for a meeting, as defined in 2-3-202, MCA, must include an item allowing public comment on any public matter that is not on the agenda of the meeting and that is within the board’s jurisdiction (Local Government Board Handbook). The board cannot take action on a matter raised in Public Comment that did not appear on the agenda in advance. Page 2 Special Presentations This is the place for the delivery of information, does not require Board deliberation, and is not related to a specific action by the board. Action Items This is the place for all items that require a vote by the board. Generally, these items include a presentation, public comment period, discussion, and a vote (See Resolution 5323, Appendix A, Section 6). FYI/Discussion This is the place for general discussions that are not expected to lead to a decision, recommendation, or vote by the board. Primarily this is to follow-up on questions from previous items from the meeting, generally identify items that may be scheduled for future actions, or to seek additional information from staff. Adjournment This will be done by the Presiding Officer. It will indicate the official end of the meeting. Meetings Having a meeting may sound very straightforward, but there is some nuance in what constitutes a meeting. Those nuances lead to a few more questions like: “Can we have a meeting?” “What is a quorum?” & “Are we having a meeting by accident?” According to Montana’s “Open Meetings Law” (2-3-201, MCA), a quorum is legally required to conduct business. A quorum is defined in Resolution 5323 as a majority of all board members. It states “If a quorum is not present, those in attendance shall be named and the board shall adjourn to a later time” (Resolution 5323 Appendix A, Section 7). Because a quorum can be convened by either physical presence or by means of electronic equipment (2-3-202, MCA) board members must be very careful not to violate Montana’s open meetings law by discussing items via email. Meetings consist of the following elements: Roll Call / Call to Order In order to ensure there is a quorum present on the official minutes, the Presiding Officer will do a roll call in the call to order. IF a quorum is not present, then this board may not meet. Page 3 Voting Board members will vote on the approval of minutes, the consent agenda and any action items before the board. This requires a member of the board to make the motion and another member of the board to second the motion. Once a motion has been made and seconded, then all board members (including those who made the motioner and seconder) will vote by roll call. Roll Call Voting All votes will be done by roll call. The Presiding Officer, or Staff Liaison, will say the name of each board member present, then await for their response. The staff member who is taking minutes will record the vote for the public record. Generally, the motioner and the seconder are called first in the vote followed by the rest of the board. Voting on a consent agenda As consent items are items are routine business and require little to no discussion, a board can vote on multiple consent items at one time. To vote on multiple items at one time, the motion would read “I move to approve consent items 1-4 as submitted.” If a board member would like to remove a consent item for further discussion, the motion can be adjusted to remove that item (example: I move to approve consent items 1-2 and 4 as submitted.) The removed item will then be voted on separately after discussion. Voting on an action item Action items are voted on after a presentation, questions of presenter, public comment period and discussion. Action Items will have recommended motion language in the agenda, but that language can be adjusted. If a motion for an action item is adjusted, it will be reflected in the minutes. Voting on an amendment Amendments can be made to any motion by any member of the board. If an amendment is made to a motion, and seconded, the amendment will be voted on before the original motion is voted on. Abstaining from a vote If a conflict of interest exists for a board member, they are required to recuse themselves from an item. In the case of a meeting by digital platform, the recused member will leave the platform and await notification from the Presiding Officer or staff. As per Resolution 5323, Appendix A, Section 7(E), a board member has an obligation to vote unless there is a conflict of interest. There is no abstaining from a vote permitted. If you believe you will need to abstain, please contact the City Attorney. Page 4 Adjournment The Presiding Officer will officially adjourn the meeting at the conclusion of the board’s business. If there is no quorum present in the roll call, the Presiding Officer will adjourn the meeting after the roll call. Executive Sessions Executive sessions are the only time a meeting of a board or commission may lawfully be conducted privately. It is very rare for an advisory board to use executive sessions. Citizen advisory boards will only hold executive sessions in order to protect an individual’s personal privacy or when discussing litigation strategy. If your board needs to conduct an executive session and there are questions, please contact the City Attorney prior to the meeting Board Member Expectations Be prepared in advance of the meeting, be attentive, and to participate Commit sufficient time to ensure regular and punctual attendance Notify the Staff liaison and Chair as soon as they know they will be unable to attend a meeting Notify the Staff liaison of any changes to their contact information All appointed board members are expected to abide by both the City’s Code of Ethics, the State of Montana’s Code of Ethics, and Resolution 5323. In order to make informed decisions in an efficient manner, the City asks all board members, presenters and staff to: Communicating (See Resolution 5323 Section 2) The members of Citizen Advisory Boards are afforded a unique opportunity to assist in the crafting of policy for the City of Bozeman. As such, Board members shall adhere to the “one body, one voice” principle in communications related to matters under the Board’s purview. In essence, this principle is providing the actions of the board as the official stance on a matter before them. Citizen Advisory Boards are not courts and do not offer dissenting or concurrent opinions. Board member arguments for and against an item are available in the recording and the minutes of a meeting. Training Board members must complete all on-boarding, ethics, and subject matter trainings within six months of appointment. The Staff Liaison will schedule a six month check-in with newly appointed members. As availability allows, the City may provide additional trainings related to effective meetings, board specific subject matters, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Page 5 Media Requests ******************************************************************** Advisory Board Work Plans Must connect to the City Commission strategic priorities. The City Commission will set their priorities and the advisory boards will create their Work Plans to assist in the accomplishment of those items. Must be finite (What is the deliverable? Recommendation on policy or prioritization between policies? Hold a specific event (i.e. clean up day)?) Must be measurable (How is success defined, was a recommendation or priority provided? Did an event happen? Did a specific work product get completed, i.e. Parks and Trails Plan?) Must be implementable (staff time and budget; boards do not allocate or appropriate funds, but may provide input on the budget process/request funding policy development/prioritization) Must be achievable within two years (large-scale, multi-year projects should be broken down into manageable sections) Commission sets two-year priorities in January after election February-March Advisory Boards develop and provide the Work Plan for acceptance by the City Commission. Why? In order to ensure that meetings are productive, stay on task, and provide meaningful advice to the City Commission, each board will design a 2-year work plan. The keys to these work plans will be the Purpose, the Focus Areas, and the Powers/Duties assigned to each board in their enabling resolution. Requirements of a Work Plan Item There are five requirements that must be met in order for an item to be included on the Work Plan. Items that are not on the accepted Work Plan, or later explicitly assigned to the advisory board, are not to be undertaken. The five requirements are: Process The Work Plan creation process will follow the general timeline of: o The Staff Liaison will off a list of suggest work plan items o The first meeting should be to discuss items for inclusion, the second meeting should be to refine the list and identify the Work Plan specifics. Page 6 April-May staff prepare the budget requests for City Manager recommendation; Work Plans need to be presented to the City Commission for acceptance prior to the creation of the City Manager recommended budget. June budget adopted July new fiscal year December check-in/report on progress on work plan and provide a report to City Commission. The board will review items on its Work Plan and identify those that are complete (green), in-progress (yellow), or not yet started (red). Purpose - Use board purpose as criteria for evaluation (Does this item agree with the purpose of the board? Resolution Section 2) Focus – categorized/grouped by focus areas (Resolution Section 3) Powers/Duties – does the board have the authority/specific direction (Resolution Section 4.1) Commitment Schedule (when will principle work commence, based on the commitment, what is a reasonable end?) Budget Implications (How will this item/policy/priority impact the City’s budget?) o (Facilitating) In between the two times, staff may have to analyze the requests and provide analysis of the resources available and timeline to see if the item can be crafted to meet the five criteria. o (Submitting) Work plans and reviews will be uploaded to Peak by the Clerks’ Office; liaisons are responsible to get the items to the Clerks’ Office. o Work plan will be provided for acceptance by the City Commission. Product What work plans looks like: o Time for Board (how much board bandwidth will this take?) o Time for Staff (how much staff bandwidth will this take?) Format Page 7 Part Two Liaisons and Administrative Staff The City Commission selects its liaisons to the various boards. The City Manager selects the Staff Liaisons, and the Staff Liaisons may designate additional admin staff to assist in the formulation and publication of agendas, production of minutes, and general logistic support for the operation of meetings. The Clerks’ Office will provide logistics training to all designated staff members to ensure continuity and consistency between boards. Agendas Staff Liaison and/or their designee(s) will prepare the agenda with collaboration from the Board Chair. Staff shall prepare an introductory cover page memo as well as all materials relevant to the matter for review by the Board. (See Section 4(A) in Res. 5323) Items for the agenda can be classified in the following categories (See Section 4(B) in Res. 5323): Public Service Announcements This is a delivery of announcements, primarily related to schedules (cancelled meetings, planned special meetings, or special events) Approval of Minutes This is the place to approve previous meeting minutes. Minutes should be approved at the next available meeting. (See Section 11 of Res 5323) Page 8 Consent Items This is the place for routine business that requires little to no discussion in an effort to facilitate efficient use of meeting time. Any item may be pulled from the consent agenda for additional discussion at the request of a board member. Special Presentations This is the place for the delivery of information, does not require Board deliberation, and is not related to a specific action by the board. Action Items This is the place for all items that require a vote by the board. No items not under this heading can be voted upon by the board. FYI/Discussion This is the place for general discussions that are not expected to lead to a decision, recommendation, or vote by the board. Primarily this is to follow-up on questions from previous items from the meeting, generally identify items that may be scheduled for future actions, or to seek additional information from staff. (Reminder: not every agenda will need every section. Sections with no items can be deleted from the agenda prior to publishing.) When to submit agendas Agendas are to be completed, the best of the admin staff/Staff Liaison’s ability and submitted to the Clerks’ Office by noon on the Friday prior to the scheduled meeting, in the case of the Community Development Board, or any other Monday meeting, noon on the Thursday prior. In accordance with Resolution 5323 Section 4(A), staff will make the agenda and all supporting information available to public and the board member no later than 48 hours preceding the meeting. Removing Items from an Agenda In accordance with Resolution 5323 Section 4(B) “The Chairperson or a majority of board members may remove an item from the agenda.” The method to do so shall be during the “Changes to the Agenda” section of the agenda either by the announcement of the Chairperson, or by a motion and vote of the board members. Page 9 Canceling a meeting If it is known in advance that a quorum will not be reached, announce the meeting cancellation; if at the scheduled meeting time a quorum is not present in accordance with Resolution 5323 Section 7(A), “those in attendance shall be named and the board shall adjourn to a later time.” Meetings All meetings shall be hosted and facilitated within the City Commission room without prior written authorization of the City Manager or their designee (See Resolution 5323, Appendix A, Section 5). Facilitating a Meeting Designated staff will facilitate the meeting through the use of the authorized software, equipment, and facilities. Staff will take attendance, call the roll, and take minutes. Currently, the City utilizes the Granicus platform for govMeetings. Meeting schedules need to be communicated to the Granicus captioning team at least 14 days in advance of the meeting. The City has and will establish its regular meetings as scheduled with the captioning team; any special meetings or cancellations will need to follow this same 14 day requirement. The live meeting operation training has been provided via the LMS and the City Clerks’ Office will provide regular updates/refreshers for new staff, or to assist those that may need a reminder of the procedures. Minutes All boards must have official minutes taken and approved. (See Rules of Procedure, Appendix A to Resolution 5323, Section 11) Staff will take the minutes live in the meeting, whether virtual or in-person, via the Granicus LiveMeeting. Prepared minutes will be provided for approval by the board at the next regularly scheduled meeting. Staff will make any corrections identified to the minutes prior to submitting minutes to the Clerks’ Office. Upon approval by the Board, staff will submit the completed minutes to the Clerks’ Office within five business days. The completed minutes shall indicate who prepared the minutes, the Board Chair, and the date of approval. Once provided to the Clerks’ Office, the approved minutes will be routed for signatures and presented to the public and the City Commission as a public service announcement on the next available agenda. Page 10 Calling a vote At the indication of the Presiding Officer, City staff shall call all votes by roll call, as per Resolution 5323 Appendix A, Rules of Procedure, Section 7. Adjourning Upon the conclusion of business before the Board, without objection of the Board, the Chairperson shall adjourn the meeting. Upon adjournment, City staff will end the live streaming, recording, and any virtual conferencing and return the Commission Room to its default state. Staff Expectations Staff Liaisons or their designee shall record attendance and the minutes of each meeting. Staff Liaisons shall coordinate responses to Board requests/inquiries. Staff Liaisons may prepare memos to the City Commission at the request of the board. Staff Liaisons shall coordinate with the Clerks’ Office to provide Board information publicly in the Laserfiche repository (i.e. approved minutes). Staff shall be mindful of the Norms in accordance with Resolution 5124 when communicating with the Commission Liaison on matters related to their board assignments. One of the key purposes of the consolidation process was to provide a standardized set of expectations across all advisory boards of the City. As such, the requirements of staff may have changed from past iterations of the board structure. Tracking terms The City Clerks’ Office will assist, but the tracking of terms and expirations of the individual board members shall be the responsibility of the Staff Liaison. The Staff Liaison shall notify the City Clerks’ Office immediately of any resignations and provide the written resignation for retention. The Staff Liaison shall notify the City Clerks’ Office 90 days prior to any anticipated term expiration. Communicating (See Resolution 5323 Section 2) Staff Liaisons shall act as the conduit between board members and other City staff. Staff Liaisons shall provide, or direct to be provided, the agenda and packet materials, scheduling items, and responses to inquiries to board members. Board members interaction with staff are detailed in Resolution 5323 Section 3. Staff liaisons will communicate with the Board Chairperson to the schedule of the board and developing the agenda for upcoming meetings. Page 11 Keep the meeting on track - while all participants are expected to keep discussions to the matter at hand, staff are uniquely qualified to identify and clarify when a discussion is moving into operational matters and no longer directed to policy advice. The Board’s purpose and focus areas from enabling resolution Any statutory requirements of the board The approved work plan and most recent annual review Specific projects that are currently underway and/or recently completed and illustrative of the Board’s work Be wary of quorums and this may require individual check-ins to avoid a meeting quorum Check-in should include the Commission Liaison and Board Chair All onboarding/training requirements must be fulfilled with this initial six months of appointment Training Staff Liaisons, with the assistance of their designated staff, shall develop informational guides related to the specific subject matters of the boards, including but not limited to: Check-in Staff Liaison’s will take lead role in scheduling the six month check-in for all new members, with City Manager approval. Page 12 Resolution 5323 – High Performing Boards Agenda Item – New Template (Example provided with agenda item field as text entered) Minutes – New Template (Example provided of general format based on City Commission) Work Plan & Annual Report – (Here is an old example from Bike Board and MURB; fillable template) Board Resolution - Template Roberts Rules – Cheat sheet, RR Online; additional resources are available from the City Clerk by request MSU Local Government Center’s Introduction to Parliamentary Procedure of Public Officials Online Course (free) MSU Local Government Board Handbook Appendix General Reference Materials Page 13