Council directs staff to standardize committee governance, forms short review committee

The council reviewed an inventory of liaison, external and internal committees and a proposed set of standard governance questions intended to clarify each committee's purpose, notice and reporting obligations under the Brown Act.

Assistant Town Manager Mark Maddox said staff contacted committee leads and prepared a spreadsheet that lists committee scope, meeting cadence, agenda responsibility and records retention; he recommended sunsetting an on-site ad hoc committee that has not met in many years and using a structured review and sunset cadence for others.

Council members discussed whether to form an additional committee to review the inventory, and several asked that the review emphasize written reporting to the full council. Council member Lang and Council member Bowen volunteered (and staff agreed) to meet with the assistant town manager and the clerk to fill out the standardized form and return recommended actions to the full council. The council also directed staff to consider timing the full review to precede December council assignments (suggested November touchpoint).