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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommission On Disability - Bylaws - 2010Commission on Disability By-laws A. NAME The name of this City of Fort Collins commission is the “Commission on Disability” as established through City Ordinance #166 on November 3, 1981, hereafter referred to as the “Commission” or the COD. B. PURPOSE The Commission will advise the City Council and the employees and residents of the City of Fort Collins on issues concerning persons with disabilities in accordance with its functions as defined in the City Code. Within the limit of its authority, the Commission will formulate, recommend, and support such programs and policies as it deems important to assure compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Fair Housing Act and other legislation relating to persons with disabilities. C. COMMISSION MEETINGS 1. Regular Meetings a) Regular meetings of the Commission will be held at least once a month. b) Rules on time, place, accommodation, and order must be established by motions adopted by the Commission. c) Accommodations for meetings must be made accessible to all. d) For purposes of these bylaws, “active Commission members” means all appointed Commission members except those who have asked to be excused from service on the Commission for a period of three months or more. 2. Voting / Quorum a) Only Commission members counted present at any Commission meeting may vote on any motion considered by the Commission. b) A quorum consists of the majority of the total number of members specified by the City Code to comprise the Commission. c) Motions may be adopted by a majority of a quorum of the Commission. d) Motions must not be considered without a quorum, except for a motion to recess, adjourn, or to accept subcommittee reports. 3. Special Meetings a) Special meetings may be called by any Commission member with the approval of the Commission chairperson and at least 48 hours advance notice of time and location to all active Commission members, and public notice as required by the City Code. b) The Commission may pass other motions to further restrict the time, place, nature, or business of special meetings. 4. Agenda a) All agenda items will be generated by the Commission membership with the concurrence of the Chairperson and must be submitted no less than 24 hours prior to the scheduled meeting. 2 b) The agenda will allow for an open discussion in each meeting for the general public. c) Unscheduled presentation by City departments or the public, when not on the established agenda, will be requested to limit their presentation to fifteen (15) minutes or less. The Commission will need a clear statement at the beginning as to whether their presentation is for information or whether some action is being requested of the Commission. d) The agenda may be amended by the chairperson alone or a one-thirds (1/3) vote of the quorum of a Commission meeting as necessary during the meeting. The one-thirds (1/3) vote of the quorum to amend the agenda shall override any opposing amendments made or proposed by the chairperson alone. e) A majority of the quorum of a Commission meeting may suspend all further amendments to the meeting’s agenda. 5. Record Keeping and Dissemination of Information a) The City Staff Liaison will distribute minutes and meeting agendas prepared by the Secretary/Recorder and expedite correspondence with Commission member and pertinent City offices. b) The Commission will report its activities to City Council, via a written report, at least once a year or as required by the City Code. D. MEMBERSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES 1. Display sensitivity to and awareness of the needs, desires, and aspirations of persons with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. 2. Present any concerns or suggestions received from members of the community to the Commission for consideration at the next regular meeting. 3. Submit suggestions for agenda items to the Chairperson (or other Executive Committee member) one week prior to the scheduled Commission meeting. 4. Consult with the Chairperson and City Staff Liaison prior to making any statements or joining in any activities specifically on the behalf of the Commission. 5. Volunteer and actively participate in a minimum of one sub-committee or other project on a continuous basis. 6. Contact a member of the Executive Committee, or the City Staff Liaison, when unable to attend a Commission meeting. 7. Commission members are expected to attend all regular meeting of the Commission. Failure to comply with the City’s attendance policy for Boards and Commissions, as described in the Boards and Commissions Manual, will cause a member’s appointment to be terminated. E. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 1. Purpose The Executive Committee leads the Commission and meets to review the progress on the goals of the Commission and makes recommendations to the Commission for how to best achieve their goals. Further, the Executive Committee ensures that the Commission remains in close contact with necessary City and City Council officials and provides reports as desired to the City Council on the business of the Commission. 2. Membership a) The Executive Committee shall consist of four (4) members: Chairperson, Vice- Chairperson, Secretary, and Historian. 3 b) Only members of the Commission are allowed to serve as members of the Executive Committee. c) Only members of the Commission that have served no less than one (1) year are eligible to serve as the Chairperson. d) A Commission member may only hold one Executive Committee position at any given time. e) The term of every Executive Committee position ends on the first regular meeting in January after the regular election of a new Executive Committee. f) The term for every Executive Committee position shall be about one (1) year, the time between on January regular Commission meeting and the next January regular Commission meeting. 3. Elections a) Nominations for the Executive Committee positions shall be held at every first regular Commission meeting in January or February. b) The regular election for the Executive Committee positions shall be held at the next regular meeting after nominations have been taken. The election must occur as the first order of business. c) To receive a position on the Executive Committee, a nominee must receive votes from a majority of the quorum present at the time of the election in the appointed meeting. d) If no nominee for a given position receives a majority of the vote from the quorum, a run- off election will be held between the two nominees that received the most votes. e) Every member of the Commission present at the election has exactly one (1) vote for each position. Members present at the election may not abstain from voting. f) In the event of a tie, the current Chairperson will appoint one of the two nominees to serve as the winner of the election. g) A motion can be made at any time during a regular Commission meeting to take nominations to replace a vacancy in the Executive Committee. Once nominations are in place, a vote for the position must be immediately taken. The rules for the regular election are followed. 4. Removal a) Any member of the Executive Committee may only be removed from office by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members present at a regular meeting of the Commission. b) A motion to unseat a member of the Executive Committee may be submitted at any time during a regular meeting and must be seconded. c) Any member that forfeits their membership to the Commission is automatically removed from the Executive Committee. 5. Meetings a) The Executive Committee shall meet to discuss new potential goals for the Commission, to review the progress of the Commission in accomplishing its current goals, and to recommend the Commission’s course of action to achieve new and remaining goals. b) The Executive Committee is required to meet at least once every six (6) months. c) Meetings of the Executive Committee are called by the Chairperson. d) Notification of the time and place of any Executive Committee meeting must be given to all acting Executive Committee members seventy-two (72) hours in advance, and to the public as required by the City Code. 4 6. Leadership Succession a) Upon the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson assumes the duties of the Chairperson until the Chairperson is no longer absent. b) Upon the absence of the Vice-Chairperson, the Secretary assumes the duties of the Vice- Chairperson until the Vice-Chairperson is no longer absent. c) Upon the absence of the Secretary, the Historian assumes the duties of the Secretary until the Secretary is no longer absent. d) Upon the absence of the Historian, the Chairperson may appoint a temporary Historian that will serve as Historian until the Historian is no longer absent. e) The Chairperson may appoint Commission members to temporary positions to assist a member of the Executive Committee that has assumed a different position due to an absence at the request of the member. The appointee will serve until the Executive Committee member no longer assumes the extra position. f) In the absence of all Executive Committee members, the Commission may take nominations and elect a temporary Chairperson according to Sections E.3.c – E.3.f that will serve as Chairperson until a member of the Executive Committee is no longer absent. g) A member of the Executive Committee may be considered absent under three different circumstances: i) The member fails to be counted as present at the most recent regular meeting. ii) The member notifies of the inability to perform their prescribed duties to another member of the Executive Committee or the entire Commission in writing, signed, dated, and witnessed. iii) The member is removed from the Commission. h) A member of the Executive Committee may remove their absent status via two means: i) The member is counted present at the next regular meeting. ii) The member notifies another member of the Executive Committee or the entire Commission that they should be considered present and able to perform their prescribed duties in writing, signed, dated, and witnessed. i) Any conflict that arises concerning the absence of an Executive Committee member may be resolved by the majority of the Commission in the next regular meeting. 7. Responsibilities of Chairperson a) Preside at Commission meetings. b) Preside at Executive Committee meetings. c) Develop agenda items in coordination with the Executive Committee. d) Assure the Commission meetings adhere to the agenda. e) Assure the Vice-Chairperson is prepared to preside at meetings in Chairperson’s absence. f) Be available for consultation at request of Commission members, City of Fort Collins employees, City Council, and residents. g) Report to the Commission all communication received by or delivered to Chairperson. h) Maintain contact with City Liaison. i) Oversee development of report(s) to City Council j) Assist with sub-committees. 8. Responsibilities of Vice-Chairperson a) Assist with developing agenda items. b) Assist with sub-committees. c) Assist in writing reports to the City Council. 5 d) Facilitate new member orientation. 9. Responsibilities of Secretary/Recorder a) Assist with developing agenda items. b) Assist with sub-committees. c) Assist in writing reports to the City Council. d) Record and compose meeting minutes and transmit to Staff Liaison for distribution. These transmissions should be sent to the Staff Liaison by Monday before the next scheduled meeting. e) Submit final, Commission approved minutes as required by the City Clerk’s office, any of the City’s rules governing the Commission, and any other applicable city ordinances and state statutes. 10. Responsibilities of Historian a) Assist the Commission with project timeliness, meetings, and project planning. b) Collect and organize newspaper articles and other write-ups concerning the COD. c) Prepare and maintain a COD history and scrapbook. F. SUBCOMMITTEES 1. Subcommittees are formed and discharged by a motion of the Commission. 2. The rules for establishing the Chairperson of each Subcommittee are made by a motion of the Commission. 3. The Chairperson of a Subcommittee must be a current member of the Commission. 4. The Chairperson, or someone acting in-lieu of the Chairperson according to the rules of a Subcommittee as established by Section F.2, will give a report at Commission meetings according to the agenda. 5. Membership criteria and manner of placement of membership rules of each Subcommittee are established by motions of the Commission. a) It is not required to have uniform rules for all Subcommittees. b) The rules may be inclusive to non-members of the Commission. c) The rules may also establish guidelines for qualifications of non-commission consultants or specialists to serve on a Subcommittee. d) The Commission may establish both voting membership and non-voting membership for a Subcommittee. 6. The quorum requirements of each Subcommittee shall be a majority of those appointed to the Subcommittee unless the Charter, City Code, or the Commission specifies otherwise. 7. Unless otherwise established by a motion of the Commission or the By-laws, Subcommittees are automatically discharged at the first regular meeting of a new calendar year. G. BY-LAWS 1. Notice of Amendment a) Notice, either written or, upon request, a reasonable alternate accessible format, of any proposed by-laws must be provided to each member of the Commission fourteen (14) days prior to the scheduled vote thereon. 6 b) The Commission shall not vote on an amendment unless it is able to verify that each active member has received sufficient advance notice of the proposed amendment. This may be accomplished in one of three ways: i) The member is present at a meeting of the commission at least fourteen (14) days prior to a vote where the proposed amendment is presented as reflected in the minutes of that meeting. ii) The member submits a signed and dated copy of the amendment to the Commission at any time before the vote, where the date of the signature is at least fourteen (14) days prior to a vote on the amendment. This can be done via any means, facsimile, mail, etc. iii) The member affirms that they have had the proposed amendment at least fourteen (14) days prior to a vote in a Commission meeting as reflected in the minutes. c) The way that the notice of amendment was verified for each active member shall be recorded along with the vote on the amendment in the minutes. 2. Approval Approval of these by-laws or any amendments may be accomplished thereto by simple- majority vote of the entire Commission membership. 3. Review These by-laws will be reviewed by the Commission annually for possible changes to assure a properly functioning Commission. 4. Conformance. a) These by-laws shall be consistent with the Charter and Code of the City of Fort Collins, and the City’s Boards and Commissions Manual. Those documents shall control in the event of a conflict with these by-laws. b) Rules and other adopted motions that conflict with the by-laws are not valid. Revised and Updated May 13, 2010