Committee debates appointments policy wording; seeks clearer, less-prescriptive language

Committee members reviewed a new draft appointments policy on June 24 and discussed several substantive points, including whether the borough secretary should maintain rolling candidate lists, whether incumbents should be presumed to receive reappointment, and how prescriptive the policy should be regarding packet preparation and interview procedures.

Bureau Manager Maggie Dobbs explained the draft set out timelines and administrative roles, and committee members debated operational details. Some members said application lists should be retained on an ongoing basis (or for two years) rather than discarded at calendar year end; staff said the administrative burden is manageable and that more recent applications would be used first. Committee members also asked that the policy explicitly note there is no presumption of reappointment for incumbents.

The committee discussed whether the policy should require interviews in every case or leave that to the committee’s discretion; staff recommended describing a high-level process rather than prescribing administrative packet formatting. Members requested revised wording to capture the intent — to allow vetting before nominations at meetings — without overburdening staff with prescriptive instructions.

The committee agreed to continue refining the draft and place the revised appointments policy on next month’s agenda for further discussion.