The information contained in this article is not intended as legal advice and may no longer be accurate due to changes in the law. Consult NHMA's legal services or your municipal attorney.
The term “committee” is often used to describe many different types of public bodies. Sometime, that term is used in conjunction with a statutorily created and defined public body such as an official budget committee. In an example such as this, it is not difficult to find the rules regarding the scope, authority, and composition of an official budget committee since there are several statutes within RSA Chapter 32 which clearly provide answers to these questions. However, in the vast majority of cases, when we are talking about committees, we are referring to sub-committees or advisory committees. In other words, committees which have been created by the town, perhaps town meeting, or by another public body like the select board or planning board to assist with a
specific town function. These are committees like the town’s 4th of July planning committee, an unofficial budget committee, Old Home Day Committee, trail maintenance committee, etc. None of these committees exist in the statutes, and so many municipalities struggle with understanding how these committees operate and function. This article will cover some of the more common questions surrounding advisory and sub-committees and provide some practical advice for creating and managing such committees.
Q. Who has the authority to create a committee?
A. Committees can be created in a number of different ways. The select board has broad authority to create advisory committees to assist the board with managing the prudential affairs of the town, and any time an issue arises that the select board wants or needs assistance with, they may choose to establish an advisory committee to task with handling that problem. This same concept applies to many of the other public bodies in town, such as the planning board, library trustees, etc. It is also possible for a town manager or town administrator to be granted the authority to establish a committee to assist with a specific purpose. In most cases, this would be done in conjunction with input and direction from the governing body of the municipality. Sometimes, the governing body, or even the citizens through a petitioned warrant article, may submit an article for vote at town meeting seeking to establish an advisory or sub-committee in town. Finally, it is also common for the residents of a town to create their own committees for issues that matter to them. These committees could be recognized as official town committees or perhaps exist independently from the municipality.
Q. Do committees follow the same rules as other public bodies?
A. Yes and no. The one big rule, that applies to all committees other than those that are totally independent from town government and exist only through the creation and management of private citizens, is that all committees must still abide by the rules of RSA 91-A. Under RSA 91-A:1-a a public body is defined as, “any legislative body, governing body, board, commission, committee, agency, or authority of any county, town, municipal corporation, school district, school administrative unit, chartered public school, or other political subdivision, or any committee, subcommittee, or subordinate body thereof, or advisory committee thereto.” This means that any sub-committee, advisory committee, or otherwise must still hold public meetings to conduct official business. Those meetings must be properly noticed, held in a public location, with minutes being taken. There is no such thing as a “work session” or “fact finding meeting” or any other term of art to describe official business of an advisory committee which would exempt said committee from needing to hold public meetings. Even if no votes are being taken or no decisions being made, when the members of those committees are discussing official business back and forth with each other, they need to be doing so in a properly noticed public meeting. Other than this “golden rule”, the other rules governing committees can be much more flexible.
Q. Who establishes the rules for committees?
A. The rules by which a committee operates under should be established by the entity creating the committee. That means, if the select board chooses
to create a finance committee, the select board should be establishing clear rules for how that committee will operate at its establishment. The same goes for if a committee is created by a vote of town meeting. The establishing warrant article should include language establishing membership, terms of appointment, and the scope and authority of that committee. There is no statute which is going to tell you how many members your town garden management committee should have, who appoints those members, what happens if there is a vacancy, how often the committee meets, are there any alternates, etc. These questions all need to be answered by the entity which created the committee in the first place. It is also appropriate for the creating entity to allow the committee to establish their own rules of procedure. Once it is determined who will be serving on the committee, and for how long, the newly appointed members may be tasked with adopting their own rules of procedure. They can decide for themselves things like whether or not they want to have a chair, vice chair, secretary, etc.
Q. What process should be followed to properly establish a committee?
A. Again, the answer can depend on whether or not the committee is being formed by an act of the town meeting or by some other public body, but here is an example of what that process might look like using the select board as an example.
First, it comes to the select board’s attention that there is a particular issue that needs to be addressed. Perhaps residents begin to complain that the town roads and recreation areas are being inundated with trash and litter. The select board decides they want to create a Town Clean Up Committee. The goal of this committee will be to coordinate clean-up efforts with the DPW and volunteers to explore ways to prevent litter in the future.
The creation, goals and membership of the Town Clean Up Committee should be established by the select board in an official manner, via a majority vote. The select board should craft a detailed motion to be adopted at a public meeting giving the Town Clean Up Committee a defined list of members, with specific terms of office, to be appointed by the select board. Each appointee would also be required to be sworn in for their term of office. The Committee should also be required to provide a report to be printed in the annual town meeting report.
Next, at the first meeting of the newly formed Committee, the Committee should appoint an active and committed chair or a staff person assigned to keep the Committee moving forward. This first meeting should also be when the Committee discusses drafting rules of procedure that will govern future meetings with the goal of having a draft version ready to be adopted at the next meeting. Finally, the Committee needs to make sure all the members are aware of the rules of RSA 91-A and make sure they have a minute taker assigned to draft meeting minutes and make sure they are properly filed after each meeting.
If, at any point, there is a fundamental disagreement or confusion among the committee members about the purpose of the committee or the rules
governing the committee, the members should seek clarification from the select board, as that is the entity they will ultimately need to answer to.