Boards and commissions are groups made of mostly citizen volunteers who sit along side of government officials and advise your local government on specific topics... things like planning, parks, zoning, libraries, or budget oversight.
Before you start
You don't need an account to browse boards — the information is public.
You'll only need to log in when you're ready to apply for a seat.
Step 1: Open the Boards page
Go to your government's portal page on Govinity.
Click Boards in the main navigation.
[IMAGE: Boards page showing statistics cards at the top, filter controls, and a table listing boards with names, descriptions, and open-seat badges]
At the top of the page, you'll see four at-a-glance stats:
Total boards — every board your government has.
Total seats — all seats across all boards.
Vacant seats — seats currently open for application.
Seats opening soon — seats whose terms will end in the near future.
Step 2: Filter to find boards that interest you
Use the filter card above the board list to narrow the results.
[IMAGE: Filter card showing the "All Boards / Boards Accepting Applications" toggle, a Category dropdown, and a Search input]
You can:
Toggle between "All Boards" and "Boards Accepting Applications" to hide boards that aren't open for application right now.
Filter by Category — for example, Planning, Public Safety, or Arts & Culture.
Search by name — start typing and results update automatically.
If your filters return no results, you'll see a "No boards found matching your filters" message. Clear a filter or broaden your search to see more.
Step 3: Read each board's status at a glance
Each row in the boards table shows:
Board name — click it to open the board's full detail page.
Overview — a short description of what the board does.
Application status badge:
Green "X Open" — seats are open and accepting applications now.
Orange "X Soon" — seats will open up soon.
"Full" — all seats are currently filled.
Meetings icon — a calendar icon linking to the board's meeting schedule.
Step 4: View a board's details
Click a board name (or any row) to open its detail page.
[IMAGE: Individual board detail page showing a Meeting Information card on the left, an Overview card on the right, and a Current Members table below]
The detail page has three key sections:
Meeting Information (left column)
Meeting Cadence — how often the board meets, e.g., "Monthly on the first Monday at 7:00 PM."
Location — where meetings are held, if set.
Staff Contact — name and phone number for the board's staff liaison, plus a Send Message button if email contact is enabled.
Overview (right columns)
A longer description of the board's purpose and responsibilities.
Categories the board belongs to — click a category badge to see other boards in the same area.
Current Members (full width, below)
A table of every seat on the board: who's serving, their position, and term status.
Seats that are open show an Apply button in the rightmost column.
What's next?
How to apply for an open seat — once you've found a board you'd like to serve on.
How to set up your Application Profile — save your qualifications once and reuse them across applications.
Need help?
If you have questions about a specific board's responsibilities or meeting schedule, use the Send Message button on the board's detail page to contact the staff liaison directly.