Policy Statement 157

Establishment of the Citizen Issue Advisory Group Process and the Citizen Issue Review Commission (CIRC)

Prepared by: Deanna Boone, CIRC Staff Liaison

Adopted by Council: 5/13/2010

Supersedes: 12/10/2009

Effective: 5/13/2010

Purpose

To establish a process for Cary residents to petition the Town of Cary to authorize an ad hoc advisory group to study, develop and recommend improvements on a topic that directly pertains to and is under the control of the Town. The purpose of this process is to expand, strengthen and improve citizen engagement and participation in local government, as well as provide a mechanism for greater visibility of citizen-initiated issues to Town Council.

Coverage

Cary residents may petition the Town to become a Citizen Issue Advisory Group for a specific issue that the Town of Cary government has authority over and that meets at least one of the following criteria:

- No current policy exists, or the group believes existing Town policy needs improvement, or

- A project, proposal, or idea that is expected to have a positive impact on the Town.

Once approved, a Citizen Issue Advisory Group’s activities may be supported by one or more of the following:

- The Town of Cary Web site,

- Current Town Council representatives,

- Town of Cary physical meeting space and staff support, and

- Town of Cary School of Government volunteers.

Policy

This policy shall be applicable to groups of 5 to 15 Cary residents that meet the topic criteria as described above in the “coverage” section.

Interested groups should submit their idea or issue to the town clerk on the application attached to this policy (or provided by the town clerk’s office).

An issue on which the Town Council has taken action in the preceding two years is not eligible for the CIRC process.

Staff Responsibilities

Upon receipt of an application, a meeting of the CIRC shall be convened according to the meeting schedule maintained in the clerk’s office. The CIRC staff liaison will then conduct an initial review of the application to determine eligibility based on the criteria set forth in Policy 157. All applications, regardless of eligibility, shall be forwarded to the CIRC with a staff recommendation.

If the issue falls under a staff function or the authority of an existing board/commission, the CIRC staff liaison shall recommend to the CIRC that the application be redirected to the appropriate Town department or board/commission.

If the CIRC staff liaison determines that the issue is not under the direct authority/control of the Town, the staff liaison shall recommend to the CIRC that the application be denied.

CIRC Responsibilities

The CIRC will meet as needed to review applications and make recommendations. CIRC may take one of the following actions:

1. Approve the application and forward it to a Town Council meeting for consideration;

2. Deny the application;

3. Postpone action on the application and schedule it for review at a future CIRC meeting; or

4. Redirect the application to another board/refer to town department.

Approval

If CIRC approves an application for consideration by the Town Council, the staff will provide the group’s contact person with Town Council presentation guidelines and a template for the presentation and will work with the group to determine the council meeting date for their presentation. The group will have a maximum of 15 minutes to present their proposal to council. (Question and Answer session after the presentation will be at Town Council discretion.)

Denial

If CIRC denies an application, the CIRC staff liaison will notify the group’s contact person of this decision and reason for denial in writing, with a copy to the Town Council.

The group will have the right to submit a revised application containing new information to the CIRC after 90 days from the date of the letter stating CIRC’s denial. If CIRC denies the request a second time, the group will need to wait 180 days from the date of the second letter stating CIRC’s denial before resubmitting another revised application containing new information. No additional submittals on the issue will be allowed for a two-year period following the date of the third letter stating CIRC’s denial.

Postponement

If CIRC postpones action on an application, the CIRC staff liaison will notify the group’s contact person in writing, explaining the reasons for the postponement as well as what additional information the CIRC may need in order to make a recommendation to Council. Applications shall not be postponed by CIRC for more than 60 days.

Redirection

If an application seems to fits into an existing process or board/commission already existing within Town government, the CIRC may redirect the group to that Town of Cary board/commission or department to handle the group’s request.

Town Council Responsibilities

The Town Council will vote to approve or deny the request for a Citizen Issue Advisory Group.

Approval

If the request is approved, the council will provide a timeline for the group to complete its work. The group will be subject to the open meetings law. Services provided to a sanctioned issue advisory group will include physical Town of Cary meeting space and staff support for meetings. The town manager (or designee) will assign the group to a specific Town department, and that department director will designate the appropriate technical and support staff to attend all meetings and provide support services for the duration of the group. The town clerk’s staff will provide orientation to the group to ensure compliance with state laws and Town policies.

Following the Citizen Issue Advisory Group’s report and recommendations presented to the Town Council, the Council will schedule a public hearing before taking action on the recommendations. After the public hearing is conducted, the Town Council will take action.

Denial

If the request is denied, the Town Council will provide verbal feedback to the group at the time of the vote. The group will be allowed to submit a revised application containing new information after 180 days from the date of council’s vote to deny the request. If the second submission is also denied, there will be a two-year waiting period before the request may be submitted through the CIRC process (two years from the date of the second council denial).

 

Application to Form an Issue Advisory Group

NOTE: All information on this application is considered public information and will be released to others upon request.

Primary Contact name: _____________________________________________

Address: ________________________________________________________

Phone: Day ______________________ Eve ______________________

E-Mail: _________________________________________________________

Group Name: ____________________________________________________

*How many members are currently in the group? ___________

*There must be a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 15 Cary residents supporting this issue. Provide contact information for all Cary residents identified as group members on Page 2 of this application.

What are your objectives?

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How will the goals or mission of the group benefit the Town of Cary? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please include any additional information that may be helpful in making a decision to approve this advisory group. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You may attach additional information to this application.

Please submit to Sue Rowland at sue.rowland@townofcary.org or Cary Town Hall P.O. Box 8005, Cary NC 27512-8005.

(On Page 2, please provide contact information (name, address, phone, and/or e-mail) for all group members.)

 

Application to Form an Issue Advisory Group

Page 2

NOTE: All information on this application is considered public information and will be released to others upon request.

Print or type the names and contact information for the 5-15 Cary residents who will comprise the group in the space provided below. List the primary group contact as the first member. All group members must be Cary residents.

	Name	Address (include zip code)	E-Mail Address	Phone Number
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13
14.
15.