8/24/14 - Officials in Brighton are trying to figure out what to do about a vacancy on the cityâs planning commission. The planning commission is supposed to have nine members, but with nobody stepping forward to fill a longstanding vacancy it currently stands at eight. City Manager Dana Foster brought the issue forward at the City Councilâs regular meeting last week, and the council began examining the possibility of reducing the number of seats on the commission from nine to seven. That possibility had been examined in previous years. However, no action was taken at last weekâs meeting. Instead, the council raised questions about the rules for changing the number of seats on the commission, whether the current number is mandated by the city charter, and, if they do eliminate one seat, how do they determine which sitting member must step down. The council was opposed to having an even number of commissioners because of the possibility of a tie, and Foster did not think it would be appropriate to return to the old system whereby the manager cast the tie-breaking vote on the commission. The cityâs attorney was asked to look into the issue, and will bring back his findings to the councilâs next meeting. (TD)
↧