The key to solving some of Columbia’s most pressing issues might not be its elected leaders. Instead, solutions may be more likely to originate from appointed positions that are about to re-open.
Though it recently welcomed applications for vacancies on many boards and commissions, the City didn’t receive enough interest before the original deadline in early February. This week, applications for several vacancies will reopen.
“Boards and commissions are a little bit behind the scenes work, right. They meet in a conference room once a month,” said First Ward Councilor Valerie Carroll. “They don't sit at a dais and take a vote very often, but the people who have to make the vote really couldn't do it without their information.”
Carroll said nearly every agenda item at council meetings originates with a recommendation from a board or commission.
“I think that their input is extremely important, and so I listen to that a lot,” Carroll said.
Carroll, who ran for City Council last year after spending five years on the Planning and Zoning Commission, is one in a line of council members who originally came from a board or commission.
“It's helpful to have commissioners who are very studious and thorough, who are going to spend some time reading all the material and giving it a detailed evaluation, thinking about different ways that it can affect the public,” Carroll said.
Hundreds of Columbia residents fill unpaid, volunteer positions on more than 50 boards and commissions. Though their recommendations do not hold the power of law, the city council frequently considers a plethora of issues brought by boards and commissions, including staffing shortages, discrimination and affordable housing.
Tackling staffing in the city
Three vacancies still need to be filled on the Personnel Advisory Board, which meets once a year to review the city’s employment policies.
Columbia’s issues with staffing — in offices such as public works, public transit, parking enforcement and the police department — have made headlines in recent years.
According to a city spokesperson, the Public Works Department is currently operating at 87% capacity, with six open positions for snow plow operators — two more than in December.
In early January, nearly 10 inches of snow fell on the city’s roads, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In response, crew leader and plow operator Dalton Petree said he worked 12-hour shifts for a week straight.
Having just a few more plow drivers could help clear the roads faster after a snowstorm because usually it’s best to send at least three plows into each of the city’s six wards, Petree said.
“But whenever you don't have the people to do it, sometimes you’re just stuck with like two people,” Petree said.
Jerome Rader, chair of the Personnel Advisory Board, said he and other board members are aware of the city’s staffing challenges.
“We could give perspective as to what the city might pursue in regards to attracting candidates for positions,” Rader said.
Though not able to make decisions about pay structure and benefits, Rader said the board can also give related recommendations to the city council that may help keep employees in their jobs.
Rader, who joined the board after more than 35 years working in human resources, said a good candidate for the Personnel Advisory Board should want to use their HR expertise for service.
“This is a relatively easy process to go through, to support your community, to be involved and to hopefully make it a better community for all citizens,” he said. “It’s not a burdensome commitment.”
Steps forward for human rights
Joining a board or commission is a benefit to personal wellbeing, said Amanda Hinnant, chair of the Commission on Human Rights.
“The history of the country is involvement in small, local level organizations, and that’s been on the decline” Hinnant said. “That can have both profound social implications for a democratic society, but also personal health consequences for individuals.”
Hinnant referenced former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s 2023 report on loneliness and isolation, which showed that community involvement can help improve health outcomes.
In eight years on the commission, Hinnant said she feels like she’s made a difference in people’s lives.
Hinnant said the city council is usually receptive to recommendations because they come backed by citizen input — such as when her commission successfully petitioned the city council to open warming shelters if the temperature was below 25 degrees, instead of below nine degrees, because “members of the public reached out to us and pointed out that's really inhumanely cold.”
“It's just these minor, incremental changes that we hope mean small amounts of progress to achieve better human rights and less discrimination for people in Columbia,” Hinnant said.
Last year, the commission also helped switch the city’s discrimination complaint form from paper to online.
“Before that, we would receive maybe around average 10 complaints a year, and now it seems more like four or five complaints a month are coming in,” Hinnant said.
Columbia residents can file a complaint if they believe are being discriminated against based on any of the city’s protected categories, some of which are not protected at the state level. That includes source of income, which the Commission petitioned the city council to add so people receiving federal housing assistance can find affordable housing.
“People would be on these waiting lists to get these vouchers for months. They have families, they have young kids,” Hinnant said. “And then they get the voucher and are met with landlords saying, ‘No, we will not accept that as a form of payment.’”
But the Missouri House approved a bill earlier this month that would prohibit local governments from issuing non-discrimination policies based on source of income.
“I feel like it's really important now, more than probably ever, to make sure that everybody's voice is being heard,” said Meera Sood, a member of the Commission on Human Rights.
Though she believes Columbia has made “meaningful change” in recent years, Sood said she just reapplied for her position on the commission because recent moves from the statehouse and federal government make it important to keep advocating for vulnerable citizens.
“You don't just reach greatness and say, ‘Okay, we're done.’ You have to maintain it. And so that requires the work of the citizens,” Sood said.
