Streamlined process meant to encourage community engagement
The Hamilton County Council has a new online process for nominating appointments to county-run boards. In the past, appointments have been made through word of mouth.
Alexander
“During our last meeting, we had the opportunity to showcase the ineffective nature of the current process as we filled a position on the newly formed consolidated Board of Zoning Appeals and the Hamilton East Public Library board,” said Ken Alexander, Vice President of the County Council. “The appointments sparked a spirited debate about recommendations and the qualifications of the nominated individuals. These are items that could be automated if done correctly.”
The new online process will list each of the county-appointed board seats along with their roles and responsibilities. Anyone interested in filling county-appointed board seat will need to complete an online form with their credentials and experience. When any of the seats on the county-appointed boards need to be filled, the Council can easily review the applications in the online portal.
Applications for the following boards are now live at this link:
- Alcoholic Beverage Board
- Board of Zoning Appeals
- Economic Development Boards
- Hamilton County Parks Board
- Hamilton County Plan Commission
- Hamilton County Redevelopment Commission
- Hamilton County Visitor and Convention Commission
- Hoosier Heritage Port Authority
- Library Boards
- Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals
- TriCo Regional Sewer Utility Board of Trustees
Mertens
“Our goal was to streamline the process,” said Chris Mertens, Director of Hamilton County’s Information Systems Services Department. “One of our web team members responsible for this project, Jasmine Hazelbaker, is a recent college graduate. In order to attract her generation to service in the community, online applications like these are an expectation, especially in today’s technology driven world.”