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DRAFT BYLAWS OF THE MILLCREEK COMMUNITY COUNCIL Presented for review 10/6/2020 Article I. NAME The name of this organization shall be the Millcreek Community Council. Article II. BOUNDARIES The Millcreek Area Council boundaries shall be defined as those boundaries shone on maps and written descriptions filed with the county planning division. Such maps and descriptions are made by reference a part of this section as if fully described herein. A. The Millcreek Area, abbreviated boundary description, extends south from the Salt Lake City and South Salt Lake City limits to the Murray Holladay Road and the Murray City Limits and east from the Jordan River to Highland Drive. Article III. AUTHORITY The Council shall operate as a volunteer citizen organization under the authority of Chapter 2.56 of the city of Millcreek Code of Ordinances. Article IV. PURPOSE Section A. The purpose of the Council is to formulate and present recommendations to the Millcreek Planning Commission and other county agencies or city departments concerning actions which affect the property and residents within the Council District and to take any other actions which will be for the benefit and welfare of the residents and property within the Council District. Section B. Officers will have general authority to make statements, act, or make inquiries only within the officially defined capacity of their office, or by Council resolution. Section C. When speaking as members of the Community Council, members should only convey as official those positions which have been adopted by resolution of ---PAGE BREAK--- the Council. Any member making inquiries or expressing opinions or observations outside of council meetings, and under circumstances in which others would reasonably infer that the members are acting in their official capacity, should make it explicitly known that they are speaking as a private citizen, and that the Council does not officially endorse their statements. Section D. These guidelines shall apply to all public areas including but not limited to, public/private meetings, written or electronic correspondence and/or media. Article V. MEMBERSHIP Section A. Eligibility. Any resident within the District having reached the age of 18 years old may be elected or appointed a member of the Council. Section B. Number and Term. The Council shall consist of nine to thirteen members. The terms of the Council members shall be four years. The Council may function with as few as 5 members in the event of vacancies (see Article V. Section Section C. Staggering Terms. Council members terms shall be staggered so that approximately 50 % of the council will be elected every two years. Section D. Compensation. Council members shall serve without compensation. However, expenses incurred by Council members in carrying out Council business shall be paid to or reimbursed to Council members as long as such expense was approved during a meeting of the Council prior to the expense being incurred. Section E. Vacancies. The Council may fill any vacancy on the Council by appointing a replacement for the unexpired term of the vacant position. All vacancies must be publicized a minimum of 30 days prior to a vacancy being filled. In order to be nominated to fill a vacancy on the Council, a candidate must either be present at a council meeting requesting nomination or must have submitted a letter to the Council indicating a willingness to serve on the Council. Section F. Removal or Voting Privilege Suspension. Any Council member may be removed from the Council or have voting privileges suspended for up to two months. Such action will be by a two-thirds vote of the Council members present at any regular meeting where the removal proceeding is included on the agenda. A Council member ---PAGE BREAK--- may be removed or suspended for failure to attend meetings or to carry out the responsibilities and duties of membership on the Council or to adhere to Bylaws or for malfeasance. Such action shall be initiated by a written resolution setting forth the grounds for removal made and seconded at a regular meeting, but the vote for removal or suspension shall not be called for until the following regular meeting at which the accused has the opportunity to address the council. The secretary shall mail a copy of the resolution to the affected member at least ten days prior to the meeting at which the resolution is to be voted upon. Prior to voting on the resolution, the Council shall receive any relevant evidence relating to the allegations in the resolution. There must be a majority of sitting members voting to suspend or remove any council member. Article VI. ELECTIONS Section A. Procedure. Election of Council members shall be by secret ballot. Elections shall be held only on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November in each even numbered year. The nominees receiving the greatest number of votes for available Council positions shall be considered as elected. All candidates must be registered voters. Section B. Notice of Election. Notice of elections shall be published at least 30 days prior to the date of the election. Notice may be posted in public facilities in the community council area. Notices shall include the date, times and polling place for the community council election. Section C. Electorate. The electorate shall be comprised of any resident within the District who is 18 years of age or older and who is a registered voter. Section D. At least 60 days prior to an election, the community council shall designate one council member or designee, who is not standing for re-election, to serve as the election officer for the year in which a community council election is conducted. That election officer may solicit the assistance of council members or other persons not standing for re-election to serve as assistants. Council members will be notified election officer at least 30 days prior to candidacy declaration deadline of the election candidacy deadline and solicit council assistance to publicize the opportunity to declare candidacy. Section E. The community council shall prepare a sufficient number of ballots listing candidates for community council office. Candidates shall be listed in alphabetical ---PAGE BREAK--- order, by last name, and the ballot shall contain only the names of the candidates. No titles or indication of incumbency shall appear on the ballot. Write in candidates are permitted. Section F. The community council shall put in place and enforce appropriate regulations to ensure the secrecy and security of the voting process, including providing for a secret vote, secure ballot boxes, and a secure and orderly vote tabulation process supervised by the election officer. No proxy voting shall be permitted. Section G. Within seven days after an election, the election officer shall prepare an official written declaration of election results, including total votes cast for each candidate, and shall cause the declaration to be filed with the Council Secretary. A list of all council members, holding office as of January 1st, shall be provided to the city not later than December 15th of the previous year. Section H. The Council may hold its election by mailing ballots to registered voters in the Community Council District provided adequate safeguards are employed to insure that ballots are mailed to all registered voters within the Community Council district and procedures are utilized to insure a secret ballot when votes are tabulated. Section I. In the event a challenge within seven days of election results being posted by a resident of the council area regarding any aspect of the election, the challenge shall be determined by a majority vote of those members of the Community Council who are not then standing for election. Article VII. OFFICERS Section A. Officers. The officers of the Council shall consist of a chair, two vice- chair(s), a secretary, and a treasurer. No council member may hold more than one office at a time. Section B. Election of Officers. Officers shall be elected by the Council members at the December meeting of the Council election. Any Council member may place his or her name in nomination for any office or may nominate any other member of the Council for an office. The nominees receiving the greatest number of votes for each office shall be considered as elected. Those placed in nomination for an office must be in attendance at the meeting or must have written a letter to the Council indicating a willingness to serve in the office. Office vacancies shall be filled in the same manner at any regular meeting following the vacancy. ---PAGE BREAK--- Section C. Term. Chair and vice chair positions are 1-year appointments, with the expectation that the vice and second vice chairs move up each year. The secretary and treasurer are two-year positions. In the case of an officer vacancy, the council will elect a replacement to fill the position until the end of the term of the vacated office. Section D. Removal. Removal of an officer shall follow the procedure provided in Article V. Section F. for removal of a Council member except that removal from office shall not mean removal from the Council. If an officer is removed as provided in this Section, a separate removal procedure shall be initiated if removal from the Council is also desired. Section E. Duties of Chair. The chair shall preside at all meetings of the Council. He or she shall call special meetings when needed and shall give a report of the Council activities for the previous year at the annual meetings. The chair shall communicate with secretary in advance of meetings agenda items and community member feedback. Section F. Duties of Vice-Chair(s). In the absence of the chair, or in the event of his or her inability or refusal to act, a Vice-Chair shall preside over Council meetings, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the chair or by the Council itself. As assigned by the Council or the Chair, the Vice-chair(s) shall represent the Chair at meetings, performing specific duties of the Chair; and when so acting, shall have the powers and be subject to all the restrictions upon the Chair. Section G. Duties of Secretary. The secretary will create the agenda for council meetings with input from council members, and shall make it available at least two days prior to the meeting for edits and additions. He or she shall keep complete and accurate minutes of all the proceedings using the template below in any meeting of the Council. The secretary will chair the communications committee, whose responsibilities include: ● Send the agenda to the Millcreek City Director of Communications prior to the meeting so it may be posted on the Community Council webpage. Following the meeting, within a week days of the meeting the secretary shall send the draft minutes to the Millcreek City Director of Communications within three days so it may be posted on the Community Council webpage. ● Create an all-council email address and provide council members with training for how to access and respond to correspondence from the council email. ---PAGE BREAK--- ● Establish and maintain a MCC social media page and update it with council news, agendas, and minutes from meetings. ● Coordinate an article for the Millcreek Newspaper for each publication. The article will highlight initiatives like emergency preparedness or other interests of the council. Council members can review all letters before publication. Council shall be given 48 hours to review and approve letters. If council does not reply with approval, then that non-answer constitutes approval.) Section H. Duties of Treasurer. The treasurer shall collect, deposit, and keep an accurate record of all money due the Council and all money disbursed by the Council. He or she shall make a written financial report as part of the chair's annual report and present it at the November meeting. Section I. Signing of Documents. All checks and other instruments executed by the Council shall be signed by the treasurer and one other officer or by the treasurer upon the approval of the Council. The accounting of all moneys shall be kept by the treasurer and open to the public inspection at any reasonable time upon prior request. Section J. Budget. An annual budget shall be approved by the Council under the direction of the chair at the January meeting. The treasurer and chair shall periodically give a budget report to the Council. At no time shall the Council run a deficit budget or borrow money to pay its obligations. Article VIII. MEETINGS OF COUNCIL Section A. Regular Meetings. Regular meetings of the Council shall be held on the first Tuesday of each month or at such other time as the Council shall designate. At any regular meeting the Council may change the time and place of the next following regular meeting. Oral or written notice of any change in the regular meeting schedule shall be given to each member of the Council at least 10 days before the next scheduled regular meeting. Section B. Special Meetings. Special meetings may be called by the chair or a majority of the other members of the Council whenever such a meeting is deemed necessary or desirable. Notice of any special meeting shall be given to each member of the Council at least three business days in advance of the meeting. ---PAGE BREAK--- When formal action on an issue is required before the next regular meeting and a special meeting isn't practical, the chair, or a majority of the other members of the Council, may request a vote via other means. Reasonable effort must be made to receive a response from each Council member. A majority vote of all current Council members is necessary. The vote, and the method used to collect the vote, shall be entered into the minutes of the next regular meeting, publicly noted and ratified. Section C. Agenda. A written agenda shall be prepared for all meetings of the Council. Copies of the agenda shall be given to each member of the Council prior to the meeting. The previous meetings minutes shall be provided to the council 48 hours before the next meeting, to be approved through email, or at the next meeting. Section D. Meetings Open to the Public. All meetings of the Council shall be open to the public. Section E. Quorum. A quorum shall consist of the elected, attending Council Members of a regularly scheduled council meeting. Members can attend electronically or in person. Section F. Voting. All members of the Council may vote on any issue before the Council. Unless otherwise provided in these bylaws, a majority vote of the quorum is necessary to decide any matter before the Council. A quorum shall consist of the elected, attending Council Members of a regularly scheduled council meeting Section G. Conduct of Meetings. All meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order, current edition. Discussion shall be limited to business of the Council. All persons must be recognized by the chair. Comments should be brief and to the point in order to be heard and given sufficient time to express his or her opinion on any matter before the Council. In the interest of conserving meeting time, groups desiring to be heard on agenda items should request recognition before the start of the meeting and should be represented by a spokesperson if possible. If time is available, anyone can be recognized from the floor without prior request. The chair should give wide latitude to the discussion of business but shall not allow individuals or groups to engage in personal arguments. If this should occur, the chair has the discretion to declare such persons out of order and, if necessary, to ask such persons to leave the meetings. Section H. Business meetings shall be called in December (budget/annual plan), March (summer activities/committee work), and June (elections and emergency preparedness) to discuss business relevant to council activities and community services. ---PAGE BREAK--- Article IX. COMMITTEES Section A. The Council may designate and appoint one or more committees for whatever reason the Council deems necessary. The committees shall have the power and authority established by the Council and shall report to the Council during meetings thereof. Such power and authority shall not supersede any of these bylaws and shall not relieve the Council of any responsibility imposed herein. The chair of each committee must be a member of the Council, but other members may be any resident or property owner within the District. All committee members shall serve at the pleasure of the Council. List of Suggested Committees: ● Emergency Preparedness ● Communication ○ Social media ● Activities/events ● City Council ● Planning and Zoning Commission ● Promise Program The business meeting agendas should allow for each committee to give updates on current events. Committees can request to give updates at meetings by requesting a spot on agenda from the Secretary. Section B. Association of Community Councils Together (ACCT) representatives must be elected members of the Millcreek Community Council. Article X. AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS Amendments to these bylaws may be proposed in writing by any Council member at any regular meeting. A proposed amendment shall be adopted upon the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the Council members present at the next regular meeting following the meeting at which the amendment was proposed. A copy of the proposed amendment shall be mailed or delivered to each Council member at least 10 days prior to the meeting at which the amendment is considered for adoption. ---PAGE BREAK--- Article XI. EFFECTIVE DATE OF BYLAWS These bylaws shall become effective immediately upon adoption by the Council. Updated and adopted this 6 day of October, 2020. Millcreek Community Council