A. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair. Each permanent board, commission and committee shall elect a chair and vice-chair by motion annually at the first meeting in each calendar year. The chair and vice-chair of temporary committees authorized by subsection (H) of this section may be selected by the Mayor prior to the first meeting of the committee to best ensure they understand the Council direction for the committee.

B. Staff Support. The City will provide necessary staff support for boards, commissions and committees, including postage, meeting place, clerical service, and new member orientation and training.

C. Meetings. All meetings shall be subject to the requirements of Oregon Public Meeting Law. A majority of the voting members shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business and the concurrence of a majority of those members present and voting shall be required to decide any matter. These meetings shall be an opportunity for public involvement in the discussion of issues relating to that particular board, committee, or commission.

D. Annual Reports and Minutes. Except for the Budget Committee, the chair or vice-chair of each committee, board or commission shall report on its activities at the request of Council. The written minutes for each committee, board or commission shall be submitted to the City Recorder or Council for information as requested. Recommendations to the Council shall be submitted with the published agenda prior to the Council meeting at which the matter will be considered and in a form prescribed by the City Recorder.

E. State Law and Conflicts of Interest. Boards, commissions, and committees of the City are subject to State public records statutes. Board, committee, and commission members appointed by the City are considered “public officials.” As such, they are expected to abide by State statutes governing conflicts of interest and other applicable provisions of State Ethics Law. Board, committee and commission members with clients who would be affected by action of the board, committee or commission shall declare actual and potential conflicts of interest of their clients and treat the conflicts as if they were their own. Board, committee and commission members are subject to State restrictions on election advocacy.

F. Comments. Boards, committees, and commissions may be asked to provide comments to other advisory bodies and staff when matters under consideration relate to their functional area of expertise.

G. Establishment of Permanent Boards, Commissions, and Committees. Permanent boards, commissions, and committees shall be established by ordinance, except that boards, commissions, and committees may be established by other means if required or expressly authorized by State statute.

H. Temporary Committees. The Council may establish temporary committees (including task forces, ad hoc or advisory committees) by resolution to address specific issues or to engage in specific tasks, within identified time frames, to make recommendations to Council. The scope of the authority and responsibilities of the temporary committees shall be established in the resolution creating the temporary committees. The Council may follow the recommendations, change the recommendations, reject the recommendations, refer the action back to the committee or take any other action the Council deems appropriate.

I. City Manager Advisory Groups. The City Manager or other staff at the City Manager’s direction may also create informal or more structured groups for the purpose of obtaining information, studying an issue (particularly related to a Council goal) or providing community input on a matter of City or Council interest. This includes temporary groups, such as technical advisory groups, focus groups, task forces, evaluation teams, and steering committees. The group or committee may give feedback or make a report or recommendation to the City Manager or staff, or upon request of the City Manager may help present the recommendation to the City Council. These groups/committees may or may not be subject to the Public Meetings Law, depending on the role and authority of the group. Generally, a group or committee will be subject to Public Meetings Law if it will be making a recommendation to City Council. The City Manager may choose to open some or all of a group or committee’s meetings to the public, even if the group or committee is not required to comply with the Public Meetings Law. [Ord. NS-2395, 2020; Ord. NS-2299, 2017; Ord. NS-2172, 2011; Ord. NS-2159, 2011]