Nobody likes to hold meetings just for the sake of holding a meeting and the Hermiston City Council is no different.
On Monday, the council voted to eliminate two committees that it deemed no longer essential – the Business Advisory Committee and the Urban Renewal Planning Advisory Committee.
The vote to eliminate the committees followed a recommendation by Mayor Dave Drotzmann during last Saturday’s council work session. During Monday’s council meeting, Drotzmann said those two committees have served their purpose and are not currently needed.
“I think you hit it on the head,” said Councilor Jackie Myers. “There just isn’t a need for them anymore.”
Drotzmann said the elimination of the committees was not a reflection on the work the committees did.
“It’s not that we don’t value the work the committees did in the past, but we don’t want to just make up stuff for them to do,” he said. “And we can always call them back if we need to.”
Despite eliminating the committees, the city will still have the same number of committees because the council voted to add two new ones – a Charter Review Committee and a Community Enhancement Committee.
The city’s charter was last updated in 1954. Councilor George Anderson said the charter is antiquated and needs updated. The Community Enhancement Committee will focus on beautifying the city.
