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Branch suggests board term limits

By By DEBORAH BUCKHALTER Floridan Staff Writer
Published: February 10, 2010

Jackson County Commission Chairman Jeremy Branch wants the commission to consider setting term limits on membership to the various advisory boards serving the county.
Branch brought the subject up in the roundtable section of Tuesday’s county commission meeting — time that is reserved for each commission to bring subjects to the table that are not on the agenda.
Branch said that while he felt it was good to have experienced people on the boards, he also felt it was a good idea to make room for “fresh blood and innovative thinking.”
According to Branch, some people have served on advisory boards for “20 to 25 years.”
He called for the issue to be placed on the agenda for the commission’s next meeting, set for Feb. 23.
After his remarks, someone jokingly asked whether he wanted to apply term limits to the county commission, as well.
“That’s a charter issue,” Branch replied, requiring voter input rather than a decision the commission could make on its own.
The committees appointed by the county commission include the Planning Commission, the Code Enforcement Board, the Construction Board, the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee and the Library Advisory Board.
The county also makes appointments to community committees established by other entities, but which have county-appointed seats.
Those include the Chipola Regional Workforce Development Board, the Apalachicola/Chattahoochee/Flint Rivers Water Compact, the Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System, the Apalachicola Riparian County Stakeholders Coalition, the Tourism Development Council, the Tri-County Airport Authority, the Tri-County Development Council, the Apalachee Regional Planning Council, the Big Bend Health Council Board of Directors, and the Opportunity Florida Board.