AGENDA ITEM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ITEM TITLE*
title
Council Consider Disbanding Certain Advisory Boards and Commissions
presenter
RESPONSIBLE STAFF, TITLE, DEPARTMENT*
Susan Brown, Executive Director for Strategic Communications
Rebecca Buzzard, Community Engagement Manager
Chris Blue, Town Manager
STAFF RECOMMENDATION*
Based on our shared interests and our equitable engagement framework, we propose disbanding nine advisory boards and relying on staff-led equitable engagement and, on an as-needed basis, issue-oriented task forces and working groups.
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Those nine advisory boards and commissions are:
• Community Policing Advisory Committee*
• Cultural Arts Commission
• Environmental Stewardship Advisory Board
• Housing Advisory Board
• Human Services Advisory Board
• Library Advisory Board
• Parks, Greenways, and Recreation Commission
• Stormwater Management Utility Advisory Board
• Transportation and Connectivity Advisory Board
LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT*
The Town’s Boards and Commissions were created by Council to serve in an advisory capacity to Council. Should Council wish to make changes to Boards and Commissions, they would need to take legislative action to do so.
BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT*
BACKGROUND
• In June 2023, some Council members petitioned for an assessment of the Town’s current Boards and Commissions. The petition requested that actionable recommendations be brought to Council by the fall of 2023.
• At the September 20, 2023 <https://chapelhill.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6354155&GUID=7DA91D85-6D54-4929-B990-0F26D13CA722&Options=ID%7CText%7C&Search=boards> work session, Council received information and recommendations from staff in response to the petition response to the petition.
• At the November 13, 2023 <https://chapelhill.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6410469&GUID=9EF92EF0-BF93-41B3-8223-91A455A881AD&Options=ID%7CText%7C&Search=boards> work session, Council received additional information and recommendations from staff in response to the petition.
• At the March 6, 2024 <https://chapelhill.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6555859&GUID=C75319F6-B37A-47AF-AC8A-CF0C265E1EEC&Options=ID|Text|&Search=boards+commissions> business meeting, Council considered, but did not take action on, an item to authorize the Town Manager to prepare a new framework for advisory boards.
• After that meeting, Council members indicated to the Town Manager that an understanding of the Town’s overall strategies and efforts regarding equitable engagement would be helpful as they consider any action regarding possible changes to boards and commissions.
• In June 2024, Council received a report, Boards & Commissions Assessment: Findings and Recommendations, from staff.
• At the September 23, 2024 <https://chapelhill.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6865604&GUID=EBB0A683-8C12-4356-A939-1C9AB50AA16C&Options=ID|Text|&Search=boards+commissions> work session, Council received additional information from staff about the Town’s strategic communications and equitable engagement functions. Council also discussed usage of boards and commissions, task forces and working groups, and staff-led engagement.
CONTEXT
The following frameworks guide Council and staff efforts around equitable engagement:
• The Community Connections Strategy, received by Council on April 17, 2019 <https://chapelhill.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3917030&GUID=01D2659A-C8C2-4111-9BDB-2C0FA3C32FA6&Options=&Search=>.
• The Gap Analysis and Engagement Study, received by Council on May 17, 2023 <https://chapelhill.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6206239&GUID=4E85FA5F-A58D-4BC2-B394-132B5CD64405&Options=ID|Text|&Search=engagement+study>.
• The One Orange County Racial Equity Plan: A Framework for Moving Forward, adopted by all jurisdictions in Orange County in January 2022.
TRADEOFFS, ALTERNATIVES, IMPACTS
If these nine advisory boards and commissions are disbanded, Staff will provide up-to-date, professional subject matter expertise - and if additional expertise is needed, staff have multiple ways to attain it.
• Staff will lead equitable engagement around key issues and projects - and staff have built in ways to report that to Council throughout the agenda process.
• Residents will continue to have numerous ways to receive information about their local government - and the Town is in the midst of improving some of its key communication channels.
• Residents will continue to have numerous opportunities to provide their perspectives to Council - and current Board members can continue to use all of these formal and informal channels.
• Council will continue to have numerous opportunities to receive formal public comment and informal public input - and staff will report on results of equitable engagement.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION
The Town’s goal is to ground all our work, particularly communications and community engagement work, in the principles of equity. The adopted One Orange County Plan informs the Town staff’s communications and engagement work. The plan references the International Association of Public Participation’s (IAP2) “Spectrum of Public Participation”, a spectrum that outlines best practices for community participation in government processes and decision-making.
• Boards were created before we committed to and invested in equitable engagement.
• We have implemented policies and procedures aimed at increasing board diversity.
• Those policies and procedures have not significantly increased board diversity.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
As part of the petition response, we engaged the following stakeholders:
• Staff liaisons completed a survey and participated in a focus group. Key findings outlined in the Findings & Recommendations report include:
o Staff dedicate a significant amount of time to Boards and Commissions, beyond the monthly meetings.
o Staff highly value community input, and Boards and Commissions are only one of many ways to receive that.
o Staff most value Boards and Commissions input on policy-level work.
• Board/Commission members completed a survey and staff attended their regular meetings to hear feedback. Key findings outlined in the Findings & Recommendations report include:
o Boards and Commissions that have focused on policy-level work report a higher sense of impact.
o Board and Commission members are often unclear about their roles and responsibilities, individually and collectively.
o Board and Commission members want to have an impact.
o Historically under-engaged residents were surveyed in 2022-2023 as part of the Town’s Engagement Study. Key findings outlined in that report include:
§ Trust and accountability need to be improved in order for residents to feel compelled to engage with Town programs and decision-making processes.
§ Residents feel excluded from participating in Town decision-making processes due to inaccessibility of meetings and institutional marginalization, especially experienced by renters, non-white, and immigrant residents.
ATTACHMENTS
Ordinance repealing town code establishing certain advisory boards
Resolution dissolving the CPAC
BOARDS_Boards and Commissions DRAFT Staff Presentation_Nov 2024
BOARDS_Boards and Commissions_Council Work Session Presentation Sept 2024
BOARDS_Boards and Commissions Memo_June 2024
BOARDS_Boards and Commissions_Staff Presentation_March 2024
BOARDS_Boards and Commissions Staff Presentation_Sept 2023
BOARDS_Boards and Commissions Staff Presentation_Nov 2023
ENGAGEMENT_Community Connections Strategy_2019
ENGAGEMENT_Engagement Study Summary Report_April 2023
ENGAGEMENT_One Orange Countywide Racial Equity Plan
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