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Latest Update: March 11, 2014 Page 1 of 10 OTSEGO COUNTY BOARD RULES/BYLAWS 1. AUTHORITY These rules/bylaws are adopted by the Board of Commissioners of Otsego County (hereafter referred to as the Board) pursuant to Section 46.11 of the Compiled Laws of Michigan as amended. 2. ORGANIZATION 2.1. BOARD The Board has nine commissioners elected for two year terms. Generally, the Board may be defined as the legislative, policy making branch of County government. 2.2. DUTIES OF THE CHAIRPERSON 2.2.1. The Chairperson, if present, shall preside at all meetings of the Board, preserve order, and decide questions of order subject to appeal to the Board which may reverse the Chairperson by a majority vote of those present and voting. 2.2.2. The Chairperson shall be the agent for the Board in the signing of contracts, orders, resolutions, determinations and minutes of the Board. 2.2.3. The Chairperson shall serve in such capacities and make appointments as the law shall require or allow. 2.2.4. The Chairperson shall serve as an ex-officio member on all Board committees. As such, he shall not be a voting member except cases where he/she is a regular member of the committee. 2.2.5. The Chairperson or the appointed replacement shall represent the Board and County at various functional and ceremonial activities. 2.2.6. The Chairperson, subject to the disapproval of a majority of those voting, shall appoint all standing, special or ad hoc committees. He/she shall designate the chairperson of each committee. 2.2.7. The Chairperson shall have the power to administer an oath to any person concerning any matter being considered by the Board. 2.2.8. The Chairperson, when appropriate, shall refer matters coming before the Board to a committee. 2.3. VICE-CHAIRPERSON He/she shall be elected at the organizational meeting of the Board and shall assume all the duties and responsibilities of the Chairperson when the Chairperson is absent. 2.4. COUNTY CLERK DUTIES 2.4.1. Preside, until a Chairperson or temporary chairperson is elected. 2.4.2. Record all proceedings of the Board and house the records in a safe place. 2.4.3. Make regular entries of all Board resolutions and decisions. 2.4.4. Record the vote on all questions and where required indicate the vote of each commissioner. 2.4.5. Perform such other duties as the Board by resolution may require. 2.4.6. Appoint a deputy to attend Board meeting when unable to attend. 2.5 COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR ---PAGE BREAK--- Latest Update: March 11, 2014 Page 2 of 10 The County Administrator is hereby designated as the official signatory of Board approved leases, contracts and other legal documents. However, this designation does not diminish the authority of the Chairperson. 3. MEETINGS 3.1. Organizational meeting. 3.1.1. The first meeting of each calendar year shall be for the purpose of organizing. If needed, the County Clerk shall preside until a chairperson is elected. However, the first order of business shall be to administer the oath of office to commissioner(s) if the oath has not been given. 3.1.2. In odd years the second item of business shall be to decide if the term of office shall be for one or two years and if the vote shall be an open or closed ballot. 3.1.3 In needed, the next item of business is to select, by majority vote of all members, an elected commissioner to serve as Chairperson of the Board. The elected Chairperson shall take and assume the duties upon election. 3.1.4 The next item of business shall be the election of a Vice-Chairperson. 3.2. Regular meetings The Board shall meet according to the schedule adopted pursuant to Section 5 of the Open Meetings Act (P.A. 267 of 1976 as Amended being MCL 15.265), normally the second and fourth Tuesday of each month. The time and place shall be determined by the Board. 3.3. Special meetings 3.3.1. The Board shall meet in special sessions upon the written petition to the County Administrator, signed by one third (1/3) or more of the members. The petition shall specify the time, date, place and purpose of the meeting. 3.3.2. The Chairperson may also call an unscheduled meeting at his/her discretion. 3.4. Emergency meetings may be called with the consent of two thirds (2/3) of the members of the Board and only if delay would threaten/endanger the health, safety and welfare of the public. An emergency meeting does not require public notice. 3.5. Change in schedule A change in schedule shall not be made unless a majority of the Board concurs. In the event the Board shall meet and a quorum is not present, the Board with the approval of a majority of those present, may adjourn the meeting to another time provided that notice is given to members and the public. 3.6. Work sessions Work sessions of the Board may be held at a date, time and place established by the Board. However, formal action may not be taken at a work session. 4. PUBLIC NOTICE OF MEETINGS 4.1. The County Clerk or Administrator shall provide notice for all meetings of the Board. Such notice shall include but is not necessarily limited to the following. 4.1.1. Regular meetings The Clerk or Administrator shall post within ten (10) days after the first meeting in the calendar year a list of scheduled meetings indicating the date, time and place. 4.1.2. Schedule change Proper and timely notice shall be posted as mandated in Section 4.1.3. ---PAGE BREAK--- Latest Update: March 11, 2014 Page 3 of 10 4.1.3. Special and emergency meetings Notice shall be posted immediately and delivered to the residence of each commissioner by direct delivery or mail. No meeting, except emergency, shall be held until the notice shall have been posted at least eighteen (18) hours. 4.1.4. Notification of media and others If a request has been filed the Clerk or Administrator shall notify, with out charge, any newspaper or radio or television station of the Board’s meeting schedule, schedule changes or emergency meetings. 4.1.5. Upon request, individuals will be notified of meetings but must reimburse the County for all reasonable costs. 5. QUORUM 5.1. A majority of commissioners, elected and serving, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of ordinary business. 5.2. No member of the Board may absent himself/herself without the consent of the Board. Leave may be revoked by the Board at any time. 5.3. Call of the Board The Board, by majority vote of those present and voting, may call the Board. Upon such a vote, the Board empowers the Sheriff to assure that commissioners who are absent without leave will attend. 6. AGENDA FOR REGULAR MEETINGS 6.1. The Administrator after reviewing pending business and consulting with the Chairperson will draft an agenda for regularly scheduled meetings. Commissioners interested in placing an item on the agenda will notify the Administrator by the close of the business on the Tuesday preceding the next regular meeting. Items not on the agenda may be introduced as new business. 6.2. Resolutions to be considered by the Board must be included with the agenda packet forwarded by the Administrator to each commissioner prior to the scheduled regular meeting. Any resolution not included in the packet will require six votes to be adopted. 6.3. The following will be the usual agenda format for regular meetings of the Board. Call to Order Invocation Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call Approval and Correction of Minutes Consent Agenda (If Any) Administrator's Report Reports from Officers Committee Reports Reports from Department Heads (If Any) Scheduled Presentations (If Any) City Liaison & Township & Village Representatives Correspondence Special Orders (as defined in RONR) (If Any) ---PAGE BREAK--- Latest Update: March 11, 2014 Page 4 of 10 Unfinished Business and General Orders (If Any) New Business Public Comment Board remarks, Announcements, and informal discussions Closed Session/Executive Meeting (If Ordered) Adjournment 6.4. Agenda for special meetings The agenda shall be included in the notice of the meeting and no other matter shall be considered except when all members are present and a majority concurs. 6.5. Distribution of agenda material Upon completion of an agenda packet, the Administrator shall immediately distribute and post copies with reports, explanations, etc., that relate to agenda items. Commissioners shall receive materials no later than the Saturday preceding the next regularly scheduled meeting. 6.6. Consent agenda - Define/Procedure 6.6.1 The consent calendar/agenda shall consist of motions by any commissioner or the administrator with which the Board usually concurs. The Chairperson must allow commissioners to remove any motion where there is a question or a desire to discuss more fully. These items will be added at the appropriate place on the agenda. 6.6.2 Motions on the consent agenda shall be numbered consecutively for easy identification. 6.6.3 Motions not removed per section 6.6.1 or section 8.1 shall be adopted en bloc by unanimous consent. 6.6.4 A resolution may be placed on the consent agenda and when thus included, consideration shall be the same as and concurrent with the other items. 7. CONDUCT OF MEETINGS 7.1. The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Board. In the Chairperson’s absence the Vice Chairperson shall preside. In the event both Chair and Vice Chair are absent, the Clerk shall preside until the commissioners present elect a commissioner to preside. 7.2. Board members wishing to be heard shall first obtain the approval of the Chairperson and each person who speaks shall address the Chairperson. Individuals attending the meeting shall not speak unless recognized by the Chairperson. 7.3 A second shall not be required to place a motion before the Board. 7.4. Disorderly conduct 7.4.1. The Chairperson shall call to order any person who is disorderly by speaking or otherwise disrupting the proceedings by failing to be germane, by speaking longer than the allotted time or interfering with the scheduled agenda. Said person shall be ruled out of order and not allowed to participate except upon special leave of a majority of the commissioners present. If the person continues to be disorderly, the Chairperson may call a recess or have the person removed from the meeting. However, no person shall be removed from a public meeting except for an actual breach of the peace committed at the meeting. 7.4.2. Failure to place a pager and/or a cell phone on the silent mode during a meeting is hereby deemed to be a breach of peace as defined by section 7.4.1. 7.5 If a motion to adjourn is adopted prior to "Public Comment", the meeting shall immediately be open for public comments prior to execution of the motion. Public ---PAGE BREAK--- Latest Update: March 11, 2014 Page 5 of 10 comment under this sub-section is limited to thirty (30) minutes. 7.6 A negative motion shall be considered the same as if the motion had been made in a positive form. A negative motion is a motion which if adopted has the same result as not adopting any motion, and if defeated leaves everyone confused as to the board's intent. A motion to 'not approve the petition' shall be stated as a motion to 'approve the petition.' 8. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN MEETINGS 8.1. Public comment on the consent agenda shall be limited to requesting the removal of a motion from the consent agenda. This request shall indicate the speakers desire to speak against the motion. 8.2. Participation during debate on a motion. After a question has been opened for debate by the chairperson, a member of the public, when recognized by the chairperson, may speak on the question once for up to three minutes, providing the remarks conform to rules of proper debate and are germane to the question. Germane is defined as having a bearing on whether the pending motion should be adopted or rejected. 8.3 A motion to close public debate The subsidiary motion to close public debate shall rank between the motion to limit or extend limits of debate and the motion of the previous question. This motion shall require a majority vote, shall not be debated or amended, but may be reconsidered under the same rules as the previous question. 8.4. During "Public Comment" after New Business or under provisions of section 7.5, Members of the public are invited to bring before the Board any concern that is with in the providence of the Board. The speaker must use language that is appropriate for debate. 9. VOTING 9.1. Majority vote is the usual manner for deciding procedural and other questions arising at a meeting. However, there may be exceptions wherein decisions require, by statute, a higher than majority vote. Also, a majority of the members elected and serving is required for final passage or adoption of resolutions or allowance of claims, or other routine business. 9.2. A two thirds (2/3) vote shall be required on the following procedural motions. Suspend the rules Limit or extend debate Object to consideration Move the previous question Hold a closed session pursuant to the Open Meetings Act 9.3. A roll call vote requires the name and vote of each member be recorded on any action taken by the Board. Unanimous consent shall be recorded as each member voting in favor of the proposed action. 9.4. No vote may be taken by secret ballot except on the question of electing a Chairperson. 9.5. Mandatory voting on all issues shall be required unless a member is recused, due to conflict of interest, by a majority of the Board. 9.6. A question may be reconsidered and decided by a roll call vote if called for by a member ---PAGE BREAK--- Latest Update: March 11, 2014 Page 6 of 10 who voted with the majority on the roll call. Any member may ask for reconsideration if the matter was decided viva voce. However, a matter may not be reconsidered more than once. 9.7. Conflict of interest suggests that a commissioner has a direct or indirect interest in a contract or other business transaction. Members are encouraged to vote after making public the possible conflict. 10. RECORD OF MEETINGS 10.1. The County Clerk shall be the Clerk of the Board and will be responsible for maintaining the official records and minutes of Board meetings. The minutes shall include all actions and decisions made by the Board and shall indicate the name of the mover of motions and resolutions. Resolutions will be considered by roll call vote and each commissioner’s vote indicated. 10.2. Request for remarks to be included. A commissioner may have his/her comments printed as part of the minutes upon the concurrence of a majority of the members present. Such comments to be included in the record shall be provided to the clerk in writing. 10.3. Public access to meeting records The Clerk shall make available to the public the records of Board meetings in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. Board minutes prepared but not approved by the Board shall be made available for public inspection not more than seven working days following the meeting. Approved minutes shall be available the day following the meeting of the Board wherein approval was given. 11. COMMITTEES: The intent of the committee is not to assume the management authority of either the department head or the County Administrator, but rather to ensure the integrity of all policies affecting the public. The County Administrator or the board determines which issues need committee action prior to board action. Each committee shall thoroughly investigate any matter referred to it and shall report in writing its findings to the board without undue delay. Upon the motion of any board member and approval by a majority of the board, the board may discharge a committee from further consideration of any matter. ---PAGE BREAK--- Latest Update: March 11, 2014 Page 7 of 10 11.1. Appointment Each year, following the election of the Board Chairperson, with the advice and consent of the full board, the Chairperson shall appoint commissioners to committees and other assignments as appropriate. 11.2. Committee Chairperson The person first listed on the roster of each committee shall be Chairperson. In the absence of the chairperson, the next listed commissioners shall act as Chairperson. 11.3 Standing Committees of this Board are: 11.3.1 Budget-Finance to consider matters of finance, budget, grants, additional appropriations requested, and associated fiscal matters. 11.3.2 Personnel to consider matters of staffing in each department, employing personnel, termination of personnel, other than department heads, establishing new positions, salary or wages for positions; personnel policies; benefits for elected and non-elected personnel; and serve as the collective bargaining committee including involvement in grievance procedures. 11.3.3 County Airport performs the duties inposed by section 6a of act 90 of 1913 being MCL 123.66a (appendix 11.4. Committee meetings 11.4.1. A majority of the members of a committee shall constitute a quorum. Committee meetings shall be open to the public unless closed by a two thirds (2/3) vote pursuant to the Open Meetings Act. 11.4.2. The committee shall maintain a written record of meetings and shall present records to the Board at a regular meeting. These records shall constitute a public record and shall be made available to any person as required by law. 11.5. Exercise of Governmental function A committee shall not exercise a government function in a meeting that is not open to the public unless the Open Meetings Act permits a session to be closed to the public. The committee will make recommendations to the Board and report matters considered and rejected as well as those considered and recommended. 11.6 A special, select or ad hoc committee may be formed by the chairperson with consent of the Board or by direction of the Board. Any committee formed under this section shall cease to exist upon completion of its assignment or at the end the term of the board chairperson that appointed it. 11.7. Committee of the Whole 11.7.1. Whenever the Board shall meet in “working meetings” the Board shall meet as a committee of the whole and the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson or another member shall preside. 11.7.2. Meetings of the whole shall comply with the provisions of the Open Meetings Act with respect to public notice except when the Board shall devolve into a committee of the whole at one of its regular meetings. 11.7.3. The rules of the Board shall be observed in committee of the whole meetings except for limiting debate, moving to vote immediately and taking a roll call vote. 11.7.4. Upon request of two thirds (2/3) of the Board, resolutions, ordinances and other matters shall be read aloud by the Clerk and considered and acted upon by sections. When the committee of the whole completes its deliberations, a member shall move that the committee rise and report to the Board. ---PAGE BREAK--- Latest Update: March 11, 2014 Page 8 of 10 11.8 The County Administrator and the Board Chairperson shall be ex-officio members of all committees with the right of voice and vote. Except when serving as a regular/designated member of the committee, the County Administrator and/or the Board Chairperson shall not be counted in determining the number required for a quorum or whether a quorum is present. 12. EXECUTIVE MEETINGS/CLOSED SESSIONS 12.1. A motion to hold an executive meeting/closed session may be made at any time during the meeting. If the motion passes, the meeting shall be held as provided for in rule 6.3. If rule 7.5 is in effect, then the closed session shall be between public comment and adjournment. The vote on a motion to hold an executive meeting shall be recorded in the minutes. Executive sessions must comply with the Open Meetings Act. 12.2. Minutes of Executive meetings shall be maintained separate and sealed. The minutes shall indicate clearly the topics discussed. The record shall not be disclosed to the public except on order of a court. The clerk shall destroy the minutes after one year and one day after the meeting at which the Board approved the minutes. 13. PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) shall govern all questions of procedure not otherwise provided by these rules, or by State or Federal law. A person so designated by the Board shall serve as the Board’s parliamentarian and shall advise the presiding officer regarding rules of procedure. 14. ADMINISTRATIVE RESOLUTIONS 14.1. Definitions Any action regarding the operation or administration of a department of County government or containing policies of the Board applicable to more than one department, and not adopted by ordinance, shall be an administrative policy. 14.2. Any commissioner may introduce an administrative resolution at a regular or special meeting. 15. PROCEDURE FOR FILLING VACANCIES ON BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS 15.1. The Administrator shall notify the Board regarding the expiration of term of office on any board or commission where vacancies are filled by the Board. 15.2. The Administrator shall prepare public notice of vacancies. Such action shall not require Board approval. Public notices must be given whenever a vacancy occurs on a board or commission, which the Board has the authority to fill. 16. BOARD VACANCIES When a vacancy occurs in the office of commissioners by death, resignation, moving from the district or removal from office the vacancy shall be filled by appointment within thirty (30) days by the Board with a resident and registered voter of that district. The person appointed to fill a vacancy which occurs in an odd numbered year shall serve until the vacancy is filled by a special election. The person appointed to fill a vacancy which occurs in an election year shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term. If the Board ---PAGE BREAK--- Latest Update: March 11, 2014 Page 9 of 10 fails to fill a vacancy within thirty (30) days, the vacancy shall be filled by special election regardless of the year. A person appointed under this section shall, for the purpose of these rules/bylaws, be considered to be elected and serving. 18. ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT OF RULES These rules having been adopted by not less than a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all the members of the Board, may be amended or rescinded by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of all the members of the Board. They shall remain in effect until amended or rescinded. Any proposed amendment of these rules, properly presented to the Board of Commissioners, shall take immediate effect when adopted, unless the Board at the time of adoption stipulates otherwise. 19. PREVIOUS RULES/BYLAWS These Otsego County Rules/Bylaws supersede any and all rules/bylaws and amendments adopted prior to this date. ---PAGE BREAK--- Latest Update: March 11, 2014 Page 10 of 10 APPENDIX A PARKS, ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, AND AIRPORTS (EXCERPT) Act 90 of 1913 123.66a County airport committee; appointment, powers, organization. Sec. 6-a. Whenever a board of supervisors of any county shall have adopted a resolution to purchase, condemn or to accept certain lands for airport or landing field purposes and makes an appropriation therefor under the provisions of sections 1 and 2 of this act, there shall be created a board of 3 members to be known as a “county airport committee.” These 3 members may be either 3 members of the board of county road commissioners or 3 members of the board of supervisors as determined by the majority vote of the members of the board of supervisors. Such county airport committee shall have the management, control and expenditure of such funds collected and shall hold in trust for the county the title to any real estate so purchased, acquired by condemnation or accepted by way of gift or devise for airport or landing field purposes and shall supervise the improvement of any such property so purchased, acquired or accepted as authorized by the board of supervisors. Such county airport committee shall have the care and control of all airport and landing field property and may make reasonable rules and regulations and enforce the same when made respecting the use by the public of such property. They shall elect a chairman and secretary from among the members. All expenditures of funds so appropriated shall be paid only by the county treasurer on the warrant or voucher of the chairman and 1 other member of such board. The committee so appointed shall make a full report to the board of supervisors at each October session as to the condition of the airport or landing field property and the expenditure of funds. The members of such committee shall continue to act until their successors have been duly elected or appointed.