#4 Possible changes to committee member application form
Recently Ms. Mary Willmer-Sheedy of the Citizen Advisory Committee on Appointments
asked staff a few questions regarding the committee appointment process. Please find
below the questions in bold and the answers following.
-Is there ever any discussion between the City Staff, Admissions Committee or
other party to the chair of the committee to see what their perceive their needs
are for a committee member?
The current process is through a written format between the Appointment Committee
and Committee Chairs prior to the annual appointment timeframe.
At the February 9, 2009 meeting of the appointment committee, staff was asked to send
a letter to the chairs of each committee where there are vacancies informing them of the
new appointment process and asking them to respond via letter or through conversation
with staff if they have any concerns with members eligible for re-appointment or any
attributes they would like to see represented in future committee members. The
committee then wanted to review these comments as part of their process when
choosing volunteers for nomination.
Following that meeting, staff sent letters to all committee chairs with vacancies. For the
March 19, 2009 meeting of the committee staff shared, through the agenda memo
dated March 3, that no letters were received and no conversations were had. If there
had been letters or conversation, staff would have shared that with the appointment
committee. Likewise, those letters or comments would be shared at any applicable time
throughout the year for mid-term vacancies.
-If a committee is looking to add younger members to diversify the committee,
how would we (Appointment Committee) know that?
If a committee chair desired certain attributes for new members, they would have that
opportunity to share their ideas by letter or conversation after receiving the letter from
staff encouraging them to comment. The City Manager’s office recommends that at
some time the Appointment Committee may want to discuss if there are goals to
diversify in general to provide a broad spectrum of thought.
Following conversation with the City Attorney’s office, staff strongly cautions the
Committee from examining age as a factor of appointment, as the City of Janesville may
not discriminate or make decisions based on a person’s age.
-Should we consider putting a diversity qualifier on the list - i.e. is it legal to ask
that question of ethnicity, and/or is it something we would want to do - again to
diversify the city committees?
Staff examined committee application forms for two peer cities and found that one had
an optional section regarding gender, age and race/ethnic group. The Committee would
be able to update the City’s application to add this optional section; however, the
Committee may not make decisions based on these factors.
While the other peer city application does not include an optional section regarding
personal characteristics, there are other questions the committee may wish to add to
Janesville’s application if they are interested in obtaining more details about applicants.
Staff will add to the November 12 agenda an item regarding possible changes to the
application form in case the Committee would wish to discuss this matter.
The City Manager’s office would recommend the same thought process here as in the
above question.
-Does the Council go to the chair of the applicable committee prior to their
approval of our recommendations to make sure the person we recommend will fit
the needs of that committee? Should they?
Staff is uncertain whether Councilmembers touch base with committee chairs or
members to hear their thoughts regarding upcoming committee vacancies. There is not
a formal process for this concept.
City of Janesville
Committee Volunteer Form
Name:E-Mail:
Address:Zip:
Home Phone:Cell Phone:
Employer:Occupation:
Which committee are you interested in serving?
Any committee
Alcohol License AdvisoryLeisure Services Advisory
Cable AdvisoryLibrary Board of Trustees
Citizens Board of ReviewPlan Commission
Citizen Advisory Committee on AppointmentsPolice & Fire Commission (PFC)
Community Development Authority (CDA)Sustainable Janesville
Golf Course AdvisoryTransportation
Historic CommissionZoning Board of Appeals (ZBA)
Ice Skating Center Advisory
If applying for the Ice Skating Center Advisory Committee, are you representing:
Janesville's Youth Hockey Organization?YesNo
Janesville's Figure Skating Club?YesNo
The NAHL/Wisconsin Hockey Partners (WHP)?YesNo
The Janesville School District?YesNo
Are you an alternate applying for a voting member position?YesNo
Are you applying for re-appointment to a committee in which you already serve?YesNo
Do you have any previous experience (including service on any city or county committee or volunteer
experiences) that would be relevant to the committee of your interest?
Do you have any special qualifications that would be relevant to the committee of your interest?
Do you have any technical training that would be relevant to the committee of your interest?
Why do you wish to serve on a committee?
Please Return to: City of Janesville, City Manager's Office, P.O. Box 5005, Janesville, WI 53547
For questions, call 755-3177.
APPLICATION FOR APPOINTMENT
Would You Like to Serve in Beloit’s Municipal Committee System?
The Municipal Committee System is a way for citizens to take part in city government and local decision
All
making.
applications will be kept in an active file for 2 years.
After that time we encourage you to complete a
new application. Please note that by City Ordinance, it is not possible to serve on more than one committee at a time.
NAME:
ADDRESS [HOME]:
PHONE [HOME]:___________________________________E-MAIL: ________________________________________
OCCUPATION:EMPLOYER:
WORK PHONE: ADDRESS:
( )
How long have you been a resident of the City of Beloit? ______________
MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE PREFERENCES: (see attached summary of committees)
1st Choice:2nd Choice:
3rd Choice:4th Choice:
WORK EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: pertaining to choices above.
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE EXPERIENCE OR AFFILIATIONS: (City, School, Church and Social clubs) Include dates and
a brief description of each.
According to the City Ordinances: No person may be appointed to the committee if any member of that person’s family is a
municipal employee whose job is affected, directly or indirectly, by the work of the committee. Family is defined as: mother,
father, spouse, brother, sister and natural or adopted son or daughter. Therefore, we need to ask the following question:
Is any member of your family (as listed above) a City employee? YES __________ (please list below) NO __________
NAMEDEPARTMENT
List any additional information you feel is relevant to your application for appointment to the Beloit Municipal
Committee System.
If you are appointed to serve, please be aware that Wisconsin State Statutes require you to take an Oath of Office and
file a Statement of Economic Interest before attending your first meeting.
OPTIONAL INFORMATION
The City of Beloit is a very diverse community comprised of people from all ages; social, educational and economic
levels; racial and ethnic groups; religious faiths; and lifestyles. The Appointment Review Committee seeks to promote
greater participation of persons from those segments of the community currently under represented throughout Beloit's
Municipal Committee System. In an effort to achieve that goal, the following supplementary information is requested:
GENDER: Please Check One RACE/ETHNIC GROUP: Please Check One
[ ] Male [ ] Female [ ] White/Caucasian
[ ] Black/African-American
AGE: [ ] Hispanic/Latino
[ ] Asian-American/Pacific Islanders
[ ] Native American Indian/Alaskan Native
[ ] Other:
Thank you very much for taking the time to complete this application for appointment. Your interest in participating in the
If you have any question, please contact us at (608) 364-6614
Municipal Committee System is greatly appreciated. .
Return application to Appointment Review Committee, c/o City Manager’s Office, 100 State Street, Beloit, WI 53511.
rev. 04/2005