Newport council changes policies

Stacy Brown

NEWPORT BEACH -- A recent amendment to city policy will allow

council members to automatically reappoint commissioners -- something

they were already doing routinely, though they really shouldn’t have

been.

Councilman Gary Adams said that the old policy, which discouraged

reappointing city commissioners, had been overlooked for sometime.

“I suggested since (we’ve made a practice of reappointing

commissioners) and there is value in retaining certain people, why don’t

we change the policy,” Adams said.

Council members agreed to the changes last month when they were

reappointing planning commissioners.

“We took out the language that made reappointment the exception rather

than the rule,” Adams said.

The council also added language that prohibits commissioners from

serving on more than one board.

Adams said the change was made to allow residents the most

opportunities to serve on committees. Planning Commissioner Michael

Kranzley, who was among those reappointed last month, said he agrees with

the policy of serving on just one board or committee.

“We need to have as many people active in the communityas possible,”

Kranzley said. “This is a good idea to limit a person to one board or

commission.”

Service on city boards and commissions is one of the principal means

by which residents can participate in the conduct of local government, he

stressed.

Council members will retain the ability to remove committee members if

they’re not doing their job, Adams said.