Special Advisory Board on Boards and Commissions Meeting - June 18, 2025

The Special Advisory Board on Boards and Commissions met on June 18, 2025, at 7:00 PM in Room 305 to discuss the alignment, potential merger, and restructuring of the city's 19 advisory boards and commissions. Key topics included consolidation options, subcommittee structures, appointment authority, and next steps. The committee reached consensus on several recommendations to the full City Council, including merging certain boards, retaining council appointment authority, and setting a January 1, 2026 effective date, with a public hearing planned for late August or early September.

Discussion Items

• Alignment and Merger Options: Assistant City Manager Evan Raleigh and Taisha Mosley from the Community Engagement Office presented options to consolidate boards with overlapping missions. Three potential parent boards were proposed:

  • Historic Resources and Museum Advisory Board (parent) merging with the Historic Cemeteries Advisory Board.
  • Human Relations Commission (parent) merging with the African American Affairs Board (not yet seated), Hispanic and Immigrant Affairs Board, and Mayor's Commission for Persons with Disabilities (currently mayor-appointed only).
  • Transit Authority (parent) merging with the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and the Mayor's Commission for Persons with Disabilities (for mobility issues).
  • Stormwater Management Advisory Commission (SMAC) and Environmental Advisory Board (EAB) were discussed but recommended to remain separate due to distinct missions and effective functioning.
  • Council Member Ford expressed support for merging historic cemeteries but raised questions about the Human Relations merger being too large (would result in 52 members). Council Member Branch noted that the Transit Authority merger would require a name change to “Transit and Mobility Advisory Commission” to reflect broader scope.

• Merger Process: Immediate Reduction vs. Natural Attrition: Staff recommended two approaches to reach ideal board sizes. For the Human Relations option, immediate reduction was suggested because merging four boards would total 52 members (current Human Relations has 16). Council Member Ford preferred natural attrition when possible, while Council Member Branch advocated for a mix, noting that immediate reduction would be needed for large mergers but natural attrition worked for smaller boards with low participation.

• Subcommittee Structure and Appointments: Two options were presented:

  1. Council appoints members to subcommittees.
  2. Parent board selects subcommittees from its own membership. Council Member Branch favored retaining council appointment authority, while Council Member Silver suggested that parent board members self-select into subcommittees. After debate, consensus emerged that council would appoint members to the parent board, and subcommittee membership would be determined by self-selection among parent board members. Council would approve the subcommittee structure but not individual subcommittee members.

• Board Sizes and Quorum: Staff recommended subcommittee sizes of 5-6 members based on best practices from boards like Historic Cemeteries. Council discussed meeting space constraints (e.g., Room 305 capacity) and noted that virtual meetings or use of community centers could accommodate larger initial meetings. The committee acknowledged that these challenges were temporary as boards would naturally attrit to smaller sizes.

• Other Items:

  • The Fair Housing Hearing Board should be renamed Fair Housing Advisory Board to reflect its advisory role.
  • Council debated whether to allow non-appointed members on subcommittees (e.g., grant review panels). Council Member Branch suggested that council should at least receive a list of non-appointed members for transparency, especially given fiduciary responsibilities for arts and human relations grants (e.g., $1 million+). Staff agreed to provide more information on grant review processes.
  • Staff noted that the Arts Commission currently appoints members of the Public Art Design Board; council requested further clarification on this arrangement.
  • Administrative follow-up items were presented: updating onboarding handbooks, including estimated hours in applications, establishing attendance thresholds, and creating a work plan template aligned with the FY26–29 Strategic Plan. Council also supported the idea of a summer social or professional development event for board and commission leadership.

Key Outcomes

• Recommendations to Full Council: The committee agreed to recommend the following to the City Council:
  1. Merge Historic Resources and Museum Advisory Board with Historic Cemeteries Advisory Board (parent board).
  2. Merge Human Relations Commission with African American Affairs Board, Hispanic and Immigrant Affairs Board, and Mayor's Commission for Persons with Disabilities (parent board).
  3. Rename Transit Authority to Transit and Mobility Advisory Commission and merge with BPAC and Mayor's Commission for Persons with Disabilities (parent board).
  4. Keep SMAC and EAB as separate boards.
  5. Retain council appointment authority for parent boards; subcommittee membership to be self-selected by parent board members.
  6. Rename Fair Housing Hearing Board to Fair Housing Advisory Board.
• Process: These recommendations will be presented to the City Council on July 1, 2025, with a public hearing scheduled for late August or early September 2025 before a final vote.
• Effective Date: All changes are targeted for implementation on January 1, 2026.
• Next Steps: Staff will prepare updated bylaws, work plan templates, and administrative guidelines. A pause on bylaw and work plan updates for affected boards will remain in effect until final decisions are made.