Boards & Commissions Rules and Procedures
32 Chapter 11. Boards and Commissions Selection
Process
1. Refer to the San Mateo City Charter Article VI on Boards and Commissions.
2. Reappointments, Vacancies and Appointments
A. The City Clerk’s Office manages the Boards and Commissions (hereafter referred to as “Commission” for ease of reference) application process. The process begins with the Clerk contacting members who are eligible for appointment to a second term and finding out their interest in reappointment.
B. The City Clerk then shares the results with each appointment subcommittee and receives direction on the need to schedule an appointment subcommittee meeting to provide direction on reappointments. The default is that currently serving Commissioners will each be interviewed for reappointment. However, if it is determined that a commissioner’s performance is outstanding, or that other factors necessitate keeping them in their role, then an automatic reappointment can occur with a majority vote or majority consensus of the City Council. Any commission seat selected for re-interview means the seat will be processed as part of the full annual recruitment and the currently sitting commissioner may be interviewed along with other applicants. Commission recruitment occurs annually in the months of April and May and is managed by the City Clerk’s Office. For these routine vacancies, the announcement is made approximately two months prior to the date on which the vacancy is to occur.
C. The City Clerk recruits for all open seats utilizing multiple avenues including advertising, the website, social media and networking lists to present qualified candidates to the Council for consideration.
D. The interview and selection of candidates is an open process.
E. The City Clerk receives the applications (ideally a minimum of three applications is sought for each vacant seat) and arranges for the appropriate sub-committee, in a noticed special meeting, to interview applicants and form their recommendation.
F. Commissioners, Board and committee members (hereafter referred to as “Commissioners” for ease of reference) are appointed by a majority vote of the City Council and serve staggered terms.
G. A City Council Appointment Subcommittee conducts the candidate interviews and makes a recommendation for Council approval. The Council will receive the full list of candidates for each opening.
Boards & Commissions Rules and Procedures
33 H. The Appointment Subcommittee recommendations for new and reappointed Commissioners are confirmed by Council under the Consent Calendar at regular Council meetings. A staff report summarizing the Subcommittees’ recommendations will be provided to the full City Council and will include the list of all candidates reviewed by the subcommittee. The Council may adopt the recommendations as presented or pull the item for further discussion. A majority vote of the Council approves the appointees.
I. The designated Appointment Subcommittee may establish an eligibility list for up to two applicants that will remain in effect for a six-month period.
J. Unscheduled Vacancies
1. Subject to the Maddy Act (California Government Code § 54970), if an unscheduled vacancy occurs on a commission, the Council may either appoint from the pool of applicants on file (the eligibility list if there is one available) or open up the position to new applications where the above process is followed.
2. For such non-routine vacancies, the announcement for new applications is made as soon as possible in order to maintain viable memberships on the various boards and commissions.
3. All appointments occur in an open public meeting.
K. Youth Activities Council (YAC) Selection Process
The YAC is not appointed directly by the City Council but through an application method administered by Parks and Recreation. High school students from all of the City’s public high schools, as well as Junipero Serra High School and Nueva Upper School, are recruited for potential participation starting in the late spring of each year.