Each advisory board will state the number of members it has along with any extraterritorial jurisdiction members and/or alternate members.
(A) Appointment. All applicants desiring an initial appointment to an advisory board must fill out an application which is available at Town Hall, on the town’s website, or by contacting the staff liaison for that advisory board. The application will be turned in to the staff liaison for the advisory board and will in turn be presented at the next scheduled advisory board meeting in which a vacancy exists. If more applications are presented than existing vacancies, the advisory board will conduct an open vote. The applicant(s) receiving the highest number of votes will be forwarded to the Town Board for final approval. No applicant applying for a vacancy on an advisory board will serve in an official capacity until his or her approval has been finalized by the Town Board.
(B) Reappointment. Members may succeed themselves with no limit on the number of terms one may serve on the advisory board. Stronger consideration will be granted to those applicants seeking reappointment to the advisory board, provided their past performance is satisfactory as defined by the Town Board. Recommendation for reappointment will be forwarded to the Town Board by the advisory board.
(C) Terms of office. Unless otherwise provided in the bylaws, advisory board members will serve three-year staggered terms. Members will continue to serve until their successors have been appointed by the Town Board. All advisory board members serve at the pleasure of the Town Board and can be removed at any time with a majority vote by the Town Board.
(D) Qualifications for membership. Unless otherwise noted on the summary sheet, all applicants must reside in the corporate limits of the town. Extra-territorial jurisdiction (ETJ) members (Planning Board/Board of Adjustment) must reside in the ETJ of the town. Some advisory boards may have a specialized purpose which makes it somewhat difficult to fill all seats of the board. In these situations, the Town Board may allow appointments for persons having a sincere interest in the purpose of the advisory board or possessing special skills which uniquely qualify him or her for appointment to that advisory board. In addition, citizens are limited to serving on no more than two advisory boards concurrently.
(E) Vacancies. If a vacancy occurs prior to the end of a full term, the Town Board will fill the vacancy, with the recommendation of the advisory board, for the remainder of the term. If a vacancy occurs due to a member not seeking reappointment, the advisory board will consider application(s) for the vacancy and forward its recommendation for appointment to the Town Board, who will make the final approval. In the case of ETJ appointments, the appointment process will have an additional step in which the Town Board’s recommendation for appointment will go to the Surry County Board of Commissioners for final approval. Vacancies will be posted on the town website and staff will work with the local media to announce vacancies, as well. The Town Manager will update the contact list for advisory boards each month showing current or upcoming vacancies and include this report on the agenda for the regular scheduled monthly Town Board meeting.
(Ord. eff. 9-13-2010)