Agenda Text
title
In his capacity as President, conveying information regarding appointments.
body
Official Text
To the Honorable City Council:
I am writing to update you on the confirmation process for appointed boards and commissions. Some of you asked for me to speak to the mayor’s committee responsible for interviewing and recommending appointments. I spoke with Alex Galimberti, a Ward 1 resident and member of the appointments committee. He explained the committee’s decision making process.
Alex explained that 14 residents applied to the four planning board positions. The committee received the resumes without the names of applicants to prevent bias, implicit or otherwise. Any committee member had the right to request an interview for the resumes they liked. Eight of the 14 applicants were interviewed and four were sent to the mayor with a recommendation to approve. The six applicants that weren’t interviewed failed to present a resume that appealed to committee members.
The committee listened to the advice of Director of Planning and Zoning Sarah Lewis, who recommended the committee remain apolitical and make selections based on qualifications and the needs of the appointed boards. Alex emphasized the committee’s desire to encourage diversity in personal and professional backgrounds.
Alex could not recall why Rob Buchannan was selected to the alternate position on the planning board as opposed to a full position. He said there was no conversation about Rob in particular. It was simply a decision they made based on the candidates and slots available.
I believe the confirmations committee made a good faith effort to fill planning board positions based on the applications available. Councilors may have made different decisions, but we have our own separate process to screen applicants. I believe the confirmations committee is far better processes than having the mayor make appointments with no process at all. They have their process, and we have an opportunity to reject their appointments. All councilors should feel comfortable exercising their right to oppose any appointments, as we have several times in the past.
I spoke with Annie Connor about the Council’s individual concerns. I recommended the City open up the process for more applications for the final planning board position. I highly recommend councilors encourage residents to apply for this and any other appointed position so the appointment committee has a large pool of qualified applicants to select from.