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Each advisory board will establish its purpose and duties to be performed as a board, to include any statutory requirements set forth by state and/or federal law. At no time will any advisory board have administrative or operational duties or responsibilities (i.e., supervision of employees).
(Ord. eff. 9-13-2010)
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)
(A) Each advisory board will elect its own officers from among its membership. No Town Board approval is needed for this action. The election of officers will occur at the first official meeting after July 1 of each year. The term of office will be for one year, and all officers may succeed themselves.
(B) (1) Chair. A chair will be elected from the membership. The role of the chair includes but is not limited to the following: calling and presiding over all meetings, developing the agenda with the staff liaison, signing all minutes, appoint any subcommittees, call special/emergency meetings, shall decide on all points of order and procedure, and shall vote on all matters brought before the advisory board.
(2) Vice chair. A vice chair will be elected from the membership. The role of the vice chair will be to fulfill all of the duties of the chair in his or her absence.
(3) Secretary. A secretary will be appointed by the chair. The role of the secretary includes but is not limited to the following: recording minutes for all meetings of the advisory board, preparing minutes for the agenda packet, getting chair’s signature on all approved minutes, coordinating with the staff liaison for the safe-keeping of all minutes and other documents of the advisory board, coordinate with the staff liaison on all communication for the advisory board, and perform any other secretarial duties as needed.
(4) Staff liaison. A town staff member will serve as the staff liaison to all advisory boards in an ex officio, non-voting role. The role of the staff liaison includes but is not limited to the following: advise the chair and advisory board on matters pertinent to the discussions of the advisory board, ensure the approved minutes are sent to the Town Manager for dissemination to the Town Board each month, may serve as the secretary for the advisory board upon concurrence with the Town Manager, work with the chair on agenda preparation, and perform other duties as needed for the advisory board.
(Ord. eff. 9-13-2010)
Each advisory board will develop clear and concise language on how their meetings are to be conducted.
(A) Regular meetings. All advisory boards will meet at least quarterly. The specific date, time and location of its regularly scheduled meeting will be prescribed in the advisory board’s bylaws.
(B) Special meetings. All special and/or emergency meetings conducted by the advisory board will be called in accordance with G.S. Chapter 143, Article 33C. Proper notice will be given for the meetings and in addition, notice will be provided to and published in Town Hall by way of the advisory board’s staff liaison. The chair, vice chair or two or more members of the advisory board may call for a special or emergency meeting.
(C) Open meetings. All regular, special, emergency and recessed meetings are open to the public in accordance with G.S. Chapter 143, Article 33C. Closed session meetings may be called in accordance with G.S. § 143-318.11 and only for the listed reason(s) contained therein. Public input is encouraged at all official meetings of the advisory board.
(D) Quorum. A quorum shall be defined as a majority of the membership of the advisory board minus vacancies. A quorum is necessary for an official meeting to be held as defined by G.S. § 143-318.10(d).
(E) Minutes. All advisory boards will take minutes as defined by G.S. § 143-318.10(e). Minutes will be adopted by the advisory board and will be signed by the chair upon adoption. Official (signed) minutes will be housed and maintained at the Town Hall by the advisory board’s staff liaison. All official (signed) minutes will be available for inspection by the public. In addition, the advisory board’s staff liaison will provide a copy of the official (signed) minutes to the Town Manager who will provide the minutes to the Town Board on a monthly basis. This will serve the purpose of ensuring the Town Board is well informed on the discussions and activities of its advisory boards.
(F) Voting and conflict of interest. All advisory board members will vote on every item which has been brought to a vote unless they have been excused from voting due to a direct personal or financial interest. If a member feels he or she has a conflict of interest on a matter, the advisory board by a majority vote may excuse the member from voting and having any discussion on that issue. The minutes will reflect the member was excused by the advisory board. If a member is absent from the meeting, he or she must be officially excused by the advisory board. Otherwise, the absent member’s vote will be recorded as an affirmative vote for whatever motions are made during the meeting.
(G) Attendance. Advisory board members, albeit volunteers, must demonstrate a commitment to the advisory board on which they serve. Members who miss three consecutive meetings or 50% or more of all official meetings within a 12-month period conducted by the advisory board will be subject to removal from the advisory board by the Town Board. The recommendation for removal for the member may come from the advisory board to the Town Board, or the Town Board may take action to remove the member without the recommendation of the advisory board.
(H) Cancellation. Whenever there is no business for the advisory board to consider, the chair may cancel the regularly scheduled meeting after all members have been notified along with the local media. Notice will be posted on the door of the meeting place to inform the public of the meeting cancellation.
(Ord. eff. 9-13-2010)
Advisory board members will not be compensated for their time while serving on the committee unless otherwise provided in the advisory board’s bylaws. Reimbursement for expenses directly attributed to activities of the committee, such as travel, attendance at out-of-town meetings and reimbursements for purchases made as part of an ongoing project or event are allowed, following the established reimbursement procedures for the town. Expenses must have prior approval by the advisory board’s staff liaison or Town Manager.
(Ord. eff. 9-13-2010)
The advisory board may include additional internal rules, policies or other guidelines to its bylaws which are not inconsistent with this established regulation. For example, the Board of Adjustment has a quasi-judicial function which could be described. Also, the ABC Board has statutory requirements/restrictions which could be placed here to distinguish itself from other advisory boards. Likewise, if an advisory board has a financial or fiduciary responsibility, the responsibilities of that advisory board will be detailed in this section.
(Ord. eff. 9-13-2010)
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