The Marquette City Commission, which acts as the legislative arm of city government, is assisted in this role by 20 various boards, committees and authorities. These bodies are composed entirely of volunteer members that have been appointed to their seats by the Commission.

Roughly two-thirds of these boards are established under the provisions of state law and have the ability to make binding decisions. By way of example, these statutory boards include, but are not limited to, the Downtown Development Authority, the Peter White Public Library Board, the Planning Commission and the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.

The remainder of the boards are strictly advisory in nature and were formed in accordance with the Marquette City Charter, which gives the City Commission the authority to establish "boards, commissions, or committees to serve solely in an advisory capacity." These boards serve to generate discussion and ideas in specific areas of City operations, and they present a point of access for citizens hoping to raise concerns or share ideas with the City.

Staff has identified a need to establish clear expectations for the members of these advisory boards, many of whom make contact with local government for the first time when they are appointed, and to clearly communicate this information to incoming members.

Specifically, the attached policy serves as a framework for how the City Commission, City staff and the City's boards and commissions should work in concert most effectively, and it offers a clear process for advisory boards to formulate recommendations and share those with City administration.

Moving forward, this policy would be provided to incoming board and committee members. Additionally, staff plans to start offering regular orientation sessions for recently appointed members of the City's boards and committees, which would be used to answer questions and provide directions to new members.

This policy would replace the existing Commission policy establishing board and committee rules of procedure (2011-02).