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ATTACHMENT B City of Eugene Boards, Committees and Commissions Overview of Issues for January 12, 2005, City Council Process Session People serving on City boards, committees and commissions provide an invaluable service to the city. They advise the City Council and City staff on a wide variety of subjects by making recommendations on important policy matters. Over the years, services and programs provided by the City have expanded. Without the assistance of the various boards and commissions, the City Council could give the many complex and significant matters only a limited review. Serving on a board, committee, or commission is an excellent way to improve the community and realize "government of the people, by the people, and for the people." The link between the monolith of government and "the public" is truly found in citizen advisory groups; they are what turn "the faceless bureaucrats" and "J.Q. Public" into a community working together for a common vision. At the present time, the City sponsors or has a membership slot on approximately 35 boards, committees and commissions. These range from on-going committees mandated by state law, such as the Budget Committee, to ad hoc short-term committees with a very specific purpose and timeline. For some there are very specific membership requirements, such as the Toxics Board (created by the Eugene Charter), while for others, such as departmental advisory committees, there are very few criteria for membership. There are committees that are entirely comprised of elected officials, such as the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, while other bodies are comprised of citizens from Eugene, Springfield and the surround area, such as the Lane Workforce Partnership. The application and recruitment process strives for unanimity; however, given the wide range of membership requirements, appointment authority, and cross committee memberships, this becomes a very difficult challenge. The City Council is involved in the appointment processes for some of the intergovernmental bodies, the standing committees created in the Eugene Code and the Toxics Board created by Charter. This mixing and matching makes it difficult for the public, volunteers who wish to serve, staff who serve the committees and process the application and recruitment processes, as well as the members of the council making the appointments. In the most recent annual recruitment, which took place from July through September of 2004, a records number of applications were received for vacancies. This response was a good indicator of the interest in the community, but the volume made the original schedule very difficult. There were several missteps which led to confusion and overloaded schedules and, in fact, caused a delay in the original appointment schedule. These problems have been addressed and the 2005 recruitment timeline will be more specific, with more informative on key dates in the process. Specific dates for interviews for each body will be established at the start of the recruitment. This should help everyone involved with calendar and scheduling concerns. These steps are easy and can be quickly implemented.