Travis County Commissioners Court

July 31, 2012 - Item A1
Agenda

The item number A1 is consider and take appropriate action on request to reappoint Richard Hopkins to the Austin-Travis County Integral Care Center Board of Trustees, formerly Austin-Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Board effective immediately through December 2014.
Commissioner Davis.

>> Yes.
Mr. Hopkins has served with us a number of years.
He's been very attentive, accurate in his attendance.
His performance has been outstanding and I'd like to see him continue on this particular board.

>> Yesterday I sent the court a copy of a recently adopted policy passed by this body, and that policy we set forth a process that we would follow to reappoint people to six specific committees or boards and this is one of them.
So I just think we ought to follow it and if it looks like mr. Hopkins should be the person reappointed, I have no problem with it.

>> I have no problem.

>> Anything else on this item?

>> What are you saying?

>> Actually I think we ought to just invoke the policy.
We asked mr. Eckstein to do certain things in the policy, I think we ought to just do that.
We gave you a copy of the policies to reappoint yesterday.
At least I did, my office did.
I just think we ought to follow these.
It's pretty simple.
My guess it would take two to three weeks to go through it.
We kind of painstakingly spent time putting the policy together so I think we ought to follow the policy.

>> It might be helpful to know what the next steps are.
Deece, what are the next steps to get this done?

>> Good morning, judge and Commissioners, deece eckstein with enter governmental policies.
The next step would be for the court to call for applications, to reach out to the community and ask and invite people to apply for the position.
Of course, mr. Hopkins would be welcome to do that as well.
We would have approximately 30 days for that call to be out there and for people to give us applications, and then once we've received all the applications and sort of verified that everybody meets the minimum criteria for -- for the court's selection, we would give the court the list of those people and let you decide who you would like to interview, if anybody, for the position, conduct those interviews and then make the appointment.
So this would be very similar how we do the ctrma or the capital metro appointments.

>> So at this point he would have to apply and he would have to go to you for that application?

>> Well, the applications all get sent in to us and --

>> How would he get the application though?
That's what I'm trying to get to.
How would we get him to the point where he needs to be for consideration?

>> We would have a -- there's a packet of information including the application form, information about the responsibilities and duties of agency that they would be appointed to and so forth, and we would certainly -- we would make those available to the website, we would put it out through -- the court may decide to the an ad out in the paper and send that out.
Certainly with somebody like mr. Hopkins, we would send him one of those just pre-emptively so he knows if he wishes to apply for another term on the integral care board he would do so.

>> Well, apparently he has interest otherwise it wouldn't be on the agenda.

>> He sent me a letter when I will send to mr. Eckstein.
The reappointment process is much simpler will than you just --

>> The reappointment policy is simpler, but the court decided anybody who had served six years on a board, we would do the reapplication process.

>> I understand, but it doesn't call for what you just described.
I'm looking at b.
Am I misreading b?

>> And deece is correct that if there's less than six years that someone has been on a board, then -- then there's an easy process where deece goes and checks have they been attending, have they been a contributing board member and so then if that is successful then he makes recommendation to the county judge that that person could be reappointed.

>> So what I'm looking at applies if it's less than six years that you've been on there, and in this case if you've been on there significantly more, what deece just described would apply.

>> Call for applications.

>> So he would come -- I think he's been there more than six years, I believe.

>> He's been there closer to 20.

>> He's been there more than six, that's for sure.

>> That's one of the actions I took as precinct 1 Commissioner.

>> That's right.

>> So what we can do today is call for the application for this position?

>> I think we ought to just apply the process.

>> There's a -- if you remember when he did the ctrma or the capital metro appointments, there's a whole packet you approve and that packet approves the application and the public information that we put out and the plan that we would have for reaching out to the community.
So we could have that ready for the court as early as next week.

>> Okay.
So I guess we'll notify him and let him go by the process in deece's office.

>> I'll be glad to follow up with him.

>> Please do.

>> And get him the packet that he needs to fill out.

>> As soon as you all approve next week, we'll send it to him.
But in the meantime, I could contact him and let him know this will be the process we'll use.

>> If the process is set forth in the policy, do we have to take action to invoke it?

>> It does say should the Commissioners court order a call, and that is what you are about -- that is one of the options you could request the call.

>> Invoke the process, that basically --

>> That's the first step.

>> That's my motion.

>> Second.

>> And our intention is today's action will constitute the call.

>> Okay.

>> Any more discussion?
All in favor?
That passes by unanimous vote.

>> Thank you.

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