CC Minutes - 06/08/09 Work Session

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Mr. Zelenka thought July 1 was a logical start date but he was somewhat concerned about the timing of the date given its proximity to the budget process. He suggested that the selection process could occur in a compressed period after or before the budget process. Mr. Zelenka also liked the idea of a Citizens Academy, and endorsed the idea of resurrecting the CIC. He thought the CIC had helped to secure "more and better" citizen involvement from those not generally involved in government affairs, which was something the City and every government agency struggled with. He suggested that "throwing some smart people" from a perspective different than that of the bureaucracy or the council at the problem could be useful. Mr. Zelenka reminded the council of the requests for interaction the council received from its different commit- tees on a regular basis. He noted the council's existing work load and said it was impossible for the council to add more meetings, and reiterated his previous suggestion for a more formalized quarterly meeting process. Ms. Ortiz proposed that the council adopt Ms. Solomon's proposal for the upcoming boards and commissions process, and that the change in dates be shared with the candidates. Ms. Ortiz suggested that the City condition funding for newsletters on the publication of City openings on boards and commissions. She suggested that a City staff person could attend neighborhood organization meetings and encourage residents to apply for City vacancies. Ms. Taylor said that she envisioned a Citizens' Academy as a place where people could learn about local government and perhaps become motivated to apply to serve on a board or commission. Ms. Taylor recalled that the former CIC had included residents from the Voters' Pool, and many were individuals who had never before thought of getting involved in City government. They had remained involved after their service on the CIC. Ms. Taylor thought that was a valuable aspect to that committee. Mr. Pryor suggested that the council could take advantage of existing programs such as the Eugene - Springfield Chambers of Commerce Leadership Program. He described the program and noted that it had graduated more than 400 people. He suggested the City could provide some support for additional people to be trained through that program, which could be modified to give volunteers the program essentials. Ms. Solomon noted her own participation in the chamber program and thanked Mr. Pryor for mentioning it. She also thanked Ms. Ortiz for her support. She asked if councilors were interested in changing the interview process before the next application cycle. Mr. Zelenka indicated interest in changing both the start date and process but continued to be concerned about the proximity between the budget process and suggested start date of July 1. He also liked the idea of shorter interviews, perhaps including one or two questions from the council, with a short presentation for applicants. He also thought that required the candidate to provide more information in the application. Ms. Solomon concurred. She said the council needed a fuller application with better questions and asked staff to look into the school district's process as a starting point for future discussion. She suggested the possibility of eliminating the scheduled October recruitment to avoid the problem of terms that expired in June, and postponing the recruitment to the spring. Ms. Osborn indicated that some ordinance changes would likely be required to accommodate the council's suggestions. MINUTES —City Council June 8, 2009 Page 7