BY-LAWS OF COMMUNITY BOARD NO. 9 MANHATTAN

PREAMBLE

The By-Laws of Community Board 9 Manhattan (hereafter, the “Board”) shall conform to all relevant provisions of Federal, State, and City law, including but not limited to the New York City Charter as amended. Nothing in these By-Laws shall be construed so as to change, modify or amend the City Charter or any other relevant Federal, State or City law.

ARTICLE I: MEMBERSHIP

A. Appointment; Term; Representation; Public Members; and Non-Voting Members.

1. Appointment: Members shall be appointed as prescribed by the City Charter, Chapter 69, and Section 2800. The Board shall consist of not more than fifty (50) persons (Members) appointed by the Borough President; one half (1/2) of whom shall be appointed from the nominees of the New York City Council members elected from council districts which include any part of Community District 9 of the Borough of Manhattan. No more than twenty-five (25) of the Members of the Board may be City employees. No person who does not reside, work or conduct business in the District shall be appointed to or shall remain a Member of the Board.

2. Term: The Members of the Board shall be appointed for staggered two (2) year terms, one half (1/2) membership being reappointed each year. The term of each member shall be calculated from the effective date of the Manhattan Borough President’s regular appointment cycle.

3. Representation: Membership on the Board shall, as much as possible, have such diversity of interests as shall be representative of the District. Pursuant to the City Charter and as hereafter provided, the Board may submit nominations for Board membership to the Borough President and to the City Council members representing the District.

4. Public Members: Public Members shall consist of community members who have indicated a desire to serve on selected committee(s) by completing a Community Board 9 “Public Member” application. They will be appointed to selected committee(s) by the Board’s Chair, in consultation with the selected Committee Chair. Public Members shall serve at the pleasure of the Board’s Chair. When a committee vote is taken, a tally of the nonbinding votes of the public members will be entered into the minutes.

5. Ex-Officio Members: Members of the City Council, the New York State Legislature, and the United States Congress whose districts include any part of District 9 shall be ex-officio non-voting members of the Board.

B. Conflict of Interest; Public Statements.

1. Conflict of Interest: Members of the Board shall serve as such without compensation and in their capacity as private citizens only. Their actions shall not be instructed by, or responsible to, any other organization or person with which they may be affiliated. Any member participating in the Board’s consideration of a matter for a self-serving purpose or conflict of interest shall state the nature of the conflict prior to speaking on the issue and shall be disqualified from voting on such matters but shall be recorded as present for the purposes of a quorum.

2. Public Statements: No Member shall represent the Board’s position unless formally designated to do so by the Board Chair. A Board member making a public statement who has not been designated to represent the Board or an official designee of the Board who chooses to make a statement as an individual, must state that they are making such statement in an individual capacity.

C. Removal from the board for Cause; Absences; Resignations; Filling of Vacancies.

1. Removal for Cause: The Executive Committee is responsible for considering the removal of a Member from the board for cause, including but not limited to failure to fulfill any of their duties or responsibilities, such as attendance. Said Member shall be notified in writing (for all issues writing should be defined as by mail, email or fax) that the matter of their potential removal will be taken up at the next Executive Board meeting, what the circumstances giving rise to this potential removal are and that they must be present at that meeting if they wish to remain on the Board.

Upon the Member’s written request, submitted with his or her response to the charges, a hearing on the charges shall be held before the Executive Committee during which the Member has the opportunity to address those present. In the event of an Executive Committee recommendation to remove, the Executive Committee recommendation and the full record of the hearing shall be presented to the Board to adopt or reject, except where the Member is automatically removed due to absences, as specified below.

2. Absences:

a) Permitted Excused Absences: Only the Board Chair, or his/her designee, can excuse a Member from any General Board Meeting. The Board Chair, a Standing Committee Chair, or a Chair of any ad-hoc or other special committee can excuse a Member from a committee meeting. Upon receipt of a written request to the Board Chair or committee chair as appropriate and his or her approval, a member will be considered excused for the following reasons only:

i. illness
ii. employment obligations
iii. death in the immediate family
iv. military service or other compulsory government service
v. religious observance
vi. planned vacation

b) Unexcused Absences: Unexcused absences occur when a Board member neglects to secure proper permission to be absent from a committee or Board meeting or when that permission is denied.

c) Extended Absences: After three (3) excused absences due to illness, a Board Member may request in writing to be further excused for a period not to exceed a total of six (6) months. At the conclusion of a six (6) month absence, if the Member is not able to resume his or her duties, the Board will then declare a vacancy and request the Borough President to appoint another person for the remainder of any given term.

d) Removal Due to Absence: Any five (5) unexcused absences or total of seven (7) excused absences (or any combined total of 7 where no more than 4 of those are unexcused) from scheduled monthly Executive, General Board or Committee Meetings during a twelve-month period will result in automatic removal from the Board.

Furthermore, in order to prevent removal from the board, letters will be sent to Members who have reached three (3) unexcused absences or total of five (5) excused absences (or any combined total of 5 where no more than 2 of those are unexcused) from scheduled monthly Executive, General Board or Committee Meetings during a twelve-month period, inviting such members to appear before the Executive Committee to discuss their attendance issues. Attendance is reviewed quarterly and attendance letters are sent accordingly after a quarterly attendance review.

The number of absences resets to zero (0) on the first of April each year.

3. Resignation: A Member of the Board may resign by submitting a written resignation, to include the effective date, to the Board Chair. The Borough President will be duly informed and requested to appoint another person for the remainder of that given term.

4. Filling of Vacancies: The Executive Committee shall review all existing vacancies on a quarterly basis, solicit and review members’ suggestions of candidates for Board membership and periodically make recommendations of candidates to the Borough President and members of the City Council until such time as all vacancies are filled in accordance with the City Charter.

ARTICLE II: BOARD MEETINGS

A. General Board Meetings; Special Meetings; Public Hearings; Record of Meetings and Code of Conduct

1.  General Board Meetings: As provided by the City Charter there shall be at least one regular monthly meeting of the Board to be at such time and place as designated by the Chair in a written notice to the Members. During July and August, meetings will be called as needed. To the extent possible, meetings will be held on the same day of the same week on a monthly basis.

2.  Special Meetings: A special meeting shall be a meeting other than the regular monthly board meeting, called by the Chair of the Board for the following reasons:

• At the Chair’s volition;
• Upon a resolution adopted by a majority vote of the members;
• Upon written request of at least one third of the Members;

A special meeting shall require three (3) days written notice, which includes a statement of the purpose of the meeting and the restricted agenda for such meeting and shall be guided by the rules of the Board including the definition of a quorum and Robert’s Rules of Order. Special meetings shall not count towards a member’s attendance record.

3. Public Hearings: Public Hearings are held at the request of the Borough President or as otherwise required by the City Charter. Their purpose is to advise the Borough President or other City officials or City agencies on such matters. A Quorum shall consist of no fewer than seven Board members for Uniform Land Use Review Proceedings (ULURP).

4. Record of Meetings: All standing meetings, special meetings, and public hearings shall be audio recorded in accordance with the City Charter provisions.

5. Code of Conduct: Using profanity, threats, insults, engaging in physical confrontation and/or intimidating a member to vote in a particular way, attend and/or participate in a particular fashion with another member or the community at large in full Board and/or committee meetings is a violation of the conduct required by the Board and grounds for immediate removal from the meeting by the individual chairing the meeting and/or the Sergeant at Arms.

B. Quorum; Attendance Records.

1. Quorum: A quorum shall be a majority of the Members of the Board. Public members and ex-officio members are not counted toward a quorum.

2. Attendance Records: For attendance record purposes, a Member shall not be recorded as present at a meeting unless he or she was in attendance during substantially all of the meeting. Chairs shall exercise reasonable judgment in determining when missing a portion of a meeting is marked substantial and constitutes an absence. It is the responsibility of each committee Chair to promptly submit attendance records of each meeting to the Executive Committee and/or District Office.

C. Voting; Proxies.

1. Voting: According to City Charter Section 2108B, all decisions of the Board in whole or by committee shall require a majority vote of the Members present and entitled to vote. Voting is by roll call vote with the number of votes “for”, “against”, “abstain”, and “present but not entitled to vote” being publicly announced and recorded. Voting on all Board Resolutions shall be submitted to the District Manager by signed ballot..

2. Proxies: All voting shall be in person only. No proxy will be accepted.

D. Minority Reports.

1. On occasion, Members differing with an official Board position may wish to report a minority position to other City officials and agencies.

2. The decision to draft a Minority Report must be announced within thirty (30) days of the meeting at which the Board acted upon the issue.

3. The Minority Report shall state (1) the Board votes on the issue and (2) the number of Members represented by the Minority Report.

E. Meeting Notice; Agenda

1. Meeting Notice: Notice of the time and place of each meeting, shall be sent to each Board Member by the first business day of each month.

2. Agenda: No matter of substantial public interest shall be decided by the Board at a standing meeting without that matter having been placed on the Agenda. The Agenda shall be sent to each Board Member at least three (3) days prior to the standing meeting. The Board shall distribute the Agenda publicly prior to the meeting. The Agenda shall include, in no specific order, a call to order, adoption of the agenda, adoption of the minutes of the prior standing meeting, reports, public session, action items, old business, new business, and adjournment.

a. Roll Call & Call to Order: Upon a determination that a quorum of the Board is present, roll call will be taken and the Chair will call the meeting to order.

b. Adoption of the Agenda: Any member who wishes to have an item placed on the agenda shall notify the Chair at least seven (7) days prior to a General Board meeting. An item may be added to the Agenda during a General Board meeting upon a vote of the majority of Members present.

c. Adoption of the Minutes: Minutes shall be accepted based on a majority vote of the Board.

d. Reports

i. Chair’s Report: Together with other pertinent items, the Chair shall submit to the Board written communications to and from the Borough President’s office and/or other governmental agencies and other elected officials, or any event or other meeting deemed relevant to the work of the Board and orally present a summary of those items.

ii. Treasurer’s Report: The Treasurer shall report to the Board each month orally and in writing on the financial condition of the Board, including expenditures, moneys owed, cash on hand or available and projections of future commitments.

iii. District Manager’s Report: The District Manager shall report on the District Service Cabinet, activities of the District office, and other relevant matters orally and in writing.

iv. Borough President’s Report: The Borough President’s Report shall include items that the Borough President wishes to relay to the Board.

v. Committee Reports: The Chair of each standing, ad-hoc, or other special committee shall report in writing and/or orally, when requested, on the previous month’s committee activity and on any important upcoming issues.

vi. Reports from Appointments: Any Board member specially appointed to represent the Board on any outside entities shall report orally and/or in writing when requested.

e. Presentations: At the invitation of the Chair, a representative of an organization, city agency, or community group may present to the Board on a project and field questions for up to fifteen minutes. Such groups, when requesting a resolution or letter of support, must meet with the relevant committee before coming before the full Board.

f. The Public Session: There shall be a Public Session at each regular monthly meeting. A quorum of the Board must be present before the Public Session may begin. In the interest of affording all citizens the opportunity to be heard, each speaker must complete the Board’s Speakers Form”, and shall be limited to a period of no more than three (3) minutes, unless otherwise permitted by the Chair. Each speaker is limited to speak once on any given issue unless otherwise permitted by the Chair.

During the Public Session, any member of the public or the board shall be permitted to comment on any matter listed on the Agenda or on any other matter which the speaker believes to be of general interest to the community and to the Board. At the discretion of the Chair, all those wishing to discuss a single issue may be asked to address the Board in succession. Representatives of City agencies may also address the Board during the public session.

If the Public Session extends beyond one hour, the Chair, with the assent of the Board, may end the Public Session in order to allow sufficient time for the Board to conduct its necessary business.

Public officials, or their designated representatives, shall be scheduled to speak during the public session. If such officials or representatives arrive after its close, the Board will revert to the public session for their presentation and response.

g. Action Items: The Board will discuss, as necessary, and vote on any resolutions, letters, license applications, or zoning proposals.

h. Old Business: The Board will return to discussions or decisions that have been on the agenda at previous meetings of the Board.

i. New Business: The Board will discuss any new matters which have not been covered earlier in the meeting or at recent meetings of the Board.

j. Adjournment: The meeting will be adjourned by a majority vote of the Board.

3. Resolutions: Resolutions should be provided to Board Members prior to each meeting and shall also be available to the general public at each Board Meeting.

F. Executive Session: Executive Session requires a motion and a majority of total members voting in favor. Discussion during Executive Session is limited to the matter for which the Board voted to enter into Executive Session. Any vote taken in Executive Session must be announced upon return to open session. Executive Sessions closes the meeting only to public attendance. No member of the Board shall be excluded from any Committee or full Board meeting due to executive closing. Executive Session may be held to discuss only:

1. Matters which imperil the public safety if disclosed;
2. Any matter which may disclose the identity of a law enforcement agent or informer;
3. Information relating to current or future investigation or prosecution of a criminal offense which would imperil effective law enforcement if disclosed;
4. Discussions regarding proposed, pending, or current litigation;
5. Collective negotiations pursuant to Article 14 of the Civil Service Law;
6. The medical, financial, credit or employment history of a particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal, or removal of a particular person or corporation.

G. Rules of Order: The rules of procedure contained in Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern Board meetings in all cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the By-Laws, the City Charter or any other City, State, or Federal law.

ARTICLE III: OFFICERS

A.  Officers; Terms of Office

1.   Officers: The officers of the Board shall be a Chair, First Vice-Chair, Second Vice-Chair, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer.

2.  Term of Office: Each Officer shall serve for one (1)-twenty-four (24) month period beginning July 1 and terminating on June 30. To provide the greatest opportunity for services by each Member, no Chair, Secretary or Treasurer shall serve for more than four (4) consecutive years. Should any member be elected to a vacated office, that member shall finish out the remainder of that term and will then be up for reelection on the current election schedule when he or she will be eligible to serve two (2) consecutive two-year terms.

B.  Rules of Succession, Removal of Officers

1. Rules of Succession: Should a vacancy occur in the office of Chair (due to death, disqualification, removal or resignation), then the First Vice-Chair must serve as Chair and the Second Vice-Chair becomes First-Vice Chair. If the First Vice-Chair refuses the office of Chair, then s/he must resign and the Second Vice-Chair becomes the Chair. If both Vice-Chairs refuse the office of Chair, they must both resign. A special election will then be held within thirty (30) days to fill any Officer vacancies. If a vacancy occurs in the Office of Secretary, the Assistant Secretary becomes Secretary and an election will be held within thirty (30) days to elect an Assistant Secretary. The same procedure is followed with the Office of Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer.

2. Removal of Officers: Any officer may be removed by a majority vote of the Board.

C. Duties and Responsibilities of Officers

1. Duties of the Chair:

a) To be responsible for the performance of all duties as prescribed in the City Charter and any other duties prescribed by law.

b) To appoint and remove Chairs of Standing and Ad Hoc Committees.

c) To appoint and remove Public Members of Committees in consultation with the specific committee chair.

d) To make themselves aware of calendars and notices of meetings which City agencies are required to refer to Community Boards pursuant to the City Charter. It is then the Chair’s duty to inform Members of such calendars and notices.

e) To attend any meeting required by the Mayor or the Borough President pursuant to the City Charter or to designate an appropriate Officer, Committee Chair, Board Member or the District Manager to attend.

f) To open standing meetings at the time and on the date at which the Board is to meet, by taking the chair and calling members to order.

g) To announce the business before the Board according to the agenda.

h) To state and put to a vote questions or resolutions which are to be moved or which necessarily arise in the course of the Board’s business and to announce the result of the vote.

i) Except as otherwise provided by the City Charter or the By-Laws, to interpret and to enforce Robert’s Rules of Order. The Chair may, at his or her discretion, appoint a Member of the Board to serve as Parliamentarian. The Parliamentarian shall advise the Chair on the rules of parliamentary procedure. Every officer is required to attend one training session in Robert’s Rules of Order, either in a session offered by the Borough President’s office or other training, during his/her first term of office.

j) To decide all questions of order. The Chair may, at his or her discretion, appoint a member of the Board to serve as Sergeant-At-Arms. Duties of the Sergeant-at-Arms include:

i. Under the supervision of the Chair, the Sergeant-at-Arms maintains order at all Board meetings, Executive Meetings, and such other meetings as requested. He/she is responsible for the safety and security of all in attendance.

ii. He/she maintains order by calming or removing disruptive individuals; talks to potentially disruptive spectators or Board members to calm them.

iii. Directs safety/security operations during emergencies and serious disturbances until higher level authorities arrive on the scene and prepares special incident reports. Interfaces with personnel from the New York City Police and Fire Departments.

iv. Communicates with law enforcement agencies, or other groups to coordinate activities in a cooperative manner, yet not allow disruption to interfere with constructive Board and/or Committee operation.

k) To represent the Board and to perform necessary functions according to the decisions duly made by the Board, including communicating with governmental agencies. Such communications shall be forwarded simultaneously to the Borough President’s office.

l) Except as he or she shall otherwise specifically authorize, to authenticate acts, orders and proceedings of the Board, including the countersigning of official letters of the Board, and to be the sole spokesperson for the Board in relation to the news media, agencies of government and the public at large.

m) To appoint Board Members, upon their application, to the committees of the Board, taking into account each Member’s preference and the need to keep the number of Members of each committee roughly equal.

n) To prepare and deliver the Chair’s monthly report to the Board.

o) To keep the First and Second Vice-Chairs informed of all orders, directives, and other matters coming to the Chair’s attention, in the event that either Vice-Chair’s must act in the absence of the Chair.

p) In consultation with the Executive Committee, to create a new committee as needed to serve the purpose of the board.

2. Duties of the Vice-Chairs:

a) In the absence of the Chair, the First Vice-Chair shall preside at the regular monthly meeting or at any special or emergency meeting of the Board, and otherwise assumes the duties of the Chair.

b) The Vice-Chairs shall assist the Chair when necessary and as required.

c) The Second Vice-Chair assumes the duties outlined above in accordance with the Rules of Succession as detailed in Article III, Section B.

3. Duties of the Secretary:

a) The Secretary shall be the recording officer of the Board and custodian of its records, except those specifically assigned to others, such as the Treasurer’s books.

b) The Secretary shall take the minutes of the regular monthly meetings and of any special or emergency meetings of the Board. The minutes are to be an accurate record of actions taken by the Board as well as a summary of the majority and any dissenting opinions. The final version of minutes when approved shall be furnished to the Borough President’s Office.

c) In addition to recording the minutes and keeping the records, the Secretary shall keep a register, or roll, of the Members and to call the roll when required.

d) If the Chair and Vice-Chairs are absent from a general Board meeting, the Secretary shall call the meeting to order and preside. In the absence of the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary, Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer shall preside in that order.

e) The Secretary shall keep the Assistant Secretary informed of all orders, directives, and other matters coming to the Secretary’s attention, in the event that the Assistant Secretary must act in the absence of the Secretary.

4. Duties of the Assistant Secretary:

a) The Assistant Secretary shall act as Secretary and shall report the minutes if the Secretary is not present at any regular monthly meeting or special or emergency meeting. He or she shall also, if the Secretary is present, aid the Secretary in any manner deemed necessary.

5. Duties of the Treasurer:

a) The Treasurer shall oversee the administration of the financial affairs of the Board under the supervision of the Chair and as prescribed by the Board and the City of New York.

b) The Treasurer shall prepare an annual budget for the Board. Any expenditure over five (5) percent of the Board’s annual budget that requires Budget modification must have prior Board approval.

c) The Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer is the “custodian of the impress account” and is responsible for monthly reconciliation of the bank account. All checks must be signed by two Board officers, one from i, and one from ii:

i. either the Chair or First Vice Chair
ii. either the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer (whichever is not Custodian)

d) The Treasurer, with the assistance of the District Manager, shall lead the review process of the City’s budget by members of the Community District and Board. In order for the Community Board to meet the City Charter’s budget timeline the following actions are required:

• May – June: The Board reviews community needs to prepare District Needs Statement;
• June – July: District Consultations – between agency local service chiefs and the Board to review District Needs Statement;
• Reservations and Agendas for Fall Budget Consultations to be submitted by the Board to OMB;
• August: The Board submits District Needs Statement to City Planning;
• September – October: Budget Consultations between the Board and the agencies begin; The Board holds Public Hearings on budget requests and district needs;
• October 31: The Board submits community Budget Requests with Priorities;
• November: The Board has ninety (90) days to comment on the Citywide Statement of Facility Needs;
• January: Register of Community Board Budget Requests is sent to the Board; and
• By February 15: The Board holds Public Hearings on the City’s Preliminary Budget; Statement on the Preliminary Budget – sent by the Board to Mayor, City Council, Borough President and Borough Board

e) The Treasurer shall keep the Assistant Treasurer informed of all orders, directives, and other matters coming to the Treasurer’s attention, in the event that the Assistant Treasurer must act in the absence of the Treasurer.

6. Duties of the Assistant Treasurer:

a) The Assistant Treasurer shall act as Treasurer and oversee the administration of the financial affairs of the Board under the supervision of the Chair and as prescribed by the Board if, for any reason, the Treasurer is not available.

ARTICLE IV: ELECTION OF OFFICERS

A. Elections Committee:

1. An Elections Committee consisting of five (5) members shall be selected at the Board’s general meeting in February of each election year. The Chair of the Elections Committee shall be elected by the Committee.

2. The Elections Committee shall meet as often as necessary thereafter to facilitate the election process including distributing forms, collecting nominations and/or “Intent to Run” letters, and monitoring the election.

B. Candidates

1. Any Board member who wishes to run for office must submit to the Chair of the Elections Committee an “Intent to Run” letter which includes the signatures of at least seven (7) other current Board Members and a written statement three (3) days prior to the May Board meeting. The written statement shall not exceed 250 words and must set forth the nominee’s background and qualifications for Board office. Incomplete letters will not be accepted. Members of the Election Committee may not run for office and are barred from signing intent to run letters.

2. The Elections Committee will announce candidates’ names at the Board’s general meeting in May. Nominations from the floor will be accepted during this meeting. All nominations from the floor must be supported by seven (7) present Board members. If accepted, nominees from the floor must submit their short statement (see section 1) within seven (7) days.

3. Candidates’ Night: A special meeting with all nominees will be held approximately two (2) weeks prior to the June meeting for the purpose of responding to the Members’ questions regarding each nominee’s vision for Board office. If the candidate is not present for such meeting, the nominee forfeits his/her candidacy. The exact time and place of Candidates’ Night shall be determined by the Elections Committee.

C. Elections: At the June meeting of the Board, pursuant to written notice to each Member:

1. There shall be one (1) ballot for the election of officers. Each Board Member must be called by the Secretary from the official roll to receive an election ballot. Then each Board Member must be called again by the Secretary to deposit his/her signed ballot in the ballot box.

2. A person receiving a majority of the votes cast for each office shall be elected. If no person receives a majority on the first ballot, the two (2) candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall have a runoff vote at that time. In the event of a tie vote, one further vote will be taken. In the event that after a run-off, no person receives a majority of the votes cast, nominations will be newly opened and voting will continue until a person receives a majority of the votes cast. In the event that only one person is a candidate for an office and that person fails to receive a majority of the votes cast, then nominations for that office will be newly opened from the floor. All nominations from the floor must be seconded in this circumstance.

ARTICLE V: COMMITTEES

The Board shall make every effort, through its committees, to enlist the participation, interest and involvement of every sector of the community that it represents. In the case of Uniform Land Use Review Process (ULURP) and/or zoning proceedings, quorum shall be in no event fewer than seven Board Members.

A. Executive Committee: The Executive Committee of the Board shall consist of the Officers of the Board and the Chairs of the Standing Committees. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once a month at a regularly scheduled time and place. Executive Committee meetings shall be announced in advance and shall be open to the participation of all Board Members. However, Board Members who are not members of the Executive Committee cannot vote.

The public may attend Executive Committee meetings but may not participate in discussion unless given specific permission by the Chair. The public cannot vote.

Responsibilities and Powers:

1. A primary responsibility of the Executive Committee shall be to coordinate the actions of the standing committees. The Executive Committee shall also be responsible for recommending to the Board the establishment or dissolution of standing committees in accordance with the needs of the Community District and the priorities of the Board.

2. The Executive Committee shall, under the leadership of the Treasurer and the District Manager, oversee the Board’s internal budget and spending. The Executive Committee shall also be responsible for assembling information, monitoring, and making recommendations to the Board on the City’s capital and expense budgets.

3. The Executive Committee shall also plan and conduct public hearings as required by City and State law or on matters of interest to the community district.

4. The Executive Committee shall also serve as a Personnel Committee. It shall determine the qualifications for the selection of staff members and their duties. The Executive Committee, upon approval by the Board, may authorize the District Manager to hire additional staff. It shall provide oversight for the annual monitoring and evaluation of staff performance. It shall maintain files on personnel policies and benefits, and on office operating procedures. It shall resolve internal grievances; either party may appeal this resolution to the Board.

5. The Executive Committee shall review quarterly Board and Standing Committee attendance records; shall encourage Board Members to attend meetings regularly, fulfill their Board responsibilities, and to conduct themselves in accordance with the rules and best interest of the Board.

6. The Executive Committee is empowered to act on behalf of the Board in emergency situations. For purposes of this provision, “emergency situations” are those in which immediate action is required before the next regularly scheduled General Board meeting and it is not possible to convene a special meeting of the Board. Any action taken by the Executive Committee, under this provision shall be ratified by the Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

If such action has not been implemented and fails to obtain the necessary ratification by the Board, then and only then shall steps be taken to withdraw the action of the Executive Committee.

7. The Executive Committee is also empowered to act on behalf of the Board to transact such business as is necessary during those months that the Board is not in session. These actions shall be ratified at the next regularly scheduled full Board meeting.

B. Standing Committees: In addition to the Executive Committee, Standing Committees of the Board shall consist of those committees established by the Board upon the recommendation of the Executive Committee. The Standing Committees shall be permanent committees of the Board and will function from term to term in order to assure the continuity of the Board’s work.

1. Committee chairs will be appointed by the Chair of the Board. The Chair is encouraged to assign two Co-chairs to each committee when possible. If twenty-five (25) percent or more members of a committee determine that the Chair or Co-Chairs of their committee is/are not adequately performing their duties, they can raise their concerns first with the Board Chair. If they are not satisfied with the response of the Board Chair, they may raise their concerns at the next Executive Committee session. If the Board members are not satisfied with the response of the Executive Committee, they can raise the issue before the full Board. If a majority of the full Board agrees that the Chair or Co-chair(s) is/are not adequately performing their duties, then the Chair of the Board must select the new committee Chair or Co-Chairs.

2. No person shall be appointed Chair or Co-Chair of more than one Standing Committee.

3. Each Board Member must serve as a voting member of one Standing
Committee. Members serving on more than one Standing Committee should understand that absences from committee meetings are subject to the rules regarding absences as stated in Article I Section C. Board members may be removed for cause from a committee with the concurrence of the committee Co-Chair(s). In the event the Co-Chair(s) wish to remove a member from a committee, the Member is entitled to meet with the Co-Chair(s) and Board Chair in order to discuss the issue, giving the Member the opportunity to address and resolve the issue that has arisen.

4. Standing Committee Chairs shall submit to the Board one (1) week before each Board meeting accurate records of Standing Committee meetings as follows: a) Board Member and public attendance for each committee meeting; b) Resolutions adopted with a tally of the vote and a tally of the opinions of the public members and the community at large and c) minutes of the committee meeting.

5. There shall be at least one (1) regularly scheduled monthly meeting of each Standing Committee, except during July and August. All committee meetings shall be conducted under the same procedure as Board meetings relating to voting and to rules of order.

C. Ad Hoc Committees: Ad Hoc (Non-Permanent) Committees are those committees that serve for limited terms to address specific issues that fall outside the purview of standing committees. Their Chairs and members serve at the pleasure of the Chair of the Board. Ad hoc committees are governed by the same rules of conduct that govern standing committees.

D. Ad Hoc Rules and Ethics Committee: The General Board shall elect five (5) members annually to serve on Rules and Ethics Committee. The Chairman shall be the Parliamentarian. Questions of Procedure and ethics shall be immediately referred to this committee. The Committee shall report back to the full General Board 30 days after receipt of question with its recommendation.

E. Appointments to external boards and bodies: All appointments to external boards shall be made by majority vote of the full body. Appointment to such boards shall be renewed by the vote annually.5

ARTICLE VI: DISTRICT MANAGER AND STAFF

A. District Manager: Within the budgetary appropriations in accordance with the City Charter, personnel policies of the City of New York, and existing requirements of due process, the Board shall appoint a District Manager to serve at the pleasure of the Board and to assume the following duties and responsibilities:

1) The District Manager will be responsible for selection, hiring, review and termination of staff in consultation with the executive committee.

2) Preside at the meetings of the District Service Cabinet and facilitate the coordination of the delivery of services at the District level.

3) Process service complaints in a timely fashion.

4) Supervise the district office, including the maintenance and service of current administrative technologies. The District Manager will oversee the Board website including timely posting of meeting agendas, Board and committee minutes, reports and all resolutions acted upon. It will be the responsibility of the District Manager to make available all such documents to the public at general Board meetings.

5) Discharge any and all duties, functions and procedures elaborated by the Board in compliance with New York City regulations pertaining to Community Board responsibilities.

6) Report to the Board on the functioning of the District Office in accordance with procedures and guidelines established by the Chair, the Executive Committee and the Board.

7) Attend and report on such hearings, meetings and public functions as necessary for effective and efficient functioning of the District Office, including any such hearings, meetings and public functions which the Chair, the Executive Committee or the Board shall direct the District Manager or any other staff person to attend.

8) Present to the Treasurer the projected annual budget and periodic financial and program reports of the activities of the District Office. See that all written communications from the Borough President’s Office, the Comptroller’s Office, Office of Management and Budget, or any other City agency with respect to the Board’s internal budget, or financial matters pertaining to that budget, be provided directly and immediately to the Chair and the Treasurer. Assist the Treasurer in the annual review process of the district financial priorities as set forth in Article III, Section 5, subsection d).

9) Perform such other lawful duties as are assigned by the Chair of the Board in accordance with the general powers of the Chair of the Board.

10) Promptly direct all incoming pertinent information to the appropriate Committee Chair.

ARTICLE VII: AMENDMENTS

Any proposed amendment(s) to these By-laws must be placed at the top of the Business Session’s agenda for discussion during at least one (1) monthly Board meeting prior to the monthly Board meeting at which the vote on such amendment(s) will be taken.