A.
Generally. This describes all standing multiple-member body appointments made by the Barnstable Town Council, and further delineates manner and time of appointment and terms of appointment generally, and authorities, responsibilities and interrelationships with the other sections of the organization. Town of Barnstable representatives to regional governmental boards and committees shall, unless the organic law establishing such a committee provides otherwise, be appointed by the Town Council.
B.
Standing committees and ad hoc committees.
(1)
This article of the Administrative Code lists and describes all current standing committees of the Town. The Barnstable Town Council may establish additional standing committees of the Town, based upon passage, by a majority vote of its members, of an ordinance creating said standing committee. Organic ordinances establishing standing committees shall specify the following: membership, term of office, authorities and responsibilities, and interrelationships with both the Town Council and other agencies within the organization.
(2)
The Barnstable Town Council may from time to time, based upon passage by a majority vote of its membership, establish ad hoc committees to assist the Town Council in carrying out the Council's responsibilities. Ad hoc committees shall be limited to a particular subject area and serve only in that capacity for a specific period of time.
C.
Term of office. The terms of office of multiple-member boards are arranged so that 1/3 of the terms, as nearly as is possible, shall expire each year. A vacancy shall be filled by the Town Council for the remainder of the term, except when vacancies occur involving a majority of the members of a multiple-member board which conducts adjudicatory hearings, then the Town Council may make interim appointments for a period not to exceed six months while permanent members are sought to fill the remainder of the term. Length of office is three years, except as noted. Appointments are effective the first of July, and expire the 30th of June. Numbers of members for boards will vary. The Town Council shall annually evaluate all members subject to reappointment. Members may be removed for cause, subject to an investigation and hearing by the Town Council, pursuant to the Charter, Section 2-10.
[Amended 9-4-2008 by Order No. 2009-016]
D.
Annual reports. All multiple-member boards of the Town of Barnstable shall prepare annual reports of their activities and submit same to the Town Manager for inclusion in the Annual Report of the Town, on or before the fourth Friday in January. The annual report shall describe calendar-year activities for the year ending each December 31. Where required by state and/or federal regulations, certain boards shall be required to submit copies of their annual reports to appropriate state and/or federal agencies.
E.
Multiple-member board internal organization. Each multiple-member board shall, at a minimum, annually elect from its membership a chair, vice chair and clerk. Boards may further elect a treasurer, and such other officer or officers as are deemed necessary or as is required by statute. The annual election shall occur in July of each year, or as near after appointment of new members by the Town Council. The Town Council shall be notified of the officers of the board upon their election. The chair shall preside over all meetings of the board, and shall be the official representative of the board in all proceedings before the Town Council and other officials of the Town. The vice chair shall perform the chair's functions, in the absence of the chair. The clerk shall be responsible for the certification of the board's meeting minutes, observance of the public records law, and maintenance of other records of the board.
F.
Time and place of meetings. The clerk of each board shall be responsible for notifying the Town Clerk and the Town Council on or before the first of January of the regularly scheduled board meeting times and dates for the ensuing calendar year. The notification shall also include a location for each regular meeting. This shall not prevent boards from calling special meetings in addition to those regularly scheduled, provided that, in all instances, standards of the Open Meeting Law are followed. The Town Clerk shall ensure posting of all meeting schedules, consistent with the Open Meeting Law.[1] No multiple-member board shall schedule a regular meeting which conflicts with a regularly scheduled meeting of the Town Council.
G.
Authority to establish subcommittees. Each multiple-member board may, by a majority vote of its membership, establish subcommittees of the board for the purpose of addressing a particular issue or issues. A report of their activities shall regularly be made to the full board. Each subcommittee so established shall observe laws relevant to the keeping of public records, the Open Meeting Law, and any other laws as prescribed by the Barnstable Town Charter, by ordinance or by law.
H.
Multiple-member board meetings with Town Council. Annually at reorganization, the President and Vice President shall designate each Councilor as the Council liaison to one or more of the multiple-member bodies, after taking into consideration the preferences of each Councilor. Each multiple-member body shall have such a liaison relationship with the Council. The chairman of each multiple-member board shall annually, upon election, meet with the member of the Town Council to which the board is assigned a reporting relationship, for the purpose of defining an appropriate reporting relationship during the ensuing fiscal year. The meeting should review the following minimum areas: frequency and method of reporting, official or officials responsible for reporting, transmittal of monthly and quarterly summaries of board actions, and board and Council committee roles in development of legislation and/or policy of interest to the board.
[Amended 2-2-1995 by Order No. 95-072]
I.
Authority of standing committees.
(1)
Standing committees may be:
(a)
Advisory: wherein the committee has no legal authority to promulgate rules or regulations, decide individual cases or enact policy;
(b)
Regulatory: wherein the committee has legal authority to promulgate rules and regulations, decide individual cases and enact policy;
(c)
Ministerial: wherein the committee has legal authority to take actions which are essentially administrative in nature; or
(d)
Combinations of advisory, regulatory, and ministerial.
(2)
Standing committees shall be defined in the manner noted.
J.
Eligibility for service. Any registered voter of the Town of Barnstable, except a permanent full-time municipal employee of the Town, is eligible to be appointed to a standing committee of the Town. Only where expressly authorized by the Barnstable Town Charter, the Town Administrative Code, ordinance or general law shall a permanent full-time municipal employee be appointed by the Town Council for service on a standing committee. This limitation shall not apply to ad hoc committees as further defined in Subsection B of this § 241-8. Membership on a standing committee of the Town shall terminate forthwith upon the members ceasing to be a resident of the Town or otherwise ceasing to be a registered voter, unless explicitly excused from the foregoing residence and voter requirements of the Town.
[Amended 8-15-1996 by Order No. 97-017]