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The City of Longmont has a total of 22 citizen based boards,
committees, and commissions on which approximately 160 citizens serve. Generally,
the terms board, committee, commission, and authority are synonymous, however,
there are a few differences in the functions and powers of some boards. These
differences are outlined below. Regardless of which type of board you may
serve on, your participation will help ensure that our local government is
truly addressing the needs of our entire community through the services, planning
and decision making it provides.
Advisory Boards/Committees/Commissions
The majority of boards appointed by City Council operate in an advisory capacity
to the Council. Most of the boards are made up of between five and seven members
with at least one staff liaison and a secretary. Several of these boards also
have a Council member sitting on the board as a member.
Advisory boards are standing committees and have specific areas for which
they are responsible. Each board reviews, discusses and makes recommendations
to Council on a variety of issues associated with its function. The issues
reviewed by these boards may deal with City policies, budgets, fees, programs,
services, etc. Recommendations from advisory boards are forwarded to the City
Council by the staff liaison or Committee Chair. The City Council has the
final decision making responsibility and must carefully weigh board recommendations
with citizens, business owners, staff and other interested party comments
to arrive at a decision that Council believes is in the overall best interest
of the Longmont community.
Quasi-Judicial Boards
Quasi-judicial boards are the second major category of standing boards appointed
by City Council. These boards are given specific powers through State statutes
and are created by ordinance. Quasi-judicial boards deal with specific items
which, at one time, Council heard and made decisions on at its regular meetings.
The ordinances creating these boards delegate Council’s authority to
act to the specific boards. Unlike the advisory board recommendations, the
decisions made by the quasi-judicial boards are final and can only be appealed
to, and overturned by, a court.
The City currently has two quasi-judicial boards: The Board of Adjustment
and Appeals and the Master Board of Appeals. Both of these boards deal with
requests for exception to various building codes.
Alternate Board Members
Several of the standing boards appointed by Council have Alternate members.
Currently the City has alternate board members for the Master Board of Appeals,
the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Senior Citizens Advisory Board, the
Airport Advisory Board, the Board of Adjustment and Appeals, and the Historic
Preservation Commission. Alternate members are generally designated for boards
which require a certain level of expertise or familiarity with state or local
laws. While service as an alternate is not a prerequisite to filling a vacant
position on the board, serving as an alternate can provide a citizen with
a level of experience which allows them to step in at a moment's notice as
a fully functioning regular board member. Alternate members require the same
level of commitment as regular board members because alternates are expected
to attend all meetings of the regular board. Alternates sit on the regular
board in the event a regular member is absent; therefore, it is critical that
the alternates be as well informed about issues the board is working on as
regular members are.
Task Forces
Task forces are committees that Council sets up from time to time to focus
on a specific item or task. A task force is given direction from Council and
serves only until the task for which it was created is accomplished. In the
past, Council has created task forces for such items as establishing priorities
for Parks and Recreation needs, reviewing potential uses for the Carnegie
building, and making recommendations on a solid waste collection program.
The size of these committees can vary from a few individuals to many depending
on the issue and the scope of the assigned task.
With few exceptions, the meetings of City Council and any of its appointed
boards are open to the public. Citizen participation is encouraged and welcomed
at these meetings. Council and staff believe that the more involved citizens
are in the early stages of program and legislation development, the better
local government can meet the needs and expectations of this community.
Boards and Commissions
The provisions for the City’s boards and commissions are set forth as
follows in Article VII of the City Charter:
Unless otherwise provided by the Charter or by ordinance,
all Boards and Commissions shall be appointed by the Council, shall be advisory
in character, shall serve without compensation, but shall be paid their authorized
expenses actually incurred in the discharge of their official duties, and
shall have such powers, and perform such duties as are provided by Ordinance.
Council shall establish policy for appointing members of boards and commissions
and for the terms of said appointments. All members shall serve at the pleasure
of the City Council and shall be subject to removal by two-thirds vote of
the entire Council. The Council shall make appointments to fill vacancies
of the unexpired terms.
Each Board and Commission shall choose its own Chairman and Vice-Chairman
and shall adopt its own rules of procedure for the proper conduct of its business.
Persons shall be eligible to serve on Boards and Commissions who have been
qualified electors of the City of Longmont for one (1) year prior to their
appointment. (Amendment No. 8, November 8, 1983; Amendment No. 9, 1975, which
also repealed Secs. 7.2-7.6)