1 Xavier Mota
From: Andrew Wilder <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, December 9, 2023 2:11 PM
To: councilmtgitems
Cc: Council Mailbox; Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Caroline Torosis; Oscar de la Torre; Jesse Zwick; Christine Parra; Lana Negrete; David White; Susan Cline; Clerk Mailbox Subject: Item 5A: 2-year officer limit is impossible
EXTERNAL
Dear City Council and Staff,
I write this personally, and am not speaking on behalf of the Airport Commission.
I agree with the City's goal of greater equity and inclusion. However, it's mathematically impossible for some boards and commissions to meet the proposed requirement.
If each member serves for 8 years, and 2 of those are as an officer, that's 25% of their service as an officer. If the body has only five members, at any given time 40% of the members of the body would need to serve as an officer.
Looking at it another way: If you have 5 members serving for 8 years, with 2 officers each year, that's 40 total years of service (5x8) and would require 16 total years of officers (8x2). But if members can only be officers for 2 years, there are only 10 years of "available" officers (5x2).
Even if every member were required to serve as an officer for 2 years, that would not be sufficient to meet the proposal. The only way to make this work would be if not all members serve two terms.
Please also consider that not every member wants to serve as an officer and some bodies may want their officers to lead longer.
I continued to serve as Chair of the Airport Commission until recently because nobody else on the Commission wanted to do it! At our last election, though, we did have another member who was willing to be Chair, and we appointed her unanimously -- but she and the other members of the Commission asked me to serve as Vice-Chair, particularly to support her with my experience and institutional knowledge. My being disallowed from serving as Vice-Chair would have been a disservice to her and the community, not a benefit.
Fostering new leaders is important, but not if the rules are impossible or have unintended negative consequences.
Thank you,
Andrew Wilder
Sunset Park
ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023
ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023
2 ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023
ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023
1 Xavier Mota
From: Ellis Raskin <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, December 11, 2023 8:59 PM
To: councilmtgitems; Gleam Davis; Lana Negrete; Phil Brock; Oscar de la Torre; Christine Parra; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick
Cc: Douglas Sloan; David White; Denise Anderson-Warren; Nikima Newsome; Esterlina Lugo; Clerk Mailbox
Subject: Agenda Item 5.A: Comments on two-year limit for leadership positions
EXTERNAL
Dear Hon. Councilmembers,
Agenda Item 5.A on tomorrow night's agenda includes a proposed revision to the rules of procedure for City boards and commissions. Among other things, the revisions would impose a lifetime limit of two (2) years in a "leadership position" (Chair or Vice Chair) over the lifetime of their service. I presume this two‐year limit applies to both Vice Chair and Chair positions (in other words, someone who has served for two years as a Vice Chair will be permanently ineligible for any other leadership positions in the future).
While I support the goal of providing new opportunities for new commissioners to serve in leadership positions, there are a few practical problems that will be created by the two‐year limitation (as it is now drafted):
Lifetime restriction is problematic: It is not uncommon for civically‐engaged citizens to serve longer than eight years on boards and commissions (our soon‐to‐be Mayor, Phil Brock, is one such example; Albin Gielicz and many others have also done so). Sometimes, commissions need experienced leaders to step into the role of Chair or Vice Chair in challenging times (or when the remainder of members are inexperienced). But under the new proposed rule, if a commissioner has served one year as a Vice Chair and one year as a Chair, they would be permanently ineligible to serve in a leadership position again. Our city should not be deprived of the opportunity for experienced leaders to take charge when needed.
Two‐year limit would cause practical problems for current commissions: There are a few commissions where both the Chair and Vice Chair would be immediately (or very soon will be) termed‐out. To give just a few examples:
o On the Building & Fire‐Life Safety Commission, Dan Jansenson and Charles Whitaker have served as Vice Chair and Chair, respectively, for over two years. Dan would be permanently deprived of the opportunity to serve as Chair. And a new commissioner would immediately assume the role of Chair without any training in the role as Vice Chair.
o On the Housing Commission, Theresa Marasco has served as Vice Chair since May 2022. This new rule would bar her from serving more than just a few months as Chair. o On the Recreation and Parks Commission, Andrew Gomez has served as Vice Chair since July 2022. This new rule would bar him from serving a full year as Chair. The current Chair, Maryanne LaGuardia, would be permanently barred from serving in leadership positions in the future. o On the Planning Commission, I have served as Vice Chair since April 2022. I also would not have the opportunity to serve a full year as Chair.
o I could cite other examples, but I think these examples are sufficient.
There are a few ways you could potentially fix this problem. My preferred option is to include the following edits in the new Section D(5) in the commission rules (on page 6 of the draft resolution):
ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023
ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023
2 Officers shall serve no more than two years in a leadership position (Chair or Vice Chair) over their lifetime of service to a particular board or commission a period of eight (8) consecutive years. The time limits described in this section shall begin to accrue on January 1, 2024. This is intended to provide increased opportunities for leadership to members of the community, in alignment with the City’s commitment to greater equity and inclusion.
Thank you very much for your consideration. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
Ellis Raskin
ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023
ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023
1 Xavier Mota
From: Ann Hoover <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2023 11:09 AM
To: councilmtgitems; Gleam Davis; Phil Brock; Lana Negrete; Christine Parra; Oscar de la Torre; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; David White; Douglas Sloan; Susan Cline; Susan Cola; Denise Anderson-Warren Cc: Steven Johnson; Maryanne LaGuardia; Andrew Gomez; Arati Desai Wagabaza; Lori Brown; John Smith; Jenny Rogers; Jeanette Gant
Subject: December 12, 2023 Council Meeting - Consent Calendar Item 5.A. - OBJECT
EXTERNAL
OBJECT
Dear Mayor Davis, Mr. White, Mr. Sloan, Ms. Anderson-Warren, and Esteemed Councilmembers - I write to object to the present drafting of the main proposed change to the Boards & Commissions rules on the Council agenda tonight (Item 5.A. of the Consent Calendar), which is as follows:
5. Officers shall serve no more than two years in a leadership position (Chair or Vice Chair) over their lifetime of service to a particular board or commission. This is intended to provide increased opportunities for leadership to members of the community, in alignment with the City’s commitment to greater equity and inclusion.
The new language can be read two ways, one of which is that Board & Commission members are to be limited to 2 years in the aggregate in any leadership position (Chair or Vice Chair), but it is not crystal clear on this point, so the language needs to be clarified to address the following questions:
Does this mean up to two years serving in each position (if elected), for a total of 4 years of leadership service?
Or does this mean only two years total leadership serving in either position? The language as drafted is not clear on whether one could serve up to 4 years (2 as VC, 2 as Chair).....and a conservative reading is that one can only serve 2 years total in leadership, period.
As I believe other public commenters may have noted, 2 years in the aggregate is too restrictive as there is value in a Board Member or Commissioner gaining experience in a Vice Chair role and also in a Chair stepping back into a Vice Chair role to advise and effect continuity, implement institutional knowledge of how the City and the appointed position work, etc. etc.
I'm a supporter of term limits as a general concept, but the conservative reading of this language would be going a bit overboard.
ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023
ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023
2 So unless the intention is to significantly weaken your Boards & Commissions by depriving those who've gained the knowledge and experience to be effective in leadership roles, allowing for 4 years in the aggregate (up to two as Chair, up to two as Vice Chair), would be the way to go.
Also, please run any changes to these rules by your Boards and Commissions first before bringing changes to Council.
Thanks so much,
Ann Bowman
Recreation and Parks Commissioner
City Clerk – Please include this letter in the Public Record for Agenda Item 5.A., City Council meeting of December 12, 2023.
ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023
ITEM 5.A.
December 12, 2023