At an agenda-review meeting of the Boynton Beach City Commission, commissioners and staff discussed repeated reports that residents who applied online for advisory boards were not appearing on published appointment lists and explored fixes ranging from IT changes to an ordinance amendment. The discussion covered whether commissioners should be allowed to present vetted candidates at the dais subject to clerk verification, and whether staff must automate application acknowledgments.

The issue matters because commissioners said residents who apply and receive no confirmation may stop volunteering; staff and commissioners said better tracking and automated confirmation would improve transparency and civic participation. The commission also discussed a separate, first-reading ordinance on advisory-board procedures that could codify changes.

Commissioners and staff described multiple failures in the current workflow for advisory-board appointments and proposed short- and medium-term fixes. City Clerk Maylee said two additional applications had been received for a board that currently has no vacancies, and described how the clerk’s office currently notifies applicants when their submission is scheduled for a commission meeting and later sends notice of appointment or non-selection. Maylee said, “we do typically tell them, like, hey. You know, there's no positions for these boards, but these boards are open over here,” and that the clerk’s office updates the website when vacancies change.

Several commissioners said the primary problem is that applicants sometimes receive no confirmation that an online submission was received. Commissioners asked staff to check whether the application portal logs timestamps and to work with IT to add automated confirmation emails at the point of submittal. One commissioner suggested allowing a commissioner to appoint a vetted candidate at the meeting “subject to verification by the city clerk,” a change staff said is possible but would require clarification in the pending ordinance.

City staff said the ordinance currently does not address last-minute presentations by commissioners and that adding explicit language is feasible. Staff also recommended keeping a paper/online application on file for recordkeeping if a commissioner presents a candidate. The commission asked staff to report back with: (1) what the current online system logs and whether the system can send automated receipt confirmations; (2) whether a short administrative change could allow a commissioner to present a vetted candidate subject to clerk verification; and (3) suggested language for the advisory-board ordinance at second reading to make process and residency criteria clear.

No formal motion or vote was recorded during the discussion; commissioners directed staff to investigate the application portal, speak with IT, and provide recommended ordinance language and administrative steps to ensure applicants receive timely acknowledgement and that appointment records are transparent.

Looking forward, the clerk's office said it will consider including, on the standard appointment letter, a short list of applicants who applied but could not be appointed because no position was open, and staff will explore automating the receipt confirmation at application submittal. The commission agreed to revisit any proposed ordinance language between first and second readings.