pages: CityCouncil/2015-09-15.pdf, 25
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CityCouncil | 2015-09-15 | 25 | issues she would like the Commission to address: Carol Gottstein, Alameda. Councilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated she would like to be able to employ the collective judgment of each member of the Council; other cities have the practice of applicants attending a public interview session at a Council meeting; although applications are available for review, Alameda's Council just gets the list of names and vacancies; she would also like to see a possible change in the policy to apply to regional boards and commissions; suggested holding off on further appointments until staff brings back requested information and Council votes on it. Councilmember Oddie stated Councilmember Ezzy Ashcraft's sugestions are good; he does not want to foreclose any options and would like to see what other cities do; Council does not need to choose an option tonight. Councilmember Ezzy Ashcraft stated the options should be brought back in a staff report. In response to Mayor Spencer's inquiry, the City Clerk stated the Board nomination process is in the City Charter. The City Attorney clarified the difference between Boards and Commissions process: the Board nomination process is in the Charter, which states the Mayor nominates and the Council appoints; the nomination process for Commissions mimics the same language but is in the Alameda Municipal Code, not the Charter; any changes to the Charter requires a vote of the people; Municipal Code changes can be done by a vote of the Council. Vice Mayor Matarrese stated he is not interested in proposing any Charter changes; he does his own research on candidates and is fine with the current process; he does not support the referral because it is on the Council to exercise responsibility, not on staff. Councilmember Daysog stated many of the Boards have been in place for decades and some commissions are new; the process is not broken; he does not support the referral. Vice Mayor Matarrese stated process improvements could include clarifying the application submission window, and distributing each application automatically to each Councilmember. The City Clerk inquired whether applications should be distributed on an on-going basis, to which Vice Mayor Matarrese responded in the affirmative. In response to Councilmember Oddie's inquiry, the City Clerk stated the nomination process outlined in the Charter has not been rigidly followed regarding the timeframe; often times Mayors do not get nominations done in the timeframe; the City Clerk's office always accepts applications continually; there are no cut-off dates for accepting applications, as some applicants are new residents or submit after having an interest in Regular Meeting Alameda City Council 24 September 19, 2015 | CityCouncil/2015-09-15.pdf |