Positions on more than a dozen advisory boards that help Montgomery County leaders shape policy are now up for grabs.
Vacancies are not uncommon on the county’s 80-plus boards, committees and commissions, but a few spots apiece on 15 boards are uncharacteristically being filled at once, with most requiring applicants only to live or work in Montgomery County.
Beth Gochrach, administrative specialist for the boards, said the reason for the large number of open seats is that her office had stopped advertising during newly elected County Executive Ike Leggett’s transition. Leggett is the one who must make all the appointments.
“We wanted to make a clean break from old to new,” she said.
Among the incomplete committees are the 30-person Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission, charged with evaluating the effectiveness of county law enforcement; the nine-person Historic Preservation Commission, acting as a clearinghouse for alterations or tearing down of historic sites; and the 15-person Human Rights Commission and Case Review Board, the body that investigates discrimination complaints and promotes equal rights among citizens.
Other vacancies include those on the Agricultural Advisory Committee, the Commission on Aging, the Animal Matters Hearing Board, the Firearms Safety Committee, the Mental Health Advisory Committee and the Taxicab Service Advisory Committee.
Most of these positions last three years and do not offer pay except for travel reimbursements.
According to county spokesman Patrick Lacefield, the groups are critical to governing Montgomery County. “It’s part of our network of eyes and ears to make sure the executive is doing everything he ought to,” Lacefield said. “It’s a way for us to find people in the community interested in specific areas and interested in piping in about suggestions about those areas.”
Leggett is expected to make his appointments from among the list of applicants within the next few months, he added.
For a complete list of vacancies, go to www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/exec/Boards/index.cfm.
