Ocean City Scraps Board Term Limits; Public Wanted Fresh Voices Heard

OCEAN CITY – A proposal to eliminate term limits for those serving on city boards and commissions drew fire at the Nov. 29 City Council meeting.
 “We’re finding that we don’t have as many citizen volunteers as we’d like for some of the boards and in some cases that leaves us short because people have timed out,” said city Attorney Dorothy McCrosson, explaining the ordinance to city council.
“We have wonderful volunteers who have had a good experience who are forced to step down. This would give some flexibility to the council and the mayor, the appointing authority in these cases, to invite experienced board members to continue to serve the city,” she said.
Council voted unanimously to introduce the ordinance, which is set for a public hearing and final vote 7 p.m. Dec. 13 on the third floor of City Hall, 861 Asbury Ave.
Under the current rules, the city limits service on boards, authorities, and commissions to two terms. The change would not impact service on the Board of Education which is an elected position, but would change things on the numerous city-appointed boards, including the Planning and Zoning boards, the Shade Tree Committee, the Historic Preservation Commission, the Environmental Commission, the Tourism Development Commission and more.
Some residents argued that the change means less chance for new voices on the city-appointed bodies, but officials responded that the existing rules meant losing dedicated public servants at a time when fewer residents are volunteering.
“I think that’s the wrong move to make. I think organizations become stale and ineffective when there’s no new blood in there,” said resident Bill Hartranft, one of several who spoke on the issue.
“New people bring new ideas. They’re not mired in the mud, in the same-old-same-old that organizations tend to fall into. It’s a solid management position to change the blood frequently,” he continued.
Council members said they would continue to appoint new people to the city commissions and will reach out to residents seeking people interested in participating in boards and commissions.
“I’ve wrestled with this a little bit, because I hear what the commenters are saying, but I’ve lived it a little bit as the liaison to the Utility Advisory Commission, and I was a member before being on council,” said Councilman Bob Barr. “We couldn’t have a meeting, because members went off the board and we couldn’t replace the people, so we didn’t have a quorum.”
He said the size of the boards had to be reduced so there could be a quorum for meetings. He added that the council still decides who will be appointed. He said for those interested in serving, there would still be a process to be considered for appointment.
“I’m committed to new energy, new ideas. I think that’s a good thing,” he said.
Councilman Antwan McClellan asked if anything else in the ordinance would change. It would not.
He added that council would continue to appoint people they believe will best serve the community.
“We don’t anticipate that the process of soliciting new members to these organizations will change in any way,” said McCrosson. “When somebody’s term expires, we’ll solicit volunteers, and City Council will vote on them. By no means will we not welcome new volunteers.”
Councilman Keith Hartzell said the existing rule encouraged council to keep people in place for a full two terms. He said at times the chairman or chairwoman would express concerns about specific board members.
“I believe this will actually be better, as much as I wrestled with it because now people will know it’s term-by-term depending on how well you do,” Hartzell said.
In some cases people in leadership have left boards, which has hurt the boards, he said.
Councilman Michael DeVlieger said the council has had “some juicy meetings about who should be on, who shouldn’t be on. They were pretty fun.”
He suggested putting a “sunset provision” in the ordinance, forcing the council to revisit the issue, a suggestion that was included in the ordinance on introduction.
Council members supported the idea, settling on a three-year period, after which the new ordinance would need to be reinstated to remain in effect.
“Even if you sunset, you can bring it back any time. You can bring it back next month,” said Mayor Jay Gillian.
“I think this alleviates the concerns of the citizens that spoke today,” said Councilwoman Karen Bergman. “They can see how we choose our board members and that we aren’t just ignoring the new people, the new blood that wants to volunteer.”
On the city website, www.ocnj.us, there are instructions for applying for appointment to a board or commission under a section marked “citizen leadership form,” with forms to be completed online, mailed or dropped off with City Clerk Melisa Rasner at City Hall.
When this story was completed, the single board with seats open for 2018 was the Healthy Living Advisory Council.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.