New members are sought from the community to fill advisory board positions. Members are appointed to advisory boards by the Board of Commissioners and serve at the pleasure of the board. The appointment steps are outlined in Administrative Policy 203 and Procedure 203 A, Appointments to Advisory Boards and Committees. Staff and the county volunteer services coordinator are expected to ensure that vacant positions are filled in a timely manner with minimal impact to the work of the advisory board.
When a vacancy occurs, staff should notify the board of commissioners. The board chair sends a letter of recognition to the departing advisory board member for his or her service and the county volunteer services coordinator. Together they can decide on a strategy for filling the vacancy.
A news release will be sent to local media by the public information coordinator. Staff and the county volunteer coordinator may also choose to do some additional targeted recruiting for applicants with particular skills, interests, or geographic location needed by the position.
Applicants to the open advisory board position may be interviewed by the entire committee or a subcommittee. After the interview process, the advisory board ranks the applicants and makes a recommendation for appointment to the Board of Commissioners.
All advisory board appointments must be first presented in Board Session Agenda Planning. Either the county volunteer coordinator or staff may present the appointment(s) for board session review. An Agenda Review Packet must contain:1. The Agenda Review Form 2. A copy of the back side of all the applicants for the position3. A copy of the current membership for the advisory board4. An Order of Appointment (prepared by Legal Counsel)When the appointment is scheduled for Board Session, the appointee(s) are invited to attend. An invitation is sent with the time and place. Since attendance is not required, that is also noted in the invitation along with a contact number for confirming attendance.Presenting at Board Session entails staff and appointee(s) introducing themselves. Staff then presents some background on the appointment and appointee. The appointee may choose to say a few words. The commissioners may ask questions of or make comments to the appointee. Then the Order of Appointment is approved.The Board of Commissioners office sends each appointee a letter of congratulations, a copy of the Order of Appointment, an Orientation Manual for Advisory Board Members, and a copy of A Quick Reference Guide to Oregon's Public Meetings Law.Staff should make contact with the new appointee immediately following Board Session and make sure that the meeting information is clear and that the new appointee's questions have been answered.