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In the larger view, there may be benefit to a longer term discussion of boards, committees <br />and commissions by the council. In 1992, a committee of the council was appointed - the <br />Council Committee on Boards and Commissions. This was an effort to streamline and <br />standardize the practices and procedures related to City boards and commissions as well <br />as reduce the staffing costs associated with boards and committee. The work of this <br />committee resulted in a classification system for committees, a reduction in the number <br />of bodies, and a method by which randomly selected voters were selected to serve on <br />committees. <br /> <br />The work was completed nearly 12 years ago and, in the interim, the number of <br />committees has incrementally increased, as has the variety of the committees. The <br />original plan from that committee established three kinds of committees: 1) standing <br />advisory committees to the council as created in the City code; 2) department advisory <br />committees created on an ad hoc basis with a specific charge and timeline; and 3) <br />intergovernmental committees in which the City of Eugene is a participant. <br /> <br />These three basic types still exist, but there are many variations which make the overall <br />picture cloudy. Former Mayor Torrey created several ad hoc mayor's committees such as <br />the Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee and the City Council created the ad hoc <br />Citizen Charter Review Committee. Several departmental advisory committees, such as <br />the Cultural Services Departmental Advisory Committee have become on-going <br />committees. Each committee also represents a certain level of expenditure in terms of <br />staffing, public outreach, and public records. Some committees have by-laws or <br />guidelines, others do not. It may be time to assess the effectiveness of the current model <br />for boards, committees and commissions. <br /> <br /> <br />