Memorandum                    

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	Thomas M. Markus, City Manager
FROM:	Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager
DATE:	August 15, 2017
CC:	Casey Toomay, Assistant City Manager
RE:	Follow up from Work Session on Advisory Boards/Committees

On August 8, 2017, the City Commission held a Work Session to discuss advisory boards and committees, the subject of which is an initiative in the city’s strategic plan.  This memo attempts to summarize that meeting and the general direction provided by the City Commission at the meeting.  I recommend that this memo be shared with the City Commission to ensure that this captures the direction provided and there is appropriate follow up on these issues for formal action.

Below is a list of key future tasks:

• Return the draft policy for formal consideration as submitted with the addition of term limits for advisory boards and addressing Commissioners serving on advisory boards.
• Explore consideration of appointing alternates to boards.  Provide a staff report on this issue.
• Proceed with work toward merging the various code appeals boards.  Note:  With the review prior to consideration of updating to the 2018 codes, staff would now recommend not proceeding with this merger until after the 2018 code review has been completed by these various boards.  That would result in the most number of individuals possible having review of the codes prior to City Commission consideration.
• Examine whether the Sister Cities Advisory Board could discontinue its status as an advisory board of the City, while retaining the important link to the City and not sending the wrong message to our international partners.  A resolution was suggested as a possible alternative. 
• Amend the code related to the Sales Tax Audit Committee, retaining the committee in the event that the renewal of the sales taxes is passed in November 2017. 
• Return consideration of merging the Lawrence Alliance with the Human Relations Commission.
• Return consideration of merging the Joint Economic Development Council into the Public Incentives Review Committee.
• Return consideration of merging the Community Development Advisory Committee into the Social Services Funding Advisory Board.
• Return consideration of repealing the obsolete boards:  Lawrence Advisory Board on University Student Issues, the Downtown Parking Advisory Board, and the ECO2 Commission.

Staff plans follow up on these issues as time permits.  There is significant background work, such as the preparation of ordinances, related to most of these items.  The policy should be able to return to the City Commission for formal consideration fairly swiftly, however.   It should be noted staff does not plan on pursing the other recommendations in the August 8 presentation, except those outlined above.