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Consolidation of the Human Services Commission and Parks and Community Services Commission
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TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Colleen Tribby, City Manager
Prepared By: Shaun Chilkotowsky, Parks & Community Services Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
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The City Council will consider consolidating the Human Services Commission and the Parks and Community Services Commission. The consolidation would expand the Parks and Community Services Commission to a nine-member body (eight regular members and one student member) beginning January 2027. Beginning January 2029, the commission would transition to a seven-member body (six regular members and one student member) through a planned, permanent reduction in regular seats, structured so that regular commissioner terms remain staggered in two three-member cohorts going forward. The consolidation includes merging existing bylaws into one consolidated set of new bylaws and repealing Dublin Municipal Code Chapter 2.14 (Human Services Commission).
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STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
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recommendation text
Adopt the Resolution Approving the Consolidation of the Human Services Commission and the Parks and Community Services Commission and Related Actions, and Waive the reading and adopt the Ordinance Repealing Dublin Municipal Code Chapter 2.14 (Human Services Commission)
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FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The consolidation will result in savings from reduced monthly stipends, reduced costs associated with commissioner training, and reduced costs related to meeting coordination and preparation.
DESCRIPTION:
Background
Staff in the Parks & Community Services Department serve as liaisons to five Commissions and Committees: the Heritage and Cultural Arts Commission, Human Services Commission, Parks and Community Services Commission, Senior Center Advisory Committee, and the Youth Advisory Committee. These commissions and committees advise Staff and the City Council on all matters related to the work of the Parks and Community Services Department. To ensure that commissions are meaningful and an effective use of the community members’ time, and to gain administrative efficiencies for the City, Staff has developed a proposal that would consolidate the Human Services Commission with the Parks and Community Services Commission, with the roles and responsibilities merged into a single Commission.
Existing Commissions
Human Services Commission & Grant Program
The City’s Human Services Commission was established in 2013 and meets three times a year. The Commission has five members serving staggered four-year terms, plus two alternates serving two-year terms. The Human Services Commission's primary role is to review and recommend funding for the Human Services Grants Program. The grant program allocates financial support to local non-profit organizations serving the Dublin community that address opportunity and challenge areas identified in the 2024 Eastern Alameda County Human Services Needs Assessment and priorities set by the City Council. Grants are awarded to organizations that provide services such as senior services, food and nutrition programs, youth services and childcare, and other safety net services. The grant program recently shifted to a two-year cycle, which provides funding certainty to grantees and allows for more advanced planning.
Parks and Community Services Commission
The Parks and Community Services Commission role includes advising on City parks, facilities, and recreation activities, events, and programs. This also includes matters about the operation and maintenance of effective, efficient, and adequate parks and recreation facilities. In recent years, the Commission has advised on park designs, capital improvement projects, department policies, the Master Fee Schedules, and future recreation and community service needs. The Commission also considers recommendations by the Youth Advisory Committee, including recommendations for the annual Youth Mini-Grant program, and forwards a recommendation to City Council.
Consolidation
The two commissions, which serve distinct purposes, exist to achieve common goals including supporting a high quality of life, maintaining a safe and secure community, and providing access to equitable, inclusive, and affordable programs and services. By consolidating the Human Services Commission with the Parks and Community Services Commission, a single appointed advisory body would broaden oversight of community health and welfare, rather than two different commissions working in a siloed manner to achieve common goals.
Under the proposal, future review and recommendation of Human Services Grants and related tasks would shift to the newly consolidated Commission, with all existing Parks and Community Services Commission tasks remaining unchanged. The consolidated commission would retain the name of Parks and Community Services Commission and be effective January 1, 2027.
Commission Expansion
Under this consolidation, no current commissioner terms would be eliminated or have a reduction in term length (some commissioner terms expire at the end of 2026 and would not be refilled). The consolidated commission will initially have nine seats, including eight regular members and one student member, beginning in January 2027. The size of the commission will be reduced to seven members, including six regular members and one student member, beginning in January 2029, as further discussed below.
January 2027: Beginning in January 2027, the newly consolidated commission would be comprised of three existing commissioners from the Human Services Commission, two existing commissioners from the Parks and Community Services Commission, the student representative, and three newly appointed commissioners.
January 2029: The term of the existing five continuing commissioners (three from the Human Services Commission and two from the Parks and Community Services Commission) expire in December 2028. In order to ensure staggered terms for the commissioners and ensure that no more than half of commission members turn over in the same year, Staff recommends recruiting three new commissioners for seats beginning January 2029. This results in two three-member cohorts serving staggered four-year terms: one cohort (appointed January 2027) expiring December 2030, and one cohort (appointed January 2029) expiring December 2032. The student representative continues as an annual appointment, unaffected by this change. Please see the table below for reference.
Table 1: Staggering Structure
|
Cohort |
Seats |
Source |
Appointed |
Term Expires |
Term Length |
|
A |
3 |
2027 new-appointee cohort |
January 2027 |
December 2030 |
4 years |
|
B |
3 |
2029 new-appointee cohort |
January 2029 |
December 2032 |
4 years |
|
Student Rep |
1 |
Annual Appointment |
June |
Annual |
1 year |
Joint Special Meeting
On August 26, 2026, a Joint Special Meeting was held between the Human Services and the Parks and Community Services Commissions. At this meeting, the commissions reviewed the proposal to consolidate and voted unanimously in favor.
A resolution approving the consolidation of the Human Services Commission and the Parks and Community Services Commission is included as Attachment 1. The draft bylaw for the consolidated commission are included as Attachment 2 where underlined text is proposed to be added and text with a strikethrough is proposed to be deleted.
Dublin Municipal Code
With the consolidation, an amendment to Dublin Municipal Code (DMC), repealing Chapter 2.14 (Human Services Commission), is required. The City Council is requested to introduce the ordinance amending the DMC, and following final adoption, the change will be effective December 31, 2026.
Next Steps
Should the City Council approve the proposal and take related actions, Staff will begin the implementation process, including modifying recruitment materials to ensure revised tasks and responsibilities are accounted for in future recruitments and appointments. This also includes training and orientation with existing commissioners that will comprise the newly consolidated commission.
Additionally, Staff will begin working with the newly consolidated Commission to review the Human Services Grant Program and identify modifications or improvements to the grant program delivery model. Modifications may include establishing longer-term contracts with core service providers that are administered separately from the competitive grant process, and a modified grant program that focuses on new or emerging needs. Staff will return to the City Council for review and approval of any recommended changes. Any changes would take effect after the upcoming two-year grant cycle concludes.
STRATEGIC PLAN INITIATIVE:
Strategy 2: Fiscal Sustainability
Objective 2F: Implement operational cost control measures, where feasible, while maintaining a high level of service to the community.
NOTICING REQUIREMENTS/PUBLIC OUTREACH:
The City Council agenda was posted, and copies were provided to the current Human Services and Parks and Community Services Commissioners.
ATTACHMENTS:
1) Resolution Approving the Consolidation of the Human Services Commission and the Parks and Community Services Commission and Related Actions
2) Exhibit A to the Resolution - Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Parks and Community Services Commission
3) Ordinance Repealing Dublin Municipal Code Chapter 2.14 (Human Services Commission)