After months of workshops, discussions and some delays, a complete overhaul of Kyle’s list of committees, along with the way it structures the selection process, is on the horizon.
By a 7-0 vote on June 2, council approved on first reading ordinances that eliminate all but two existing council appointed committees, and reconstructs the appointment process.
According to Mayor Todd Webster, the end result could mean, “fewer committees doing more targeted work” for citizens.
“This is a significant streamlining of a system that grew to be very unwieldy,” Webster said June 2 on the dais. “From the staff standpoint, a system that cost a lot of time, and because of the time it cost staff, it cost the city money.”
Webster helmed the crusade to alter the way Kyle works with and appoints committees in the fall of 2014.
Some of the issues extended to the appointment process, which he said in March was chaotic. According to Webster in a statement, committees grew to a point where “finding volunteers to serve on them was difficult.”
In addition, with up to 27 council appointed committees, some had functions that Webster said were similar or overlapping.
In addition, Webster advocated in November for a fairer system for those attempting to join a committee.
Under the new ordinance, council has the authority to create committees based on an as needed, or ad hoc status. It also gives council the authority to desolve the committee, if needed. Under the ordinance rules, committees will be automatically desolved after a year.
The new rules call for the city council to appoint seven members to committees, with several rules applying. New requirements for perspective members include being qualified voters and citizens of the city for a year.
Webster said in a statement the ordinance allows the city to form committees with a specific purpose and time frames to accomplish a specific job and give proper charges to committee members.
“The end result of the new committee structure will be fewer committees doing more targeted work for the citizens of Kyle,” Webster said in a statement. “The city council and the city manager have put a lot of thought into making committees more efficient and I think this new ordinance does that.”
Only two committees, Economic Development and Tourism and Parks and Recreation, were held over. Both were promoted to board status, as recommended by City Manager Scott Sellers.
According to Webster, part of the reasoning stemmed from creating a separation between committees and boards. Committees, he said, function as recommending bodies, while boards have more autonomy.
With regard to Parks and Recreation, Webster said the committee functioned more like a board; the committee featured more ministerial actions.
With Economic Development and Tourism, Webster said the promotion provided clarity to its meeting in executive session for economic development opportunities.
In addition, Webster said council couldn’t live without it, as the council can’t engage with development opportunities as often.
But with a majority of the city’s committees gone, Webster said the city is going to find good ways to get citizens involved.
“I can’t express enough the level of inefficiency that gradual stacking of committees was doing to the city,” he said. “It was taking up a lot of time, energy and resources.”
Who stays and who goes: Changes to the city’s committee structure
Notable committees eliminated
Community Relations
Long-Range Planning
Public Works and Service Mobility
Safety & Emergency Services
Advisory Redistricting
Council and Mayor Compensation
Council Advisory
Impact Fee Advisory
Development Services
Street and Alley
Pie Festival
Historic Design and Review
Committees promoted to board status
Parks and Recreation
Economic Development and Tourism
