The Courthouse Architectural Review Committee.
Jacksonville Fire Museum Fire Advisory.
St. Johns River Ferry Commission.
They’re among more than 40 entities City Council has created over the years to deal with various city issues that need a little extra, dedicated attention.
Over the next year, they’ll each be under the council’s microscope. Some might end up being sunset. Others might need tweaks when it comes to the group’s purpose or if the board needs help filling positions due to consistent vacancies.
Getting to this decision was a matter of timing, said council President Lori Boyer.
The review was one of the many recommendations a task force on consolidation made when it concluded its work in late 2014.
That effort was led by Boyer, but a recent push by council member Tommy Hazouri led to a concerted effort to look at the groups.
“It’s not enough to just have them,” said Hazouri.
Since city and county government was consolidated in 1968, the roster of boards and commissions continue to “creep up in number,” said Boyer.
The thought is a review every four years would determine if the goal of each group still is required and, if so, whether it should be tweaked.
There have been a number of boards, she said, that haven’t been able to meet because ongoing vacancies leave the board or commission without enough members.
“If you can’t fill them, they’re not being useful,” she said.
The review will be taken up by the council Rules Committee on a biweekly basis.
Hazouri said he took notice of the issue when the city’s Taxation, Revenue and Utilization of Expenditures Commission — also known as the TRUE Commission — weighed in on his proposal to expand the city’s anti-discrimination laws to include the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.
Hazouri thought that was outside the TRUE Commission’s purview and wanted further analysis of the purpose of the group.
But he also cites the Council on Elder Affairs and its 19-member board as an example. The group, Hazouri said, is needed but with 19 members it often has too many vacancies.
Boards and commissions created by executive order also will be analyzed, but not by council.
Instead, Mayor Lenny Curry’s staff has indicated a willingness to do the same type of review, said Boyer.
The Rules Committee will have one easy call to make — the ferry commission already is scheduled to sunset Sept. 30.
When it comes to boards and commissions, Boyer also is taking a closer look at the makeup of each. As with any new council president, appointments to boards and commissions come in waves.
Boyer said there are 30 open positions now, 10 more are expected next month and several others in October. That’s not counting roles that will need to be filled due to people relocating or needed to step down for various reasons.
When Boyer began looking at applications for many of the vacancies, she noticed a pattern — many were submitted by white men.
A review done in mid-July showed that of the 111 council-only appointments, 71 percent were men and 29 percent were women. Furthermore, 82 percent of the appointments have been filled by whites.
The next largest group is African-Americans at 14 percent, while Asian-Americans make up just 4 percent. Hispanic-Americans represent 1 percent.
As for appointments made by the mayor, the numbers are only slightly more balanced.
Males made up 66 percent of the group, compared to 32 percent female. (The other 2 percent was labeled “not known.”)
And whites still made up the lion’s share of appointments at 67 percent. African-Americans were 22 percent, Hispanic-Americans were 4 percent and Asian-Americans were 1 percent.
“You just don’t see it … to the degree you expect,” said Boyer.
Instead of just advertising the available positions, Boyer is taking a more pro-active approach and informing groups like the World of Nations and other diverse organizations of the opportunities to serve the city.
Boyer said she wants to encourage people in such groups who are willing to spend time and effort to a cause to apply.
“Who knows,” she said. “Maybe they are a person who runs for office in the future?”
She wants to at least give them that starting point.
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