1.5 ERMUSR 03-08-2022UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO: FROM:
ERMU Commission Tony Mauren – Executive Administrative Manager
MEETING DATE: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
March 8, 2022 1.5
SUBJECT:
2022 Election of Officers–Chair and Vice Chair
ACTION REQUESTED:
Elect by separate motionsthe Commission Chair and Vice Chair
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
Per ERMU policy, the offices of the ERMU Commission include a Chair, Vice-Chair, and a
Secretary. The Commission elects the Chair and Vice-Chair to one-year terms annually during its
regular meeting in the month of March. The office of Secretary is held by the General Manager;
however, the General Manager may appoint another employee as Secretary, with the
concurrence of the Commission. Attached for reference is the Commission Officer Roles,
Responsibilities, and Succession Policy.
The current officers are:
Chair – John Dietz
Vice Chair – Al Nadeau
ATTACHMENTS:
ERMU Policy – G.2f - Commission Officer Roles, Responsibilities, and Succession
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COMMISSION POLICY
Section:Category:
GovernanceGovernance Policies
Policy Reference:Policy Title:
Commission Officer Roles,
G.2f
Responsibilities, and Succession
PURPOSE:
With this policy, the Commission communicates the functions for which E
accountable and the limits of authority that the Commission delegates to its officers.
POLICY:
The offices of the ERMU Commission include a Chair, a Vice-Chair, and a Secretary. The
Commission elects the Chair and Vice Chair to one-year terms each year during its regular
the Commission upon resignation or death of the officer or upon failure of the officer to comply
with the criteria neces
Commission until a successor is duly elected. Any Commission member is eligible for office at
any time; however, a Commission member nominated for the position of Chair will normally
have served at least one term as Vice-Chair. The office of Secretary is held by the General
Manager; however, the General Manager may appoint another employee as Secretary, with the
concurrence of the Commission.
Chair
The Chair is accountable to the Commission for the integrity of the Commission's governance
process. The Commission authorizes the Chair to call and schedule special meetings, set its
meeting agendas, preside over its meetings and, with limitations, represent the Commission to
outside parties. The Commission expects the Chair to set and maintain a friendly and productive
tone for all meetings, encouraging full participation of all Commission members, effective
deliberation and decision-making, and constructive resolution of disagreements. More
specifically:
1.
is consistent with its own policies and in full compliance with those obligations that others,
with legitimate authority, impose on it from outside the organization. The Chair, by planning
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ERMU Commission Policy G.2f Commission Officer Roles, Responsibilities, and Succession
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addresses those matters which, according to Commission policy, clearly belong to the
Commission to determine, not to the General Manager. The Chair, by presiding over
Commission meetings, will ensure that deliberation and decision-making at Commission
meetings will be fair, open, and thorough, but also timely, orderly, and to the point.
2.The authority of the Chair is limited to Commission decision-making that falls within areas
covered by Commission policies on Governance and Commission-Management
Connection, except where the Commission specifically delegates portions of this same
authority to others. The Commission authorizes the Chair to use any reasonable interpretation
of the provisions in these policies in the discharge of duties.
a.The Commission empowers the Chair to call and schedule all special meetings, set all
meeting agendas, and preside over all Commission meetings with all of the commonly
accepted power of that position (e.g., Ruling, recognizing, handling disagreements and
unacceptable behaviors, etc).
b.The Commission empowers the Chair, exercising reasonable discretion, to control the
conduct of all meetings. This includes, but is not limited to, determining the time to be
devoted to any particular matter before the Commission, whether any person in
attendance may address the Commission on any subject and the order or duration of any
presentations or comments permitted, closure of discussion on any matter before the
Commission, and expulsion of any person whose conduct is disruptive. The Commission
may, by a motion and majority vote of the Commissioners present, overrule the Chair on
decisions related to the conduct of meetings.
c.For purposes of meeting management, the Commission adopts the Rules contained in the
current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revisedfor all situations to which they
ylaws, policies and
any special rules of order that the Commission may adopt.
d.The Commission authorizes the Chair to execute official documents on its behalf.
e.The Commission empowers the Chair to organize the work of the Commission, and to
assign specific tasks to Commission members and to Committees established by the
Commission. Specifically, the Commission empowers the Chair to schedule and
coordinate the annual process for performance planning and evaluation of the General
Manager.
f.The Chair has no authority to make decisions about policies created by the Commission
within the Resultsand Delegations to Managementpolicy areas. As a result, the Chair
has no authority to supervise or direct the General Manager.
g.The Chair may represent the Commission to outside parties in announcing Commission-
stated positions and in stating decisions and interpretations of Commission policy within
the areas delegated by the Commission. The Chair will report to the Commission, as
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ERMU Commission Policy G.2f Commission Officer Roles, Responsibilities, and Succession
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soon as practical, any communications made on behalf of the Commission.
Representation of the Commission to outside parties is subject to the following
limitations:
i.
mission, and with the role and authority of the Commission as set forth by
Commission policies.
ii.Communications must, as far as practical, represent the collective wisdom or
position of the Commission.
iii.Communications must be limited to deliberations already conducted, actions
taken, or decisions made. Communications must not be speculative in nature.
h.The Chair may delegate the authority granted in this policy to others (e.g. Vice-Chair),
but remains accountable for its use.
Vice-Chair
The principal function of the Commission Vice-Chair is to prepare for the office of Chair and to
take over the functions of the Chair when the Chair is unavailable, or otherwise at the request of
the Chair.
Secretary
The principal function of the Commission Secretary is to ensure that:
1.Notices of Commission meetings, meeting agendas, and supporting materials are prepared
and distributed as required by Policy;
2.Appropriate written records of Commission meetings are prepared and distributed to all
Commission members and the General Manager three (3) days prior to the next Commission
meeting;
3.Resolutions and other official actions of the Commission are prepared and executed in proper
form; and
4.Written records of Commission meetings, including resolutions and other official actions are
archived in secure location(s) and disposed of in compliance with applicable laws and
regulations.
POLICY HISTORY:
Adopted May 9, 2017
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