SEBASTIAN–Several Sebastian residents have been selected to serve on two city committees, providing input on the city’s budget and recommending changes to the city’s charter.
In all, 22 residents will meet over the next several months reviewing the financial books and charter documents.
Each council member was allowed to appoint one person to the Citizens Budget Review Committee. Then, as a whole, the council appointed two at-large members with majority vote.
Those chosen to sit on the committee include:
Jerry Klenck – appointed by Mayor Jim Hill
Harry Marshall – appointed by Vice Mayor Don Wright
Adrina Davis – appointed by Andrea Coy
William Flaherty – appointed by Richard Gillmor
Brad White – appointed by Eugene Wolff
The at-large committee members will be Ed Herlihy and Christine Vicars, with Albert Alvarez serving as an alternate.
Prior to the vote to appoint Herlihy, Wolff asked the candidate pointed questions about his political involvement and if that would have any bearing on his ability to serve on the budget committee.
“There is such a thing as free speech,” Herlihy responded, adding that he believes in it “whole-heartedly.”
Vicars told the council prior to her appointment that she believes the city has to draw a line somewhere between wants and needs. As a member of the budget committee, she said she would work to draw that line.
Appointments to the Charter Review Committee netted less discussion between the council and applicants.
“This is an incredibly important board,” Mayor Jim Hill said, adding that he has also served on it.
Each council member appointed two residents and the board, as a whole, appointed five at-large members.
Those selected to serve on the committee include:
Bob McPartlan and Jeanne Hill – appointed by Hill
Bob Daberkow and Ruth Sullivan – appointed by Wright
Adrina Davis and Louise Kautenburg – appointed by Coy
John Danise and Ed Dodd – appointed by Gillmor
Carolyn Sartain-Anderson and Linda DeSanctis – appointed by Wolff
The at-large members are:
Mary McGee
Dan Dragonetti
Janet Kennedy
Robert Zomok
Donna Keys
Albert Alvarez, who was named an alternate to the budget committee, was also selected to serve as an alternate on the charter committee.
The Charter Review Committee is scheduled to hold an organizational meeting after the first of the year and set its schedule for future meetings. The committee has until June to propose amendments to the charter and until July to make those recommendations to the city council.
In August, the council is expected to conduct public hearings on the proposed changes – if any – and set those changes for the November ballot, which voters will either approve or deny.
