Recently, KingstonCitizens.org acquired the appointment letters of the current Board of Water Commissioners and learned that the term of Commissioner Al Radel expires on May 31st, 2015. Radel has served since 2000, a total of 15 years. 

In the Kingston, NY City Charter (Section C11-2) in "Appointment and Terms" of Board of Water Commissioners it states, in part, that "Appointments in case of vacancy shall be for the unexpired term, and at the expiration of a term for five years." The Charter doesn't include any language regarding 'reappointments'. 

Currently, it is not clear how a resident would go about applying for this volunteer position. For example, there isn't any information as to what the role of the Commissioner is, what the Water Department might be seeking in the way of experience or qualifications (i.e, volunteers with a background in fields such as civil engineering, public finance, ecological science, hydrology or business management), what an interested resident must submit or what the deadline for submissions would be.

KingstonCitizens.org requests that Mayor Shayne Gallo require Water Department Superintendent Judith Hansen to:

1. Make both the description of the Board of Water Commissioner's role and length of term visible and public on the City of Kingston's Water Department web page. 

2. Make all of the current members of the Board of Water Commissioners biographies and length of service to date visible and public on the City of Kingston's Water Department web page.

Furthermore, that:

3. The City of Kingston's Mayor, who appoints Board of Water Commissioners, publish a public notice in a timely fashion announcing its search for new candidates for the upcoming term. This announcement should include a description of the Board of Water Commissioner's expected role; preferred experience / qualifications for candidates; contact info and deadline for submissions; and the term length.