Agenda

Return

C. 55

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	David Twa, County Administrator
Date:	March 19, 2019

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Updated Advisory Body Application

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 03/19/2019

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

ABSENT:

Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor

Contact:	Jami Napier, (925) 335-1908
cc:	IOC Staff

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: March 19, 2019
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

ADOPT the updated Advisory Body application form and proposed timeline and activities for implementation.

FISCAL IMPACT:

None

BACKGROUND:

Contra Costa County has 77 active advisory boards, committees, and commissions (advisory bodies) that advise the Board of Supervisors on numerous functions. To apply to serve on an advisory board, Contra Costa County provides an application that interested community members can complete and return to the Clerk of the Board or designated County staff. The current application form was approved in 2011 to provide additional detail and professionalism in advisory board and commissions applications.

BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)

The current form (Attachment 1) is offered in two formats: as a PDF form and as an online form through Granicus. Applications can be submitted digitally either online through Granicus or by email to the Clerk of the Board or staff. Applications can also be submitted in paper format to the Clerk of the Board's office in-person or by mail. The current application appears as four (4) pages in PDF form. Informal feedback

from members of the public, County staff, and Supervisors indicate that the current application seems like a job application and is off-putting to prospective applicants.

The application is unnecessarily lengthy and is missing information that the Supervisors and County staff would like to know when reviewing applications. The current application includes detailed job history and education information that is not relevant to the role of an advisory board commissioner. Additionally, the current application is missing information that is helpful in evaluating applicants — such as their motivation for serving, and whether or not applicants have attended meetings in the past.

Clerk of the Board (COB) staff reviewed applications from the nine Bay Area counties, as well as Contra Costa County's pre-2011 application. Based on public feedback and comments, as well as the review of neighboring counties, a draft mock-up of an application was created for discussion purposes at the Internal Operations Committee meeting.

Beginning in March of 2017, Clerk of the Board has allowed for online applications to be submitted through Granicus as a link on the Boards and Commissions webpage. The online form is intended to have the same fields as the paper copy; however, demand from supervisors has led to the addition of an optional field, requesting that applicants describe why they are interested in serving on the advisory board or commission. Clerk of the Board would like to ensure that the online format and the PDF format should match in order and content.

Contra Costa County is not unique in offering an online form: four (4) of the other nine (9) Bay Area counties offer an online application method as well. However, these counties do not offer a PDF format, and reserve the format for in-person applicants. The remaining four (4) Bay Area counties only offer a PDF (and paper) application format, and do not offer an online method. Contra Costa is the only one that allows and promotes both application methods equally, and sees significant number of applications in both formats. Each format has a different set of advantages and disadvantages, and Clerk of the Board plans to continue to offer both methods. The Clerk of the Board will harmonize the content and order of the questions presented in both formats, based on the timeline suggested below.

At the December 10, 2018 Internal Operations Committee meeting, Supervisors Burgis and Andersen approved the new application form and directed the Chief Assistant Clerk of the Board to bring the item to the full board. Two minor changes were requested: an expansion of the education section and an added checkbox indicating that the applicant would like to be considered for service on other advisory bodies for which he/she may be qualified. The Clerk of the Board made the requested changes and the resulting application is included as Attachment 2.

In order to properly communicate the retirement of the current application and adoption of the new application, the Clerk of the Board requests the following timeline, should the item be approved.

March 20-April 15:

Clerk of the Board staff will contact all Advisory Body staff to inform them of the new adopted application and retirement of the prior application.
The Granicus web-based application will be edited to concur with substance, questions, and order of the newly adopted form (to be deployed April 15, 2019).
The Clerk of the Board website will be updated to include the new application materials (to be deployed April 15, 2019).
A press release will be drafted announcing the new application, and will be posted as a news flash on the County’s webpage.
Clerk of the Board staff will search web results and the County’s webpage to identify links or postings of the County’s former application, and will make attempts to retire or update the links, where possible.

April 15:
The new Advisory Body application will replace the old application effective April 15, 2019, and the old application will be retired effective the same date. Beginning Monday, April 15, 2019, the new application will appear both online and in PDF.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

The current application does not provide the Supervisors with all of the needed information to evaluate the applicants.