The Langley City Council recently approved some changes to its hefty list of citizen-led advisory commissions.

During a special meeting on Monday, the council unanimously voted to retain the Civil Service, Planning Advisory, Historic Preservation, Finance and Personnel Legislative and the Public Works Advisory commissions in 2025. Councilmember Harolynne Bobis was absent.

The council also unanimously voted to replace the Ethics Commission (which currently has no members) and the Lodging Tax Advisory commission with administrative processes by the end of the first quarter of 2025, while the Design Review Board will turn into an ad hoc mayoral committee.

The Cemetery Commission was also recommended for the ad hoc makeover, as Councilmember Chris Carlson explained that it predominantly provides input to support operations at the cemetery, rather than advise the council on city ordinances.

Councilmember Rhonda Salerno disagreed, pointing out that the Cemetery Commission is currently working on policies. After she and Councilmember Craig Cyr’s nay votes, the council agreed to keep the Cemetery Commission out of the motion.

At a future meeting, the council will consider transitioning commissions that are less aligned with the city’s priorities into city-endorsed interest groups. These include the Parks and Open Spaces, the Climate Crisis Action and the Dismantling Systemic Racism committees, whose goals can be achieved more effectively if they are integrated into other commissions, Carlson said.

Changing a commission into an informal interest group doesn’t mean those objectives are de-prioritized, Carlson said.

“It is just a pause and an opportunity for us to reimagine our ways of working,” he said.

These are uncomfortable decisions, Carlson said, as the council hasn’t had to make them before. However, according to policy, the council can determine whether committees are needed or not every two years.

In spring, the council began talking about potentially reducing the number of citizen-led boards and commissions. Langley has about 60 volunteers serving on 12 commissions, which is seen both as an asset and an inefficient use of resources.

While acknowledging the uniqueness of having so many knowledgeable and dedicated volunteers in a city as small as Langley, Carlson pointed out in a memo that the city has limited capacity to appropriately direct, oversee and support its commissions.

In light of this challenge, Carlson stressed the importance of focusing the city’s limited resources on commissions that directly support the city’s top priorities, which include the Comprehensive Plan, the Langley Infrastructure Project, public safety and housing.

Carlson referenced the city’s fiscal policy, which establishes that the city should have 25% of its expenditures set aside for emergencies. However, he said, the city is currently $350,000 short of meeting that requirement. The 2025 budget’s general fund also has a deficit of nearly $100,000.

Having many volunteers who are subjected to the Open Public Meetings Act and the Public Records Act while lacking the staff resources to ensure compliance puts the city at risk of costly lawsuits, he said.

Last month, the Washington state Auditor’s Office found that the city lacks adequate internal controls to ensure it doesn’t go over budget and that financial reports are accurate. During a meeting in October, Finance Director Kelly Beech said that meeting OPMA requirements for every commission puts significant pressure on staff.

In addition, the commissions themselves require staff time and city resources. Not completing the city’s infrastructure project and comprehensive plan in time can result in loss of grant eligibility and moratoriums on land use decisions, while timely but poorly developed plans could have negative impacts on future decisions, he said.

Councilmember Rhonda Salerno said the city’s financial woes may only get worse without the commissions. She suggested the council could help staff with oversight.

The council acknowledged Mayor Kennedy Horstman has a lot on her plate, as she has been also working as the city administrator with no extra pay for months.

Councilmember Craig Cyr asked if the commission chairs could interview candidates for the commissions’ open seats and recommend the candidate to the council following approval from the commission members. Councilmember Gail Fleming said chairs interview candidates before the mayor does, and the mayor could simply give her approval with a signature.

Horstman said she would be relieved to pass the responsibility of interviewing and approving commission candidates to someone else. Carlson, however, argued some chairs may not be willing to take on that responsibility or not be able to conduct a proper interview.

Fleming asked what influence the commissions would have if they were turned into interest groups.

Carlson said that most, if not all, of the interest group-to-be commissions have set work plans without direct council involvement. Regardless of whether a group is part of a commission or not, the council should listen to the community. There are multiple opportunities for people to advise the council and provide input, he said.

Fleming said there is a fear that the lack of formality will mean lack of clout. Salerno said the commissions provide valuable input to the city’s different departments and help identify outdated language in the city’s codes. As the city works on the comprehensive plan’s climate element, she believes the Parks and Open Spaces commission should never be reduced to an interest group.

According to Cyr, the Dismantling Systemic Racism committee is the reason why the city has a relationship with the tribes, and it gives citizens a place where they can talk about their experience with systemic racism.

Carlson said the city has been reaching out to the community for input on different elements of the comprehensive plan. At the same time, interest groups can reach out to the council about their concerns and ask council members to propose adding the topic to the agenda, but Salerno expressed concern over the risk of the community losing its voice in city hall if the commissions are no longer bona fide.

Director of Public Works Randi Perry shared a similar view with Salerno, pointing out that the city might miss hearing from people who care about dismantling systemic racism and addressing the climate crisis.

The Public Works department, she added, has to work on projects that are very complex and require a lot of public input. While more topic-focused commissions may mean more work for her and other staff members, she acknowledged residents need a place where they can share opinions and concerns.

Since the attorney has stated that the city is not required to apply the Open Public Meeting Act to commissions and that it introduces legal liability for the city, the council also voted not to impose the government transparency law on city commissions and to instead replace it with “reasonable city guidelines” that can still ensure transparency by the end of the first quarter of 2025. While the rest of the council voted in favor, Salerno abstained.

The council also unanimously approved the development of a process by the end of the second quarter of 2025 that would facilitate the regular collection of public records from commissioners and council members and to ensure that, when they leave their position, all the records in their possession go to the city.