Council forms committee to vet city panel applicants

LACONIA — Residents interested in serving on one of the city’s boards or commissions will go through a new application process that is more informal and will give applicants more time to talk about their background as well as their thoughts about issues that typically come before the panel that they are requesting to join.

The City Council approved on Monday the creation of a three-member appointments committee. Councilor Bob Soucy, who first suggested the creation of such a committee, along with Councilors Bruce Cheney and Mark Haynes were appointed to serve on the standing committee.

The committee will interview applicants and then make its recommendation to the full council which will then vote on the appointment. While the committee will conduct the interviews, each council member will receive a copy of each applicant’s application prior to the interview taking place.

As with other council committees, meetings of the Appointments Committee will be open to the public.

This new process replaces the practice of having applicants appear before the full council during a regular council meeting to explain their reasons for applying as well as any experience or interest they have which might be relevant to the issues with which a particular board or commission deals.

City Manager Scott Myers said the process that had been in use up to now gave applicants or councilors little opportunity to get into issues in depth. Such discussions are valuable, especially when interviewing people applying on quasi-judicial bodies, such as the Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment, he said.

There are 26 city boards or commissions to which the council appoints some or all members. With that number of panels there are usually several openings at any given time. At present there are six openings for regular members on four boards, and nine openings for alternates on four boards, including the Planning Board and ZBA.

Those interested in applying for a position are asked to contact the City Manager’s Office at 603-527-1270 or Nbrown@laconianh.gov. Applications are also available at www.laconianh.gov.