San Mateo prioritizes diverse candidates over compensation

But after further legal review from staff, City Attorney Prasana Rasiah noted that some options have limitations or come with trade-offs. For instance, youth commissioners under the age of 18, while having the ability to serve an advisory role, must maintain a limited capacity per state law.

And if councilmembers would like to pay commission and board members, Rasiah said that would most likely exclude some individuals from those positions.

“We can’t pay those individuals [not authorized to work in the country], so it would need to be set up … so that you would only have members on those boards and commissions if you are eligible to work in the U.S.,” Rasiah said. “I wouldn’t recommend setting up a situation where, on the same commission, you’re paying some members and not paying others.”

Most councilmembers were in favor of prioritizing a wider base of candidates, rather than moving forward on compensation, and the majority were also in favor of maintaining eligibility to city residents only, rather than those living in the unincorporated areas.

“Given the noted risks and issues with pursuing board and commission member compensation at this time, I’m at the moment thinking that it’s more important to pursue broadening board and commission member eligibility,” Councilmember Adam Loraine said.

Currently, several California cities compensate commissioners and committee members, including Fremont and Long Beach.

However, the City Council still hoped for a way to reimburse commission or board members in the future, especially as a way to make up for lost wages. Rasiah said there is language in the charter stipulating that reimbursement is possible provided an individual incurred losses as a result of “discharging their duties,” or having to sacrifice otherwise paid time.

The council also discussed potential updates to the roles and responsibilities of some commissions in light of high cancellation rates and fewer action items stemming from the meetings.

Staff recommended the Community Relations Board, which had an 83% cancellation rate last year, increase its role in Housing Element discussions, and that the Senior Citizens Commission serve more advisory functions and ad-hoc committee roles.