TC Setting Quotas For Advisory Committee Appointments?

Originally posted on another thread but deserves its own topic:

The sub-group I found myself in at the forum held this past Sunday at the Woodland was asked to come up with ways in which a larger proportion of the towns' seniors could become more involved in the community.  My focus sub-group responded unanimously by saying that the problem was not that seniors did not volunteer in sufficient numbers but that too many non-seniors were not volunteering as well.

The TC seems to agree with my forum sub-group.  At the TC meeting last night, one of the discussion items was a proposal to set age-grade quotas for service on town advisory committees because a disproportionate number of persons over the age of forty hold those positions!   Furthermore, these quotas, if enacted, would take effect within a few short years.  

I can understand our elected officials interest in getting younger residents more involved in the town, in reinstating the culture of volunteerism that was so integral a part of life in this town when most of our current seniors moved here so many years ago.  That said, codifying age discrimination is not the way to go about reaching this goal.  

I thought we were a town that looked beyond labels and self-identification in making such decisions. I hope I am not wrong. Setting age-grade quotas for membership on township committee advisory committees sends exactly the wrong message at a time when we are trying to come up with ways to make Maplewood a more age friendly place. We need to embrace the skill, knowledge, and willingness to serve that our present seniors have to contribute to our town rather than sending the message that they have aged out of civil involvement.

Joan,

Isn't the problem that seniors have more time to volunteer than younger people raising small children or spending many hours on their careers?

before setting any caps or quotas, I'd try to find out why younger people aren't volunteering.  is it because of perceived time commitments, meeting times, lack of awareness, etc.?  Maybe the solution is to try to lessen whatever barriers exist for younger people to volunteer.

I understand how quotas can be used to winnow an overabundance of applicants to achieve a desired mix. If the issue is a scarcity of younger representation, though, I'm not grasping how a quota would address that. Is the idea that a quota would compel the township to actively recruit someone from a certain age group, or else leave that spot empty?

LOST said:

Joan,

Isn't the problem that seniors have more time to volunteer than younger people raising small children or spending many hours on their careers?

That is not the problem so much as one of the major root causes for an abundance of older volunteers and a relative shortage of younger ones. Younger adults lack of awareness of volunteer opportunities, and difference in mindset/priorities are two other factors.  As stated above, it would be more effective for the TC to explore ways of tackling these roadblocks to volunteering than to set quotas, which likely wouldn't work any way.

I have no idea what vacancies exist at the moment.  I'm sure others don't either.  That may, in fact, be a good bit of the problem.

I'm over the age limit - but having been under that age limit with a small child - not having time is most certainly a challenge with the 30-40 age group. That and not knowing about the opportunities. And even there - you need to 1) convince them why it is in their best interest and 2) spell out the specific time commitments. 

As a youngish person and relatively longtime resident, I have no clue what any of these committees are, how they operate, what their purpose is, how one would join them, how often/when/where they meet, what the requirements are to join, etc. I do not think there is ANY awareness that this is a thing among parents of young kids and/or recent transplants. 

ctrzaska said:

I have no idea what vacancies exist at the moment.  I'm sure others don't either.  That may, in fact, be a good bit of the problem.

I don't know what vacancies exist at the moment either.  I do know that four of these positions were filled at last night's meeting.

imonlysleeping said:

As a youngish person and relatively longtime resident, I have no clue what any of these committees are, how they operate, what their purpose is, how one would join them, how often/when/where they meet, what the requirements are to join, etc. I do not think there is ANY awareness that this is a thing among parents of young kids and/or recent transplants. 

I doubt that you are alone in being unaware of the existence of these committees, what they do, or how to join.  These committees advise the TC on a variety of areas of government such as finance, engineering, affordable housing, recreation, and pool to name a few. Appointments to these committees are made by the TC. Typically, two or more TC members serve on each committee along with a predetermined number of non-TC members. One can apply by filling out a volunteer form and indicating the committee(s) on which one would like to serve.  Each member serves for a set term. Time commitment would vary depending on the committee.  

Joan,

Why not have a volunteer sign-up night? I seem to remember something like that years ago. Maybe it was newcomers night. 

I am talking about a well-publicized open event at Town Hall or another appropriate venue, such as the DeHart Center.

As an aside, at least one advisory committee (environmental) has a slot for a student rep and we helped fill that slot with a CHS student very much interested in environmental research. Previous student reps on this advisory committee have also been from CHS, usually from the AP environmental course.

LOST said:

Joan,

Why not have a volunteer sign-up night? I seem to remember something like that years ago. Maybe it was newcomers night. 

I am talking about a well-publicized open event at Town Hall or another appropriate venue, such as the DeHart Center.

That suggestion was made during Sunday's forum.  Don't know if it is being implemented.

Some years ago when I first arrived here I volunteered for a Citizens Budget Advisory committee I think it was and attended an orientation one evening in Town Hall where Jerry Ryan talked and explained the purpose and requirements of the committee. I think there was one more meeting and then sadly the chairperson of the committee who if I remember corrected had volunteered for many many years took ill and there were no further meetings (at least not that I was emailed about.)

I haven't seen any requests or notifications of similar opportunities since.

Not that it is a difficult commitment at all but my 5th grade daughter has volunteered to be a judge for the 4th of July baking contest for the past 2 years after getting a ribbon in 2nd grade. She says volunteering is its own reward ... oh that and lots and lots of pie. 

.

CapnMarko said:

Some years ago when I first arrived here I volunteered for a Citizens Budget Advisory committee I think it was and attended an orientation one evening in Town Hall where Jerry Ryan talked and explained the purpose and requirements of the committee. I think there was one more meeting and then sadly the chairperson of the committee who if I remember corrected had volunteered for many many years took ill and there were no further meetings (at least not that I was emailed about.)

I haven't seen any requests or notifications of similar opportunities since.

Not that it is a difficult commitment at all but my 5th grade daughter has volunteered to be a judge for the 4th of July baking contest for the past 2 years after getting a ribbon in 2nd grade. She says volunteering is its own reward ... oh that and lots and lots of pie. 

I was at the same meeting.  Unfortunately, the person who was in charge of the CBAC that year had other commitments that prevented his being able to continue with the CBAC that year.  The Civic Association which runs the CBAC tried to find someone else to take over the Committee but was unable to find a replacement.  To the best of my knowledge, several years later, they are still looking.  Mary Devon O'Brien would be a good person to contact if you are interested.

I currently serve on one of the town's advisory committee and I don't have any problem with quotas to make sure we have representation from all the town's demographic groups.  I think I've been on my committee for 4-5 years and up until this year, I was the only Black person and possibly the youngest person in the group.  Perhaps another option is to set limits for how long a person can serve on a specific committee.

Erins:

What group(s) would you include in this quota system?  Age, coloring, education level obtained, ethnic/racial identification, gender identity, height/weight, health issues, home owner/renter, immigration/citizenship status, length of time in town, marital status, neighborhood of residence, occupation, political party affiliation, religious affiliation ... or something else I forgot to include?  A combination of these demographic factors perhaps?  Are we left with more demographic combinations than seats on all the committees combined?

These demographic labels of self-identification make sense only to the extent that they impact on the functional area of concern of the specific committee in question. It makes sense to have parents of young children on the recreation advisory committee for example; but, it also makes sense to include more overlooked residents where recreation programming is concerned whether they be empty nesters or persons living in underserved neighborhoods or persons with mental/physical disabilities, or persons whose recreation priorities may be different from those presently emphasized by the existing programs offered. 

The problem faced by the person(s) selecting nominees to fill these vacant seats would be how to attract members of these underserved groups.  Prospective candidates in each target population would have to know the committee exists, see themselves as being welcome on the committee, be convinced that they have something to offer, that their viewpoint will be valuable to the process, and have the time to devote to work of the committee they would be joining.

It is the use of quotas for the sake of quotas to which I am opposed.  I have no problem with considering the ideal demographic make-up of each individual committee to get the best possible mix of background, skill, ability, etc. and strongly favor making the population at large more aware of the existence of these committees and feel more welcome in applying for/serving on the committee which best fits their area of interest.

I would like to know about these committees as well. Actually thinking I might join one if the opportunity came along. 

One issue I have noticed in the past is committee meetings taking place at times that don't work for commuting residents -- for instance, 8 or 9 am at Town Hall. I'm sure this could be adjusted, as could requirements for attendance/possibility of more involvement via email, skyping etc. 

I think the problem the TC would have if they passed this would be when they didn't have enough volunteers that were in the right bracket(s). What do they do then? "Oops! We will make an exception in this case."?

Volunteering is a huge commitment. It's not just a once a month meeting. There is lots of work to do otherwise.

Commuters do have it tough attempting to get to those evening committee meetings.  It gets even more complicated when your job involves travel  as well as evening meetings.

deborahg said:

I would like to know about these committees as well. Actually thinking I might join one if the opportunity came along. 

One issue I have noticed in the past is committee meetings taking place at times that don't work for commuting residents -- for instance, 8 or 9 am at Town Hall. I'm sure this could be adjusted, as could requirements for attendance/possibility of more involvement via email, skyping etc. 

joan_crystal said:

Erins:

What group(s) would you include in this quota system?  Age, coloring, education level obtained, ethnic/racial identification, gender identity, height/weight, health issues, home owner/renter, immigration/citizenship status, length of time in town, marital status, neighborhood of residence, occupation, political party affiliation, religious affiliation ... or something else I forgot to include?  A combination of these demographic factors perhaps?  Are we left with more demographic combinations than seats on all the committees combined?

These demographic labels of self-identification make sense only to the extent that they impact on the functional area of concern of the specific committee in question. It makes sense to have parents of young children on the recreation advisory committee for example; but, it also makes sense to include more overlooked residents where recreation programming is concerned whether they be empty nesters or persons living in underserved neighborhoods or persons with mental/physical disabilities, or persons whose recreation priorities may be different from those presently emphasized by the existing programs offered. 

The problem faced by the person(s) selecting nominees to fill these vacant seats would be how to attract members of these underserved groups.  Prospective candidates in each target population would have to know the committee exists, see themselves as being welcome on the committee, be convinced that they have something to offer, that their viewpoint will be valuable to the process, and have the time to devote to work of the committee they would be joining.

It is the use of quotas for the sake of quotas to which I am opposed.  I have no problem with considering the ideal demographic make-up of each individual committee to get the best possible mix of background, skill, ability, etc. and strongly favor making the population at large more aware of the existence of these committees and feel more welcome in applying for/serving on the committee which best fits their area of interest.

+1

deborahg said:

One issue I have noticed in the past is committee meetings taking place at times that don't work for commuting residents -- for instance, 8 or 9 am at Town Hall. I'm sure this could be adjusted, as could requirements for attendance/possibility of more involvement via email, skyping etc. 

If cmte mtgs are being held at 8 or 9am, it's no wonder the demographic might largely skew toward the older population in town.    You're somewhat limiting yourself to older residents/retirees, the SAH/WFH crowd and those with off-hour jobs.  The average midtown direct person can't serve easily, and with an increasing dual income population in town, the window narrows further and further.

Good point about scheduling the committee meetings to meet the needs of current and prospective members.  That was a limiting factor I hadn't even considered and it is a valid one.

I strongly support trying to find ways to encourage as much diversity of age, gender, race, etc. on township committees, but I don't think that quotas are the way to do that.   More outreach to various groups through many different means coupled with sensitivity to time commitments and scheduling are good ways and there may be others also.

If there really is a disproportionate* number of older** residents on these committees, and if younger** residents are unaware of the opportunities, it may be fruitful to ask these older folks how they first became aware of, or were recruited into, their positions. 

*   Relevant proportions need to be defined

** Age ranges need to be defined

It seems recruiting has been more word of mouth. I'm pretty active on MOL and FB, and am not recalling any announcements of openings or recruitment here/there. Wouldn't that be a start?

I've been to a few S.O. committee meetings, and they tend to be somewhat diverse in age, and perhaps it is because folks recruiting for these things seem to be relatively active in social media, you don't have to meet with or know them personally to hear about this stuff.

Maplewood has the following on it's website:

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER RESOURCE PROGRAM
(CITIZEN LEADERSHIP PROGRAM)
The high quality of the services and activities provided by the Township of
Maplewood is due, in large part, to voluntary contributions of time, energy and talent of Maplewood’s citizens. The Township Committee established the Community Volunteer Resource Program as a way to assist us in our continuing task of seeking qualified and interested citizens to serve in a variety of volunteer capacities.
We invite you to become part of our volunteer program. If you would like to
volunteer, please complete the form attached indicating your interest areas and fax, email it to or drop it off at Town Hall. We will use the information only to fill civic volunteer positions; it will not be disseminated to any outside organizations, companies or political or religious groups for any purpose whatsoever. In fact, the following are not subject to public disclosure: phone number, address and e-mail.
Your submission of this form does not assure your appointment to any committee,
board, position or project, but volunteers are rarely ignored.

Please indicate near the bottom of the form whether you are interested in an
appointment to a Board or Committee and/or if you are interested in assisting in a time limited project.

Please contact any of us or the Township Clerk, Elizabeth J. Fritzen, at 973-762-
8120 if you have any questions.
Victor De Luca, Mayor
Kathleen M. Leventhal, Deputy Mayor Gerard W. Ryan
Marlon K. Brownlee India R. Larrier
November 14, 2014

COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER RESOURCE PROGRAM (CITIZEN LEADERSHIP FORM)_
Date__________
Name___________________________ Address___________________________
Phone___________________________ E-mail____________________________
What is your Occupational /Professional Experience? __________________________
____________________________________________________________________

What drives your interest in the items you check? _____________________________
____________________________________________________________________
Please indicate below any specific areas of interest:
_______ Domestic Violence Crisis Intervention
_______Cable TV Auxiliary (Support Person) (Studio Equipment)
_______Public Safety
_______Planning & Engineering (Including Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment)
_______Community Emergency Response Team (C.E.R.T.)
_______Maplewood Police Reserves
_______Volunteer First Aid Squad
_______Maplewood Fire Reserves
_______Recreation
_______Parks and Beautification
_______Affordable Housing
_______Shared Services
_______Rent Leveling Board
_______Environmental Advisory
_______Fine and Performing Arts
_______Health & Wellness
_______Anti-drug efforts
_______Finance
_______Pool Advisory
_______Economic Development
_______Public Works
_______Library Board
_______Senior Citizens
_______Transportation Advisory
_______Welfare/Social Services
_______Historic Preservation Commission
_______General Clerical Support

______Please consider me for ______I am interested in Appointment to a Board/ Committee, assisting with special projects. (Can be as little as a couple of hours in your interest area.)

Please complete and return this form to:
Elizabeth J. Fritzen, Township Clerk
574 Valley Street, Maplewood, NJ 07040-2691
twpclerk@twp.maplewood.nj.us, Fax: 973-762-1934
or call for more information at: (973) 762-8120, x2100
(11/14/14)

Of course you have to know this form exists to complete it and return it to Liz.

South Orange has something similar. If you want to do something with or for the Village, fill it out. 

http://www.southorange.org/formcenter/applications-4/boards-committees-commissions--author-43

Note that the only identifiers asked for are name, address, and occupation.  The form would have to be revised or a follow-up form would have to be used if demographic quotas were to be instituted.

Thanks for that.