Durango City Councilor Kip Koso, determined to satisfy residents’ requests for the revival of old boards and commissions, offered a compromise on Tuesday when he proposed a subcommittee for parks, recreation and open spaces.
This week, he proposed the formation of a parks, recreation and open space subcommittee to the Financial Advisory Board, which is tasked with reviewing projects and making recommendations to City Council.
City Council was considering revisions to the Financial Advisory Board’s bylaws to expand the board’s role at the behest of residents requesting more opportunities for public engagement. The bylaws would also come with a new name for the Financial Advisory Board – the Community Investment and Engagement Board.
Mayor Gilda Yazzie said she would prefer to retain the current name.
Financial Advisory Board Co-Chair Anthony Savastano said last month expanding the board’s responsibilities would allow it to be involved in capital improvement projects, citizen initiatives and public input.
But Koso, with the support of Councilor Shirley Gonzales and Yazzie, successfully put the discussion to rest, at least until a future meeting.
Koso said there’s real value in expanding the board’s scope of work, but voters want a committee dedicated to parks and recreation and related spending.
“Voters repeatedly shared that they wanted a wide variety of expertise in these specific areas to guide these specific expenditures,” he said. “One or possibly two individuals considered experts in the areas on the FAB board will not meet this expectation.”
He said the recommended addendum to the Financial Advisory Board’s bylaws are in “clear opposition” to the will of the voters and that “voter intentions are being circumvented.”
The new bylaws recommended by the Financial Advisory Board would charge the board with making financial recommendations to City Council on the expenditures of special tax funds (2005, 2015 and 2019 sales tax funds) and future sales tax funds approved by voters.
They also assign the board to make financial recommendations to City Council about expenditures for multimodal transportation, parks, trails and natural lands; public works infrastructure; water, sewer and other services.
Additionally, the proposed bylaws say the board will be involved in the formative stages of project development, it may make recommendations during those stages and request information from staff, and it is to “solicit community-informed feedback and provide input on potential projects” through all stages of planning and development.
Koso said a parks and recreation subcommittee to the Financial Advisory Board could be occupied by subject matter experts. He was reluctant to support the new bylaws without discussing other ways, such as a parks and recreation subcommittee, to expand the scope of boards and commissions.
He requested a study session on Oct. 7 for City Council to discuss the idea of a parks and recreation subcommittee in detail.
cburney@durangoherald
