The Planning Commission is truly a “commission of commissions”. All of the commissioners are members and are joined by at large members as well as members of AMS staff and the AMS President and Immediate Past President, and others on occasion.

The role of commission is to think in a big picture way in order to help Council to think strategically about the present use of resources, set strategic short and mid-term goals, and to help keep crucial issues arising from the membership and from external exigencies in focus. TO do all of this, the PC often splinters off limited task forces and charges them researching and creating recommendations that can be brought back to the whole commission with the aim to deliver a ratified recommendation to Council.

Consequently, the duties of the Planning Commissioner are:

1. Determine key issues and challenges/opportunities facing AMS through discussion with others (the AMS Executive Director, staff, Council, and others);
2. To convene and conduct meetings;
3. To develop agendas for meetings that help the group to share information and participate in problem-defining;
4. And then to determine steps to problem-solution actions (such as forming a task force or working as a commission in and out of meetings);
5. Participate in Council meetings (Commissioners have voice but no vote);
6. Create Commission Reports;
7. To support and engender the interest of other members in the planning commission.