5.D. PRSR 07-12-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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and make its appointment recommendations, if any.] The chair shall [then] open the floor for nominations, whereupon the names of [other] possible appointees may be put forward by the board members. The names submitted [by the committee and by individual board members] shall be debated. When the debate ends the chair shall call the roll of the members, and each member shall cast his or her vote. [The nominee(s) receiving the highest number of votes shall be appointed. If more than one appointee is to be selected, then each member shall have as many votes as there are slots to be £lled. A member must cast all of his or her votes and cast them for different nominees.] [The voting shall continue until one nominee receives a rnajoriry of the votes cast, whereupon he or she shall be appointed. If more than one appointee is to be selected, then each member shall have as many votes in each balloting as there are slots to be filled, and votes from a majority of the members-voting shall be required for appointment. During each balloting, a member may cast all of his or her votes or fewer than all of them, but he or she shall not cast more than one vote for a single candidate.] Comment: The first paragraph of this rnle states some of the requtrements of the open meetings law concerning appointments by public bodies. The options presented in the following paragraphs detail some of the possible methods that may be used to make appointments. If the board wishes to vote by written ballot, it should consult Rule 13, which states the requirements of the open meetings law for use of written ballots by public bodies. Some boards use an appointment committee. The committee receives nominations from the board members and perhaps from other persons, reviews the nominees' qualifications, and reports its recommendations to the full board. This procedure is provided for by the optional language in the second paragraph of the rnle. Many boards also use public advertisements to solicit applications for appointment from citizens. See Rule 26 concerning the applicability of the open meetings law to all board committees, including the appointment committee. Rule 26. Committees and Boards (a) Establishment and Appointment. The board may establish and appoint members for such temporary and standing committees and boards as ate required by law or needed to help carry on the board's work. Any specific provisions of law relating to particular committees and boards shall be followed. (b) Open Meetings Law. The requirements of the open meetings law shall apply to all elected or appointed authorities, boazds, commissions, councils, or other bodies of a local governmental unit that are composed of two or more members and that exercise or are authorized to exercise legislative, policy- making, quasi-judicial, administrative, or advisory functions. However, the law's requirements shall not apply to a meeting solely among a unit's professional staff. Comment: Rule 26(a) recognizes that it is common for many boards to appoint committees or other groups to aid the board in its work. Such groups maybe composed of board members only, of other persons only, or of a combination of board members and other persons. Specific statutes may govern some of these committees and boards. Rule 26(b) states rr..quirements of G.S. 143-318.10(b) and (c) (parts of the open meetings law), In determining if a group is covered by the open meetings law, whether the group is called a commission, authority, or committec is generally no[ important, nor does it matter who within the local government established the group. -At least two ambiguities exist concerning the open meetings law's coverage with respect to focal governments. First, the law does not apply to "a meeting solely among the professional staff yam, of a public body." The scope and meaning of this statutory phrase is unclear. Second, it is