(A) Purpose and procedure.
(1) Intent and purpose. It is the intent and purpose of this section to encourage citizen involvement and obtain citizen advice and input.
(a) Citizens are encouraged to share their opinions and expertise by joining any of the
committees.
(b) Any committee Chair may invite interested individuals to share their experience and advice with the committee.
(c) Any and all committees established pursuant to this chapter have no authority to bind the city or impose any conditions on the city or its citizens and are not vested with the authority to make decisions regarding the public's business.
(2) City staff support. The City Manager shall provide each committee with such administrative staff support and materials, as he or she deems necessary to assist in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of each committee.
(3) Limit of membership.
(a) Membership, subject to the appointment process set forth herein, on the committee shall be limited to the city residents or qualified individuals who have demonstrated an interest in promoting the welfare of the city, including those individuals who live outside of city limits.
(b) An appointment to a committee shall be vacated if a member misses more than four meetings without reason.
(c) If a member's term is vacated, that member may reapply at a future date; however, the opening on the committee may or may not still be available.
(4) Terms. Unless otherwise noted in this chapter, the term of committee members shall be three years, with a maximum of three consecutive terms. Appointments of membership will be staggered to provide continuity of membership.
(5) Meetings. The committees shall set their own meeting schedule but shall meet at least quarterly. Committee meetings shall be open to the public.
(6) Quorum. The attendance of a majority of members of each committee shall constitute a quorum. All official acts of a committee shall be by the majority vote of those then present.
(7) Compensation. Members of committees shall serve without compensation.
(8) Budget. Each committee shall prepare an annual budget for city events and submit such to the City Manager for review and approval by the City Council. The committee Chair or designee shall make an annual presentation to the City Council of its goals, budget and activities.
(B) Formation and function of committees.
(1) Application for membership.
(a) The applicants for committee membership are required to fill out a volunteer application form.
(b) The Mayor will review the application and may interview the applicant.
(c) The Mayor selects the best applicant for the interest of the city, then recommends the applicant to the City Council for appointment to the committee.
(d) Some committees have membership capacity limits as outlined in the specific section for the committees in this chapter.
(e) If an applicant's committee of choice is full, that applicant will be asked to consider appointment to a different committee and/or asked if the applicant would like to keep their application on file in the case that a spot opens on the committee of choice.
(2) Officers.
(a) A Chair and Vice Chair shall be appointed and removed by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the City Council.
(b) The Chair and Vice Chair shall serve a one-year term. If at the end of the one-year term, beginning in the month of January and ending on the last day of December the same year, the committee members vote to continue with the same Chair and Vice Chair, those individuals may be reappointed by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the City Council.
(c) The duties of the Chair and Vice-Chair are as follows:
1. Duties of the Chair. The Chair's responsibility is to notify members of committee meetings, report to the City Council, conduct meetings, and enforce policies.
2. Duties of Vice-Chair. The Vice Chair will supervise voting and conduct when the Chair is not available.
(3) Removal of members. Committee members may be removed by the City Council at any time without cause. In the case of removals or vacancies for other causes, such vacancy shall be filled through appointment by the Mayor, with the advice and consent of the City Council.
(4) City Council liaison. Committees shall have a City Council member serve as an advisor/liaison that acts as a non-voting member of the committee. Assignment of such advisor/liaison shall be made by the Mayor.
(5) All committees shall act in an advisory role to the City Manager or their designee, in any matters pertaining to the city.
(6) It shall ultimately be the responsibility of the City Manager or their designee to manage, operate, and oversee the city events and committee activities; however, all committees may perform various tasks and duties under the direction or authorized by the City Manager or their designee.
(Ord. 01-2023, passed 1-4-2023; Ord. 14-2024, passed 5-15-2024; Ord. 20-2024, passed 6-5-2024)