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WHAT IS A MUNICIPAL ADVISORY
COUNCIL (MAC)?
PURPOSE OF THE
MUNICIPAL ADVISORY COUNCIL (MAC)
Municipal
Advisory Councils (MACs) were created to provide a consistent and inviting community
forum, for the public to hear about and give comments on a number of local and
countywide topics. County officials, staff, and other non-county agency staff
continually use Municipal Advisory Council meetings as an opportunity to provide the public with
information or updates.
A
MAC is an
advisory body of local citizens elected by the community or appointed by the
Board of Supervisors (BOS) with the purpose of representing the community to the
BOS. A MAC is a governing council, but one without the authority to tax or enact
ordinances. A Municipal Advisory Council lacks the capacity to implement many of its positions directly
and seeks to accomplish those goals through county government. A community with
a MAC has a separate link to county government which supplements its
representation as part of a county supervisor's district. The Board of
Supervisors appoints citizens to sit on the council, who have a heartfelt
interest in their community.
WHAT IS AN
ADVISORY COUNCIL?
While the
concerns, insight, and discussions relayed by the MAC are key components in the
deliberative process, Council Members do not make or set policies,
ordinances or laws and are not in a position to interpret the county zoning
ordinance, the county general plan or local community plan. Advisory
councils provide recommendations on a variety of topics. Members are tasked with
gathering input, making recommendations based on that information and relaying
it to the appropriate decision-making body, such as the Board of Supervisors.
WHAT MUNICIPAL ADVISORY COUNCILS DO
- Hold public meetings
- Survey community opinion
- Speak for community to the BOS
- Act as clearinghouse for local, state and federal funding for community
projects
- Coordinate with community organizations and other local governmental
bodies
- Authorized by statute to advise BOS on matters of public health, safety,
welfare, public works, and planning
Note: The county often uses a MAC as a planning advisory
council to draft or revise the community's portion of the county general plan.
They review land use proposals for their communities; conduct studies; and make
recommendations concerning traffic, animal control, incorporation, street
lighting, cable TV, medical services, commercial maintenance, disaster planning,
public transit and others. Municipal Advisory Councils have sponsored the establishment of county
service areas for parks, road maintenance, supplementary police services, etc.
Municipal Advisory Councils develop from many different origins to serve widely different purposes.
RESPONSIBILITY OF
THE MUNICIPAL ADVISORY COUNCIL (MAC)
The
MAC is
a Brown Act body. The responsibility of the Municipal Advisory
Council is to encourage
and gather public comment on a range of topics, which may affect the community.
Once the Municipal Advisory Council has reviewed a topic and gathered public comments, an advisory
recommendation may be relayed to the Board of Supervisors through the assigned
Field Representative. The Municipal Advisory Council’s input is a valuable component of information
the Board and other decision-making bodies consider in their deliberative
process.
COUNCIL MEMBER
TERM LIMITS
Appointments
shall be for a term of four years, commencing on January 7 and terminating on
January 6 of the appropriate following year. Said terms shall be staggered so
that no more than five (5) of the terms of the total number of members of the
Council shall expire in any one-year period. MAC members serve at the pleasure
of the Board of Supervisors and can be removed from office by a majority vote of
the Board at any time.
A MUNICIPAL ADVISORY COUNCIL (MAC) IS NOT
GOVERNMENT CODE 3100
The Board of Supervisors may contract for special services on behalf of
the following public entities: the county, any county officer or department,
or any district or court in the county. Such contracts shall be with persons
specially trained, experienced, expert and competent to perform the special
services. The special services shall consist of services, advice, education
or training for such public entities or the employees thereof. The special
services shall be in financial, economic, accounting (including the
preparation and issuance of payroll checks or warrants), engineering, legal,
medical, therapeutic, administrative, architectural, airport or building
security matters, laundry services or linen services. They may include
maintenance or custodial matters if the board finds that the site is remote
from available county employee resources and that the county's economic
interests are served by such a contract rather than by paying additional
travel and subsistence expenses to existing county employees. The board may
pay from any available funds such compensation as it deems proper for these
special services. The board of supervisors may, by ordinance, direct the
purchasing agent to enter into contracts authorized by this section within
the monetary limit specified in Section 25502.5 of the Government Code.
Click HERE to
see the Draft Resolution for creating a Yucca Mesa Municipal Advisory
Council.
MUNICIPAL
ADVISORY COUNCIL (MAC) DEFINITION FROM WIKIPEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
A MAC in
the United
States is an organization composed of elected or appointed members whose
purpose is to advise a city or county government about the activities and
problems of the area represented.
In California
state government, for example, the councils serve unincorporated
communities as links to county boards
of supervisors under authorization of a 1971 legislative statute.
Such a council is an advisory body of local citizens elected by the
community or appointed by the board of supervisors with the purpose of
representing the community to the board. Although a municipal advisory
council is a governing body, it has no fiscal authority or administrative
organization. Because it lacks authority to implement its position
directly, it seeks to accomplish its goals through county government.
These councils face two ways: toward the county, offering the views of
the community; and toward the community, supplying information about
county proposals and a place where individuals can air opinions on
community problems and perhaps receive help. The councils hold public
meetings, survey community opinion and speak for the community to the
board of supervisors. The most common subject of activity is land-use
planning. The county often uses the group as a planning advisory council
to draft or revise the community's portion of the county general plan.
MAC meetings address
numerous community issues including but not limited to residential
concerns, land use issues, construction and land development,
infrastructure improvements, tourism, roadways and traffic concerns,
conservation of open space, natural vistas, fauna, foliage, wildlife,
water and waste disposal issues, disaster preparedness, law enforcement,
fire prevention, health care, senior issues, education, transportation...
among many other important community concerns.
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