 |
 |
|
|
TAMPA HEIGHTS CIVIC ASSOCIATION BYLAWS
Article I
Membership
Section A – Active Membership
Anyone who owns or rents a home, property owners, and Not-for-Profit business
owners within the boundaries of the Tampa Heights Civic Association (THCA) are
encouraged to attend general and board meetings.
However, only active members have voting privileges.
There are two types of active memberships.
1.
Individual Membership
Any permanent resident within the THCA boundaries who is at least
eighteen years old is eligible for membership.
Membership fee is $12.00 per year.
2.
Business Membership
Any owner of a for-profit business, commercial rental property,
residential rental property, or vacant land within the THCA boundaries is
eligible for membership. Membership
fee is $25.00 per year.
a.
Business Membership entitles the business to one vote.
b.
Members entitled to individual and business memberships may choose either or
both types of
memberships, but in no case will any member have any more than one vote.
Section B – Associate Membership
Anyone who does not own or rent a home, property, or business within the THCA
boundaries is eligible for an associate membership.
Non-profit and Not-for-Profit organizations are also eligible for
associate membership. Associate
members may not vote, hold office in the THCA, or chair any committee.
Membership fee is $25.00 per year.
Section C – Rules of Membership
1.
Members will abide by the Bylaws of the THCA
2.
Members will abide by the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order at all
meetings.
3.
No member may conduct business in the name of the THCA or represent themselves
as acting on behalf of the THCA without the express consent of the Executive
Board.
ARTICLE II
MEETINGS
Section A – General Membership Meetings
1.
Meetings will be held on the fourth Thursday of each month except for November
and December, when the meeting will be held on the third Thursday of the month.
2.
Meetings will begin at 7:00 pm.
3.
Only active members in good standing (dues are current and is not under censure)
may vote.
4.
Associate members may not vote.
Section B – Executive Board Meetings
1.
Meetings are held during the second week of each month and at other times as necessary.
The time and place will be announced at the general membership meeting
and by other available means including newsletters, electronic means and on the
website.
Any general member may attend the
executive board meetings.
2. Only
Executive Board Members may make motions, second motions, or vote at Board
meetings. Votes may be conducted by
electronic means when necessary. See
Article IV, Section A, for Board members.
Section C – Rules of Conduct
1.
All meetings will be governed by the Bylaws of the THCA and parliamentary
procedure according to the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.
2.
Those members attending Board meetings will not affect the outcome of Board
business by inappropriate behavior.
Section D – Quorum
1.
Twenty-five percent of active members in good standing constitute a quorum of
the THCA general meetings.
2.
Simple majority of the Board constitutes a quorum at a Board Meeting.
ARTICLE III
ELECTIONS
Section A – Time
1.
Members of the Executive Board shall be elected at the January general meeting.
Section B – Eligibility
1.
Individual and business members are eligible for any position on the Executive
Board.
2.
No more than two members of the same household may seek office in the same year.
3.
No member may seek more than one office at a time.
Section C – Voting
1. Voting is
done on written ballots provided by the Elections Committee.
Absentee ballots will be accepted.
2.
Only active members in good standing receive ballots.
3.
The Elections Committee determines voter eligibility.
4.
Each executive Board position slate will receive nominations and be voted on
individually.
Section D – Conduct of Elections
1.
At the September General Meeting the President announces an Elections Committee.
The Committee Members may not be candidates in the upcoming elections.
2.
The Elections Committee accepts nominations until the day of the November
General Meeting for purposes of establishing the official slate.
3.
Ballots will be given to eligible members the night of Elections.
Only Absentee Ballots delivered to the THCA Elections Committee, no later
than the day of the elections, will be counted.
Only persons within the designated areas may vote for their
representative to the Executive Board.
4.
Elections will be held at the January General Meeting.
The Elections Committee ensures that only active members receive ballots.
The Elections Committee counts the ballots and reports the results at
that General Meeting.
5.
Any active member may request a recounting of the ballots.
The results of the recount will be final.
ARTICLE IV
EXECUTIVE BOARD COMPOSITION
Section A
Persons in the following positions comprise the Executive Board:
·
President
·
First Vice President
·
Second Vice President
·
Recording Secretary
·
Correspondence Secretary
·
Treasurer
·
Parliamentarian
·
Four (4) Area Representatives
Section B
THCA Officers and Standing committee chairs, except Parliamentarian, are elected
by the General Membership. The most
recent former president will automatically assume the position of
Parliamentarian. Officers (except
the President) may serve as Interim Committee Chairs until that position is
filled. In no case will a member of
the Executive Board have more than one vote.
Section C
Area representatives are elected by a simple majority vote of active members in
good standing. Boundaries for the Area
Representative will be determined by Committee and reviewed when necessary by
the Executive Board.
Section D
All members of the Executive Board serve terms of one year and may serve
consecutive terms except the President and first vice president, whose terms
will run for two years and may run for an additional consecutive one-year term.
ARTICLE V
EXECUTIVE BOARD
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Section A – Chair
The President of the THCA chairs the Executive Board and General Meetings.
The First and/or Second Vice President chairs the Executive Board and
General Meetings when the President is absent.
In the Absence of the President, the Vice President may call special
meetings in emergencies. See Article
VI, Section C1 and C2
Section B – Attendance
Any Executive Board member missing two consecutive meetings may be replaced by
the Board unless prior notice to any Executive Board member of reasonable
anticipated absences is given.
Section C – General Duties
The Executive Board conducts the financial and administrative business of the
THCA.
Section D – Specific Duties
1.
Approve standing operating expenses.
2.
Approves/Disapproves all written contracts, agreements, and understandings which
may require expenditure of funds.
3.
Approves/Disapproves use of the name Tampa Heights Civic Association (THCA) and
its logo.
4.
Approves/Disapproves formation of special committees.
5.
Approves/Disapproves appointments to Chair Committees.
6.
Appoints members to fill vacancies on the Board.
7.
The Board may revoke THCA membership status for one year, under the following
conditions and terms:
i.
Member repeatedly refuses to follow these Bylaws or Robert’s
Rules of Order
ii.
Member knowingly claims to represent the THCA without consent of
the Board.
iii.
Member knowingly misrepresents the goals, policies, or decisions
of the THCA
8. Selects the
Elections Committee.
ARITCLE VI
DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section A – The President
1.
Chairs General and Executive Board Meetings, maintaining order and enforcing
THCA Bylaws with the Parliamentarian’s guidance.
2.
Brings any matter requiring the Board’s approval before the Board
3.
The President is the Official representative of THCA
4.
With the approval of the Board, may appoint others to represent THCA for
specific reasons.
5.
Restates all motions: Call to vote,
states results.
6.
Ensures the decision of a majority vote is implemented.
7.
Casts the decisive vote in the event of a tie.
Section B – First Vice President
1.
Assists the President with the duties of office.
2.
In the absence of the President, or in the event of the President’s inability to
serve for any reason, the First Vice President takes the Chair and assumes the
duties of that office.
Section C – Second Vice President
1.
Assists the President and Vice President with the duties of office.
2.
In the absence of the President and First Vice President, or in the event of the
First Vice President’s
inability to serve for any reason, the Second Vice President assumes the
duties of that office.
3.
Serves as interim chair on a standing committee as needed.
4.
Serves as Treasurer and/or Recording Secretary as needed.
5.
Obtains external “audit” or appropriate accounting review of all financial
records as needed.
6.
Maintains record of all property, real and personal, materials and documents.
7. Serves as the
Historian for TCHA.
Section D- Recording Secretary
1.
Keeps the Minutes of the General and Board Meetings and Provides copies to
Second Vice President for record keeping.
2.
Outlines all motions/resolutions passed/failed at all meetings.
3.
Keeps a list of all Executive Board Members and Committee chair Persons with
addresses and phone numbers.
4.
Is responsible for providing to the Second Vice President the original minutes,
any correspondence and any
distributed materials by a guest or the THCA.
Section E – Correspondence Secretary
1.
Responsible for writing all letters approved by the Board and/or General
Membership.
2.
Provide copy of said letters to the Second Vice President
for permanent record.
3.
Records minutes in the absence of the Recording Secretary or when the Recording
Secretary is Chairing the meeting.
Section F – Treasurer
1.
Keeps a current list of all THCA Members in good standing.
2.
Receives and deposits funds into the THCA account(s).
3.
Makes Board authorized payments.
4.
Keeps detailed records of all THCA financial transactions and presents condensed
monthly report at all General Meetings.
5.
Presents a written annual report, detailing income, expenditure, and account
balances to the General Membership during the January General Meeting which will
serve as the 501(c)(3) Annual Meeting.
6.
Ensures financial records are available to any member in good standing.
Section G – Parliamentarian
1.
Assist President in maintaining order and proper procedure according to these
Bylaws and the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.
In case of conflict, these Bylaws take precedence.
2.
Maintains copies of these Bylaws and current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order
and has available at all meetings.
ARTICLE VII
COMMITTEES
Section A – Standing Committees
1.
Standing Committees are permanent committees.
The Chairs of Standing Committees are elected by the general membership
or appointed by the Board.
2.
There are four standing committees.
a.
Tour of Homes
b.
Communications
c.
Email
d
Website
Section B – Specified Committees
1.
Elections Committee
a. The President,
with Board approval, appoints the Chair of the Elections Committee.
b. The Elections
Committee chair appoints the committee members.
c. The Chair of the
Election Committee has no vote on the Executive Board.
d. The THCA president
may not attend Election Committee meetings.
e. The committee is
dissolved after its function is fulfilled.
f. Article III,
Section D, covers the function of the Election Committee.
2.
Audit Committee
a. The Second Vice
President serves as the chair of the Audit Committee.
b. The President may
not attend Audit committee meetings.
c. The Committee is
dissolved after its function is fulfilled.
d. The functions of
the Audit Committee are covered under Article VIII, Section B.
3
Marketing
Section C – Special Committees
Committees may be permanent or temporary.
Committees are formed when a need is recognized.
The President, with Board approval, forms special committees and appoints
their chairs. The chair of the
committee appoints the committee members.
Committee chairs are not voting members of the Board.
Section D – Fund Raising Committees
1.
Any active member of the THCA may form a fund raising committee.
2.
The committee chooses its own chair, selects its fund raising method, and
decides on a use of fifty (50) percent of the money raised.
The committee then submits its plan to the Executive Board.
3.
Fifty
(50) percent of any money raised must go into the THCA general funds.
4.
The Executive Board reviews the committee plan for conformance with Article IX
(not-for-profit provisions) and
these Bylaws.
5.
The Fund Raising Committee Chair presents all fund raising proposals at the next
General Meeting for approval/disapproval.
6.
The Treasurer of the THCA is the administrator all funds raised.
ARTICLE VIII
CONTROL AND DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS
Section A – Bank Accounts
Withdrawals of any kind require the signature of
Section B – Audits
There will be an external review of the THCA financial records, inventory,
property, real and personal, prior to the January General Meeting.
The Audit Committee presents the report to the Board and general
membership at the January General Meeting, which will serve as the corporation’s
annual meeting.
ARTICLE IX
NOT-FOR-PROFIT PROVISION
THCA funds will not be spent, committed, or distributed in any manner which
could invalidate the eligibility of the THCA to meet Internal Revenue Service
requirements for a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit corporation.
ARTICLE X
NON-DISCRIMINATION
No person shall be denied membership in the THCA or participate in THCA
activities because of race, religion, creed, national origin, disability, sexual
orientation, marital status, or age.
ARTICLE XI
AMENDMENTS TO BYLAWS
Section A
Any active member may make a motion to consider an amendment to the Bylaws at a
General Meeting. The motion need
only carry by a simple majority of those present and eligible to vote.
Section B
If the motion to consider the amendment is passed, the specific amendment will
be published in the next newsletter and on THCA’s website.
Section C
The proposed amendment will be open for further discussion and put to a vote at
the next General Meeting. To pass, a
simple majority of all active members present must vote for its passage.
ARTICLE XII
Section A
The boundaries of the Tampa Heights Civic Association shall be as follows:
The area within the south side of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard, the east side of North Boulevard, the north side of I-275 to the
south and west side of I-275 to the east.
ARTICLE XIII
Dissolution clause
************************************************************************************************************
|
|
Home Page | Calendar | Master Plan | Meeting Notes | Tour of Homes | History | News | Forms | Contact Us | Message Board | Classified | Community Links |
