CRB committee approves bylaws change setting nominating-committee report timetable

The Community Review Board Executive Committee voted to approve and forward to the full board an amendment that requires the nominating committee to deliver its report at the November executive committee meeting following October appointments. The committee approved the change by voice/hand vote after several members discussed timing, quorum rules and a 60‑day holdover provision.

The change is meant to ensure the nominating committee’s recommendation is available in time for elections; Committee members said the board has previously needed to hold elections before receiving a nominating-committee report. "We could have a board report by the executive committee meeting in November," Board member William Brown said during discussion.

Committee members explained why timing matters: many member terms end Oct. 31 and new appointees from the mayor’s office — if appointed at an October council meeting — may not be present for internal deliberations unless the nominating committee reports the following month. Staff and counsel noted an appendix of municipal code and Tennessee Code Annotated (TCA) provisions will be attached as an exhibit to the final bylaws draft rather than repeating statutory composition language in the bylaws.

Several members raised the 60‑day holdover practice that has previously allowed incumbents to continue serving until a replacement is appointed, and asked whether that language needs to be repeated in the bylaws. "That 60 days helps us so that we can have a point...so we'd be able to have the quorum and be able to operate officially according to the bylaws," one committee member said. Staff said they will check whether the 60‑day holdover is already established in the ordinance or the creating act and report back.

Members also debated how the statute defines quorum for the board and subcommittees. The committee cited "38 8 3 12" (as discussed in the meeting transcript) as specifying a quorum requirement; one member read aloud that "4 members of the committee shall constitute a quorum." Members said that language could be more restrictive than a simple majority and asked staff to clarify how quorum will operate if the board shrinks from seven to fewer members.

The motion to approve the draft with the added nominating-committee report date was made and seconded; the committee then voted to forward the amended bylaws to the full board. The committee asked staff to circulate a cleaned-up redline and the exhibit containing municipal-code and TCA references before the next full-board meeting so all members have time to review the changes.

Committee members asked that the staff-confirmed status of the 60‑day holdover and the statute-defined quorum be clarified at the next meeting; no change to a 60‑day holdover was added to the amendment approved for presentation.

The committee’s approval clears the way for the proposed text (including the nominating-committee report date) to be considered by the full Community Review Board at its next meeting.