§ 2.12.010. Policies for boards and commissions—Minimum standards of conduct and qualifications of appointive members of boards and commissions.

The following rules and regulations shall govern the qualifications and conduct of members appointed to the regulatory and advisory boards and commissions of the city, except as provided hereinafter:

(1)

All persons appointed to any board or commission shall be residents of the city or shall reside within the territory subject to the jurisdiction of the respective board or commission, except in the case of members of the technical boards hereafter identified. Persons appointed to the board of electrical appeals, the board of code standards and appeals, the board of appeals of air conditioning, refrigeration and warm air heating, the board of appeals of plumbers and gas fitters, or the successors thereof, shall not be subject to residency requirements, provided that non-residents shall not make up more than two members less than a quorum of any such technical board, and provided further, that any non-resident member shall maintain a city-issued certificate or license pertaining to a trade covered by the board on which the non-member serves.

(2)

No person regularly employed on a full-time basis by the city shall be appointed to any board or commission except in the case of members of the personnel advisory board and the employee retirement board.

(3)

No member of the immediate family of any member of the city council shall be appointed to a city board or commission.

(4)

No person shall be appointed for service as a member of more than one board or commission of the city at the same time; provided, that persons selected to serve on the citizens advisory committee for the workable program for community improvement shall be exempt from the provisions of this subsection.

(5)

No person shall be appointed to any board or commission who has served for eight consecutive years on such same board or commission unless two years have elapsed since the last service. Provided, that service prior to July 1, 1987, shall not be counted in determining eligibility for appointment under this provision.

(6)

Except when otherwise required by statute, as nearly as practicable, fifty percent of all members of city boards and commissions shall be public members whose business or professions are not related directly to the affairs conducted by the board or commission to which such persons are appointed.

(7)

Voting. All city boards and commissions shall discharge the responsibility of their appointive office and shall vote on all matters coming before the board or commission, except in those particular cases of conflict of interest approved by the presiding officer, in which case a member may request permission and may be authorized to pass his vote. Unless a member of the board or commission votes audibly to the contrary, or unless a member of the board or commission is granted permission by the presiding officer to pass his vote on a particular matter, his silence in voting shall be recorded as an affirmative vote.

(8)

Conflict of Interest. Each board or commission member of the city shall refrain from violating any of the statutes of the state (K.S.A. 75-4301, et seq.) which regulate conflicts of interest of public officers and employees, where such statutes are applicable to the board or commission members.

(9)

Public Participation. It is the policy of the city to allow public participation on items coming before each board and commission in open meeting. Following the presentation of each item on the agenda, the matter shall be opened for discussion from the floor by members of the public. Each public member shall be subject to a limitation of five minutes for each presentation unless extended by a vote of the majority of the board or commission. The presiding officer shall have the discretion to reasonably limit public comment where such presentation is exercised in a dilatory manner, is unduly repetitious or is not pertinent to the agenda item. Such time standards shall not be construed to restrict public discussion or hearings where otherwise controlled by ordinance or state or federal law. Rules of decorum as provided in this Code for members of the public before the city council shall be observed where appropriate. Any members of the public shall be allowed to submit items for the agenda, except for items pertaining to personnel, litigation, and other matters subject to executive session. Members of the public desiring to so present matters to the board or commission shall submit a request in writing stating the name of the individual(s) desiring to be heard and the matter to be presented, which request shall be submitted in the time and matter provided by such board or commission for placing items on its agenda. Items for the agenda unusually detailed or complicated, thus requiring more than five minutes for presentation, may be presented in writing prior to the meeting to allow for duplication and distribution to the board or commission.

(Ord. No. 45-794 § 1; Ord. No. 40-038 § 1)