NEW ULM – The City of New Ulm may see a reduction in the number of boards and commissions.

During a recent city council work session, Mayor Kathleen Backer presented multiple recommendations to change or eliminate city boards.

The three main recommendations were to dissolve the Safety Commission and Tree Commission and reduce membership on the Sister Cities Commission.

Backer said these recommendations were made following a review process back in December. There had been a recommendation to dissolve the Energy Advisory Commission and reduce the number of members on the Library Board, but those actions were already taken by the city.

Backer said with the Safety Commission, city staff believed all issues could be handled in-house with a single community representative as an advisor.

City Engineer Joe Stadheim said most Safety Commission meetings revolved around stop sign placement or handicapped parking stalls. Often, state regulations determined which action the city could take on these issues, meaning an advisory commission was unnecessary. In addition, the Safety Commission did not meet regularly and all recommendations will eventually come before the council for final approval.

For the Sister Cities Commission, the Backer recommends reducing it from 11 members to nine members.

The Sister Cities Commission’s main mission is to carry on New Ulm’s relationship with Ulm and Neu Ulm. Backer said 11 members were too much for the commission, but argued it still needed nine members. Since there is no city staff person assigned to the commission, the nine commissioners are needed to carry out different Sister Cities functions.

Backer said New Ulm’s Human Rights Commission also has nine members, but that is because they have no staff representative and the larger membership is needed to fill out the different subcommittees.

In talking with Park and Recreation Director Joey Schugel, Backer believed the Tree Commission duties could be addressed by the Park and Recreation Commission.

There was some concern that the Parks commission would not have the same level of expertise on tree issues, but special advisors could be invited to the Parks Commission meeting when tree related items were on the agenda.

Backer said there was also a question of appointing a health officer to the city’s Health Board. Backer said New Ulm’s charter required that any appointed board member be a resident of the city. However, about 50% of healthcare providers who work in New Ulm do not live in the city.

Backer said there is currently a potential Health Board candidate who holds a high position at New Ulm Medical Center, but she does not live in New Ulm’s city limits.

Backer asked if it was possible to amend the charter to allow a qualified non-resident to serve on the Health Board.

City Manager Chris Dalton said he thought there was merit behind this change if the board member is an employee of New Ulm Medical Center. He argued they are serving the community even if they do not live in the community. In addition, he could not find any state statute that required a health board officer be a resident of the city.

Council President Andrea Boettger said she was reluctant to start making changes to the residency requirement for board service. If New Ulm’s Charter was changed to allow it for the Health Board, she wanted this exception to be limited to this board.

No formal vote could be taken by the council during the work session. The recommendations are expected to come back for a vote during future council meetings.