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Article I. Name
A. The name of this organization
shall be the Community Alliance of Sarasota County
(hereafter called the ALLIANCE).
B. The designated service area of the ALLIANCE shall be Sarasota
County, Florida.
C. The principal office and place of business of the ALLIANCE
shall be located as designated by the ALLIANCE.
Article II. Mission of the
ALLIANCE
The mission of the ALLIANCE
is to advance communication, collaboration and advocacy of the health
and human service needs of all citizens in Sarasota County through more
integrated, effective and efficient delivery systems.
Article III. Purposes of
the ALLIANCE
A. The ALLIANCE is founded
on the principles of prevention and early intervention. Its purposes shall
be to:
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Conduct joint planning for
resource utilization for human services.
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Facilitate coordination and
collaboration among funders and service providers which encourages shared
decision-making and shared accountability.
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Serve as a catalyst for
community resource development by exploring and responding to new funding
opportunities at the federal, state, and local levels and seizing
opportunities to leverage existing and new funding.
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Provide a forum for the
exchange of ideas and information on human services.
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Provide for community
education and advocacy on human services issues.
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Improve issue-focused
planning which is based on research and analysis and emphasizes
results-based accountability and program impact.
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Determine community-wide
priorities for human services and establish community outcome goals.
B.
The ALLIANCE does not
serve in an advisory role to the Department of Children and Families-SunCoast
Region and is not a “community alliance” as contemplated in FS 20.19,
Section 1, Subsection (6).
Article IV. Membership
A. Membership in the
ALLIANCE shall be open to all organizations and individuals in Sarasota
County which support the mission of the ALLIANCE. Membership is intended
to be inclusive and express the diversity of the community.
Article V. Governance of
the ALLIANCE
A. The governing authority
of the ALLIANCE shall be vested in its Steering Committee, which shall
have the right to exercise any and all powers in the management of the
business and affairs of the ALLIANCE, as authorized by state or local
statutes or rules.
B. The Steering Committee
shall be
comprised of members representing the following categories. Membership in
each designated category of the Steering Committee may change by a vote of
the membership:
Funders (12 seats)
Local Government (5 seats)
Local Foundations (2 seats)
United Ways (2 seats)
State Agencies (3 seats)
Human/Community
Service Providers (24 seats)
Children and Youth Serving Organizations (2 seats)
Criminal Justice (2 seats)
Education (3 seats)
Court System (2 seats)
Housing (2 seats)
Homeless Persons (2 seats)
Health (3 seats)
Substance Abuse (2 seats)
Mental Health (2 seats)
Aging Services (2 seats)
Persons with Disabilities (2 seats)
General Community (16
seats)
Business/Economic Development (4 seats)
Faith-Based Community (3 seats)
Community Representatives (4 seats)
Client/Consumer Representatives (2 seats)
Community Planning and Resources (3 seats)
1. Terms of Membership
a) Statutory members
shall serve without limitation in their term coincidental to their
continued statutory eligibility.
b) Other Steering Committee members shall serve a term of two years and
be eligible for reappointment for additional two-year terms at the
pleasure of the majority of the members of the ALLIANCE.
2. Vacancies
a) If a vacancy shall
occur among the Steering Committee's statutory members, the appointing
authority, at its earliest convenience, shall fill such vacancy.
b) If a vacancy shall occur among the Steering Committee's non-statutory
members, the members of the Steering Committee shall appoint, by a
simple majority at a regular or special meeting, a replacement. The term
of office of non-statutory members so selected will be for the remainder
of the unexpired term of office.
3. Meetings
a) The Steering Committee
shall meet upon the call of the Chair during the first 12 months of the
first calendar year, and at least quarterly thereafter.
b) Special meetings of the Steering Committee may be called by the Chair
or upon the call of over half of the current members of the Steering
Committee in order to conduct business.
4. Quorum
a) In order to conduct
business at a regular or special meeting of the Steering Committee, a
quorum shall be defined as one-third of the current members of the
Steering Committee.
b) When a quorum is present, a majority vote of those members present
and voting shall prevail in the decision of any matters brought before
the meeting of the Steering Committee, except where otherwise prescribed
by these bylaws.
c) In the event a member cannot attend a scheduled meeting of the
Steering Committee, an assigned designee may be chosen by the member and
shall be afforded all rights and privileges of that member.
d) Attendance and participation in meetings of the Steering Committee is
expected of members. If a member misses more than three consecutive
meetings, the organization which the member represents will be contacted
to determine if the representative should be replaced.
5. Public Body
a) The ALLIANCE shall
operate as a public body, covered under the provisions of Florida
Statute 286.011 and the public records provision of Florida Statute
119.07(1).
b) All meetings of the ALLIANCE shall be open to the public, except as
provided for by relevant state statutes.
c) All members of the Steering Committee are subject to the provisions
of Part III of Chapter 112 of the Florida Code of Ethics for Public
Officers and Employees.
d) The Chair of a regular or special meeting of the Steering Committee,
or of its committees or subcommittees, shall determine the appropriate
time during the agenda and the length of time allowed for members to
provide input on matters under consideration by the Steering Committee
or its committees or subcommittees.
6. Compensation
a) Members of the
Steering Committee shall serve without compensation.
Article VI. Officers
A. The officers of the
ALLIANCE shall include a a Chair, two Vice Chairs, and the Immediate Past
Chair.
B. Each officer shall serve for a two-year term. Members may not serve
more than two consecutive terms in the same office.
C. Election of officers shall take place during the fourth calendar
quarter of the year, with the term of office beginning at the next regular
or special meeting. During the first year, officers shall take office
immediately upon election.
D. Vacancies in any office may be filled by majority vote of the members
of the Steering Committee at any regular or special meeting. Officers so
elected shall serve out the remainder of that term.
E. Powers and Duties
1. The Chair shall
preside at all regular or special meetings of the Steering Committee;
appoint the chair and members of all committees and subcommittees;
determine the agenda items and their order of consideration for all
regular or special meetings; represent the Steering Committee and act on
its behalf as authorized by the Steering Committee; and exercise such
other duties as may pertain to the office.
2. The two Vice Chairs and the Immediate Past Chair shall exercise the authority and fulfill the duties of
the Chair in the absence of that Officer and fulfill such other duties
as assigned by the Steering Committee or the Chair.
Article VII. Committees
A. Executive
Committee
1. The Executive
Committee shall be comprised of eleven members, the four elected officers
of the ALLIANCE and seven at-large members. The officers and the seven
at-large members will be popularly elected by the members of the
Steering Committee, with only members of the Steering Committee eligible
to serve.
2. Each at-large member of the Executive Committee shall serve for a
two-year term.
3. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to act on behalf of the
ALLIANCE, and carry out other duties and responsibilities as determined
by the ALLIANCE members.
4. The Executive Committee shall act on behalf of the Steering Committee
when decisions must be made before the Steering Committee can be
convened.
B.
Nominating and
Membership Committee
1. The Nominating and
Membership Committee shall be comprised of up to seven members, who
shall be appointed by the Chair. Any member of the ALLIANCE may serve on
the Nominating and Membership Committee; however, the chair of the
committee must be a member of the Steering Committee.
2. Each member of the Nominating and Membership Committee shall serve
for a two-year term.
3. The Nominating and Membership Committee shall be responsible for
recommending members to serve as officers of the ALLIANCE, as at-large
members of the Executive Committee, as members of the Steering Committee
and, when so requested by the Chair, as members of other committees of
the ALLIANCE.
4. The Nominating and Membership Committee shall be responsible for
monitoring the compliance of members of the Steering Committee with the
attendance and participation requirements set forth in Article V,
Section B(4)(d). When the committee determines a member of the Steering
Committee is out of compliance with the attendance and participation
requirements, the committee will contact the organization which the
member represents to determine if the representative should be replaced.
C.
Legislative Committee
1. The Legislative
Committee shall be comprised of up to seven members, who shall be
appointed by the Chair. Any member of the ALLIANCE may serve on the
Legislative Committee; however, the chair of the committee must be a
member of the Steering Committee.
2. Each member of the Legislative Committee shall serve for the duration
of the Chair’s term, or for a fixed length of term, but in no case shall
the fixed length of term extend beyond the duration of the Chair’s term
in office.
3. The Legislative Committee shall be responsible for reviewing and
analyzing issues which affect or may affect health and human services in
Sarasota County; developing policy positions for consideration by the
Steering Committee; advocating for policy positions approved by the
Steering Committee with members of the Florida Legislature and other
elected officials; and providing legislators and elected officials with
analyses of the impact on Sarasota County of proposed legislation or
budget issues.
D.
Other Committees
1. The Chair may
establish other committees and subcommittees as deemed necessary and
appropriate, appoint their chairs and members, and determine their
duties and responsibilities.
2. Committees so appointed shall serve for the duration of the Chair’s
term, or for a fixed length of term, but in no case shall the fixed
length of term for any appointed committee or subcommittee extend beyond
the duration of the Chair’s term in office.
3. The chair may appoint any member of the ALLIANCE to serve on a
committee or subcommittee. However, the chairs of all committees and
subcommittees must be members of the Steering Committee.
Article VIII. Rules of
Order
A. Meeting Procedures
1. All regular, special,
and committee meetings of the ALLIANCE will be conducted according to
generally accepted procedures for the conduct of meetings.
2. In the case of a procedural dispute, the officer presiding will seek
consensus resolving the dispute among the members present.
3. If a procedural resolution cannot be reached by consensus in a
reasonable amount of time, then the most recently published version of
Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised will be used to resolve the dispute.
Article IX. Amendments
A. These bylaws may be
altered, amended, or repealed, in part or in entirety, upon written notice
of the proposed changes to all current members of the ALLIANCE at least
fourteen days prior to the date of the ALLIANCE meeting at which the
proposed changes will be taken under consideration and voted upon.
B. Approval of amendments to the bylaws shall require a simple majority
affirmative vote of all the current members of the ALLIANCE attending
either a regular or special meeting of the ALLIANCE called for the
amendment or repeal of the bylaws.
Approved on:
Date_____________________
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Elliott Metcalfe, Chair
Community Alliance of Sarasota County
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