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The Committee considered bylaw changes pertaining to attendance and recruitment/selection, and a proposed code system of seat names that do not distinguish consumers and family members of consumers from other Commission seats.
The Committee voted to accept updated staff material that better illustrates the Commission recommendation pertaining to attendance. To the added material, the Committee made the following revisions:
2.1 Attendance requirements
a) Regular attendance at Commission meetings is mandatory for all Commission members.
1) A member who is absent from who has four (4) unexcused absences from regularly scheduled full Commission meetings in any consecutive twelve-month period, as opposed to calendar year, shall be deemed to have resigned from the Commission. In such event, the former Commission member’s status will be noted at the next scheduled Commission and shall be recorded in the Commission’s minutes. The Chairperson shall, without further direction from the Commission, apprise the Board of Supervisors of the member’s resignation and request the appointment of a replacement.
2) A Commissioner's absence from a regularly scheduled Commission meeting may be excused in the case of an unforeseen, extraordinary circumstance, including but not limited to major illness, natural disaster, or civil unrest. Commissioners shall obtain consent from the Chair at least one day prior to the meeting, for any planned absences. Excused absences will be recorded in the meeting minutes as an "excused absence".
b) Each Commissioner will ensure that when s/he attends Commission-sponsored meetings (excluding Commission and Committee meetings) or activities representing her/himself as a Commissioner, s/her expresses only those views approved by the Commission.
c) Regular attendance of one standing Commission Committee, with the exception of Executive Committee, is mandatory for all Commission members.
1) A member who is absent from who has four (4) unexcused absences from regularly scheduled Commission Committee meetings in any consecutive twelve-month period shall be deemed to have resigned from the Committee. In such event, the former Committee member’s status will be noted at the next scheduled Committee meeting and shall be recorded in the Committee’s minutes. The resigned member shall choose a different Committee on which to serve.
To the language proposed in the staff report, the Committee made the following revisions to the Section 4. Vacancies and Recruitment:
4.4 Each County Supervisor will encourage any applicant being considered for the Mental Health Commission to attend at least one Commission meeting prior to their appointment. Applicants are will also be encouraged to meet with the MHC Chair, MHC Vice Chair and/or ad-hoc committee prior to accepting position to ensure full understanding of the roles, responsibilities, and restrictions of being a Mental Health Commissioner.
The Committee instructed the Clerk of the Board's office to adopt a seat name code system that uses generic titles for the MHC seats. For example, each District is assigned three seats, one designated for consumer of mental health services, one designated for a family member of a consumer, and one designated as a member at large:
District #, Seat 1 = Consumer Member
District #, Seat 2 = Family Member
District #1, Seat 3 = At Large Member
The Local Appointment List and recruitment materials would need to identify what each code seat name represents; however, for all other purposes, the generic seat name will suffice. |