(A) Subject to the confirmation of the County Council, the County Executive must appoint 11 individuals to serve on the Board as regular, voting members for a three-year term unless otherwise noted.
(B) To the maximum extent practicable, the membership of the Board shall reflect the racial, gender, and cultural diversity of the county as well as representation from communities that experience a higher frequency of interactions with law enforcement, including but not limited to people who are Black/African-American, Latino, and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer (LGBTQ), first or second generation immigrants, people with disabilities, people with behavioral health concerns, and people who have experienced homelessness.
(C) Regular, voting members of the Board must:
(1) Be at least 21 years of age, legal residents or citizens of the United States, and registered voters;
(2) Be county residents, to include:
(a) Two residents of the City of Frederick;
(b) One resident of the City of Brunswick;
(c) One resident of the Town of Thurmont;
(d) One resident who is Black or African-American; and
(e) One resident who is a first or second generation immigrant.
(3) Have familiarity or experience within the legal field, the behavioral health field, social services, human resources or personnel management, the operation of a government agency, criminal justice agency, community service organization, or relevant lived experience;
(4) Participate in an in-person interview and appropriate background research conducted by:
(a) The County Executive or designee;
(b) The municipal mayors of the Cities of Frederick and Brunswick and the Town of Thurmont, or their Chief Administrative Officer or equivalent; and
(c) Other individuals as determined by the County Executive.
(5) Successfully complete training on matters related to police procedures from the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission, the County Ethics Law, the Open Meetings Act, and any other training required by the State, the County Executive, or majority vote of the Board.
(6) Sign an agreement to maintain the confidentiality of all Board matters related to individual complaints until final disposition and all appeals have been exhausted.
(D) An individual may not be a member of the Board if:
(1) They are, or an immediate family member is, an active police officer as defined in § 3-201 of the Public Safety Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland; or
(2) They have been convicted of, or received a probation before judgement for, a felony or a misdemeanor with a statutory penalty of more than two years.
(E) The following individuals shall serve as liaisons to the Board for purposes of serving as a resource and answering questions as needed or requested by the Board:
(1) A designee of the Chief of Police of each municipal police agency within the county;
(2) A designee of the Sheriff; and
(3) The Frederick County Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer.
(F) Of the initial appointees to the Board, three appointees shall have a term of one year, four appointees shall have a term of two years, and four appointees, one of which shall be the chairperson, shall have a term of three years. Members may be reappointed, but may not serve more than two full consecutive three-year terms.
(G) A member may be removed from the Board if at any time they fail to meet the requirements of this section or any other requirement for members of the Board or, fail to attend at least 75% of the meetings during any period of 12 consecutive months.
(H) Vacancies shall be filled on the same basis as the original appointments for the unexpired terms. Members shall continue in office until their successors are appointed and qualified.
(Bill No. 22-09, 4-26-2022)