Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutInterNeighborhood Council Bylaws Final City of Bozeman Inter-Neighborhood Council Bylaws I. Mission A. Recognizing the value of citizen involvement and the importance of neighborhood relations through effective and timely communication, the Inter-Neighborhood Council (INC) is committed to ensuring safety, knowledge and guidance to Bozeman's neighborhoods. The INC fosters a sense of cooperation and understanding between neighborhoods to increase the overall health of the community. The INC provides information to the recognized neighborhood associations and may make recommendations to the City Commission and City staff on city-wide issues as requested and /or deemed necessary by the INC. II. Vision A. Our pride in where we live rests, in part, on the relationships we share with others in our community. We envision the City of Bozeman as one in which every citizen feels informed about changes in their neighborhood and community and thus are enabled to share their concerns and ideas with fellow citizens and elected officials and in which governmental agencies at all levels set the example of good stewardship and support for their citizens' efforts. III. Authorization and Organization A. The INC is established by the Bozeman City Charter, adopted by the Citizens of Bozeman on December 7, 2006 and effective January 1, 2008. B. The INC fiscal year begins l January of each year and ends 31 December of the same. The INC fiscal year shall begin 1 January 2008. IV. Officers and Duties A. The INC shall maintain the offices of Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary-Treasurer. The officers must be elected representatives from recognized neighborhood associations. l. The Chair shall be responsible for the operation of the INC and its officers pursuant to these Bylaws. This shall include setting meeting agendas, conducting meetings, representing the INC at official functions, appointing sub-committees, and generally overseeing the business of the INC. The Chair shall have the primary responsibility for leading the long-term and short-term planning efforts of the INC and shall also have specific duties as spelled out elsewhere in these Bylaws and delegated by the INC delegates. 1 2. The Vice-Chair shall, in the event of the absence or inability of the Chairman to exercise the office, become acting Chairman of the INC. 3. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be the official custodian of the records as required by the Bylaws of the INC. The Secretary-Treasurer shall produce all written communications as requested by the Chair or INC delegates. The Secretary-Treasurer shall record and maintain the minutes of all INC meetings. 4. The Secretary-Treasurer shall have custody of all monies belonging to the INC and maintain an accurate accounting of all receipts and expenditures that have been generated through the INC. The Secretary-Treasurer shall provide a financial report to delegates of the INC at meetings as deemed necessary by the Chair and affix to the meeting minutes. The Secretary-Treasurer must be one of the officers who shall sign checks or drafts of the INC, if utilized. There shall be three (3) authorized signatures on the bankcard, if any, and two (2) authorized signatures on each check, if any. V. Executive Committee A. The Executive Committee shall be composed of all INC officers, the Chair of any standing committee of the INC and the City Liaison. B. The Executive Committee may act on behalf ofthe INC between regular meetings on any matter determined urgent. Any such action shall be reported at the next regular meeting of the INC and none of its actions shall conflict with actions taken or policies formulated by the INC. VI. Committees A. The Chair, with the approval of the majority of the delegates of the INC, may appoint standing committees to help conduct the business of the INC. The Chair of a standing committee shall serve as a voting delegate of the Executive Committee. B. Committee Chair shall report to the INC. These reports shall be entered into the minutes. VII. Elections and Officer Terms A. Elections of INC officers shall occur in the final meeting of the fiscal year held on the second Tuesday in the month of December. B. A nominating committee may be appointed by the Chair to propose, for the final meeting of the fiscal year, one or more eligible candidates from the INC for each office for the coining year. Nominations shall also be accepted from the floor. 2 All candidates must have accepted the nomination and be a qualified delegate of the INC. C. The INC delegates shall elect officers by a majority vote. D. Voting shall be by secret ballot if there is more than one (1) candidate for office. E. The ballots shall be maintained by the Secretary-Treasurer for sixty(60) days and shall then be destroyed. F. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the City Liaison in writing of the names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and terms of office of newly elected INC officers. G. Newly elected officers shall be installed in the first meeting of the fiscal year on the second Tuesday of the month of January. H. Tenns of office for INC officers shall be one (1) year in duration with a maximum of two consecutive terns. I. The Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain a list of recognized neighborhood association members interested in serving as a delegate to, or officer in, the INC. This list shall be consulted when a delegate, or delegates, is needed to fill a vacancy and/or when officers are nominated. VIII. Removal and Vacancies of Officers A. Any elected officer may be removed from office for good cause. Removal shall be debated by the INC and shall require a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the delegates present at a meeting of the INC providing a resolution proposing the consideration of the removal has been adopted at a preceding meeting. Notice of a vote for removal of an elected officer shall be included in the call to meeting and listed on the meeting agenda along with the location, date and time of the meeting. B. Should vacancies occur outside the normal election process, candidates for the unfilled tern shall be nominated from the floor and elected at the next scheduled meeting following the vacancy. Anyone elected to the vacated office shall serve for the remainder of the term. IX. Procedures A. Unless otherwise determined by a majority vote of the INC, the body shall conduct a minimum of one regularly scheduled meeting each month, All meetings are open to the public and subject to the State of Montana's open meeting laws. Cancellation or rescheduling of any meeting, or scheduling of any special meetings, may occur at the discretion of INC. Regularly scheduled 3 meetings shall be held at such a place, date and hour as may from time to time be fixed by consensus. Notification of special meetings may be given in person, via e-mail, over the telephone, or hand delivered to a delegate's usual place of residence at least seventy-two (72) hours before the time set for the meeting. B. The City Liaison shall prepare a schedule/agenda for each meeting in consultation with the Chair and other neighborhood representatives. Said agenda shall be made available to other representatives at least three days prior to each monthly meeting and shall include the date, time and location of the meeting as well as discussion topics. C. The Chair shall preside at all meetings; the Vice-chair shall preside at meetings upon request of the Chair. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare the minutes of the monthly or special meetings. The minutes shall include a list of attendance, including neighborhood representatives, guests, and members of the public, and a summary of all business, discussions and actions taken. D. Amendments and changes to the Bylaws may be adopted during any regular meeting following a two-thirds (2/3) vote and provided that the revisions are submitted to the INC no less than two weeks in advance of the meeting. Amendments shall be ratified by the City Commission. X. Representation and Voting A. Each recognized neighborhood association shall appoint one delegate and one alternate delegate to the INC and communicate the names, addresses, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of the delegate and the alternate, in writing, to the INC Secretary-Treasurer who shall, in turn, report this information to the City Liaison. B. Each appointed delegate has one vote on the INC. In the absence of the appointed delegate the alternate delegate to the INC may exercise the same rights and privileges afforded the appointed delegate until the absent delegate returns or a new delegate is appointed by a recognized neighborhood association. Delegate, or alternate delegate, vacancies to the INC shall be filled within sixty(60) days of the vacancy. C. A quorum, which is required for the conduct of any INC meeting, consists of a majority of voting delegates of recognized neighborhood associations. D. A delegate to the INC unable to attend an INC meeting may provide written authorization to the INC Secretary-Treasurer for an alternate delegate or other INC delegate to vote on any matter that may come before the INC at that meeting. The written proxy authorization shall state the name of the authorized delegate and be signed and dated by the absent delegate. A proxy vote shall be fully documented in the minutes of the meeting. 4 E. The INC shall establish and follow a clear method for reporting to the City actions which accurately reflect neighborhood positions. When the INC presents an official position on an issue to the City, the INC shall identify how a decision on the position was reached: l. by majority vote of the INC; 2. by consensus vote of the INC, 3. by a poll of the general membership of each recognized neighborhood association with documentation of vote results; or 4. by vote of recognized neighborhood association membership at a general or special membership meeting with documentation of vote results. XI. Attendance A. Regular attendance of all meetings is considered crucial for contribution to the INC, and is a requirement for membership. No more than three (3) absences within a one-year period, without authorization from the INC in the form of a motion and vote to authorize the absence of a delegate, shall be permitted during the course of a full, one (1) year term. Attendance shall be recorded by the Secretary-Treasurer at each meeting and included in the minutes. XII. Conflict of Interest A. Any delegate or alternate delegate, who has, may have or expects to have, a pecuniary interest in a nomination, proposal, recommendation or undertaking related to the INC's general role and responsibility as stated in the Mission, shall publicly declare a potential conflict of interest and attempt resolution through discussion among INC delegates. If the conflict cannot be resolved, the delegate or alternate delegate, shall recuse themselves from debate and abstain from a vote or votes on that issue. Pecuniary interest shall be defined as the flow of resources, loss of resources, or savings of resources which may result from the action of a delegate. XIII. General A. The rules in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the INC, and all committees and subcommittees in all cases to which they apply and do not conflict with the specific provisions of these Bylaws or any special rules that the INC may adopt. B. If any part of the Bylaws or the application thereof is hereafter held invalid or unenforceable, the remainder shall not be affected thereby, and only the affected portions are declared eliminated. 5 C. No INC delegate or alternate, officer, representative or spokesperson shall assume any financial liability of the INC. D. Officers of, and delegates to, the INC shall not represent the INC on any issue unless authorized to do so at a regular meeting of the INC by a majority of voting delegates. XIV. City Liaison Duties A. The City Liaison is responsible for providing counsel and support services to the INC. Such services may include assistance with agenda creation and distribution, general communications, newsletters, grant writing, activity planning, leadership training, public relations, outreach efforts, general information and referral, and other technical assistance as requested. XV. Non-discrimination Clause A. The INC shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, marital status, age, religion, creed, political belief, mental or physical handicap or disability, or veteran status in admission, access to, or conduct of its meetings. XVI. Amendments A. These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the INC delegates, at any regular INC meeting, provided a resolution proposing the amendment has been circulated at a preceding meeting. Notice of a vote to amend the Bylaws, along with the proposed amendment, shall be included in the call to meeting and listed on the meeting agenda, along with the location, date and time of the meeting. B. Bylaw amendments approved by the INC shall be forwarded to the City Liaison within ten (10) calendar days of approval for submission to the City Commission for ratification. XVII. Effective Date ; A. These Bylaws were formally approved by the INC delegates at a meeting held on the 11 th day of December 2007, at 7:00 P.M., at the Beall Park Recreation Center, in the City of Bozeman, County of Gallatin, State of Montana and signed by all the attending delegates of the INC, representing a majority of neighborhood associations. 6 Bozeman Creek Neighborhood Association(BONA) _ "' Cascade Association f Neig ®rsCAN) Marwyn-Lind ighbors(Mar inN) NevrHyaliteyjw Network(NHVN) 1 North East Neighbor ood�Assoc�iation�(NEN`A) South Central Association of Neighbors(SCAN) SouthEast�Neige6b.,�lod Asso i o cation(SENA) Attested to by: l= City Liaison 7 B. These bylaws of the INC as officially and formally adopted on the 11`" day of December, 2007, shall be effective January 1, 2008, upon final acceptance by majority of the City Commission as presented for ratification by the City Commission on December 17, 2007 and approved by a vote of 0. 8