Citizen-led committees could be consolidated in Belfast soon if efforts by the city manager and City Council are successful. The move, they said, would increase efficiency and communication in the government.
Belfast has 19 city committees covering everything from housing and property development to energy to climate issues. The proposed reorganization, presented by city staff and City Manager Erin Herbig at the Belfast City Council meeting on Tuesday, would merge eight committees into four new city policy committees, each dedicated to a specific set of related issues.
The proposal is months in the making and takes into account the thoughts of those who serve on committees. Survey responses from committee members over the last two months about the proposed reorganization have been mostly positive, Herbig said.
Since taking office in early 2020, Herbig said she’s heard concerns from committees about the disconnect between their work and the City Council. Vacancies, inactive members and unclear priorities have been issues for years, Herbig and some councilors agreed.
“You’re hearing from committees that they want a more clear direction from the council on how they interact,” Herbig said. “I really think we owe it to them to provide that.”
The new city policy committees would include the recently formed Housing and Property Development Committee, as well as three new committees: the Climate, Energy and Utilities Committee; the Pedestrian, Transportation and Accessibility Committee; and the Parks, Trails and Recreation Committee.
The proposal outlines standardized committee membership of nine active members and up to two alternate members in case of a mid-year resignation. All current committee members would have their positions transferred to one of the new committees under the proposed plan, Herbig said. The plan would add non-voting positions for city councilors on each committee and mandates at least one meeting between each committee and the council per year.
Councilor Paul Dean said the reorganization would be a step in the right direction to addressing issues. For instance, the Accessibility Committee has never even met and has not presented a list of clear priorities for their funding, he said.
Streamlining communication between city staff, councilors and committee members is essential, Herbig said.
The plan also calls for annual committee training in September hosted by the city manager’s staff. The training would educate new members on the importance of maintaining agendas and minutes in accordance with Maine public records laws and ensure they have a clear understanding of how to get their proposals heard by the council.
City staff first proposed restructuring the committees at the March 21 City Council meeting. The proposal was tabled at both April meetings. Councilors moved to table the proposal again until their next meeting on June 20, but they and Herbig agreed that a final decision must be made to address committee members’ concerns.
“Time is of the essence at this point given that we are currently accepting applications to city committees,” Herbig said. “This is our opportunity.”
