Bylaws
BYLAWS
of
THE WICOMICO NEIGHBORHOOD CONGRESS, INC.
Adopted April 27, 2010
A. NAME: The corporate title of the organization shall be The Wicomico Neighborhood Congress, Inc. (WNC).B. MISSION: The mission and purpose of WNC shall be to bring together the residents of Wicomico County and surrounding areas to improve the quality of life for all of our citizens -- by addressing issues of importance to our neighborhoods, and by motivating and enabling the residents of our neighborhoods who express a mutual interest and shared commitment to preserve, protect and improve their own living conditions.
C. GOALS AND STRATEGIES: The mission of the WNC shall be pursued through a grassroots organization, consisting of neighborhood associations, allied entities and individuals, with emphasis on geographic, racial and economic diversity. Its strategies shall focus on:
a)education of our citizens in the tools of citizenship;
b)organization of neighborhoods to achieve a common purpose;
c) empowerment to change conditions needing change; and
d)advocacy to urge government to address neighborhood concerns.
D. MEMBERS OF THE CONGRESS
1. Neighborhood Membership
Wicomico County’s neighborhoods shall be the basic unit of the WNC. A Neighborhood shall be defined for these purposes as a contiguous residential area of the County consisting of five (5) or more housing units, sharing an established identity and specific geographic boundaries.
Neighborhoods may include small municipalities or unincorporated areas, homeowners associations (HOAs), apartment complexes, retirement communities, subdivisions or groupings of subdivisions.
It shall be a goal of WNC to assist areas of the County with an emerging identity and unifying concerns to coalesce into neighborhood units.
2.Affiliate and Individual Members
WNC Affiliate Members may also include institutions and businesses, willing to join with Neighborhood and with Individual Members -- sharing the goals of WNC, and allied in implementation of its strategies.Non-residents of Wicomico County may likewise become Affiliate Members.
Individual Members of the WNC shall be encouraged and assisted to organize neighborhood entities, as indicated above, and to suggest geographic boundaries of proposed or startup neighborhood associations, seeking acceptance as Neighborhood Members of the Congress.
3.Membership Status
Notwithstanding the definitions of Neighborhood, Affiliate and Individual Membership, all County residents, business owners, institutional representatives and church members shall be accorded an equal voice and vote in the deliberations and proceedings of the Congress, and all shall be eligible for leadership positions in WNC.
4.Representatives and Meetings
Each WNC Neighborhood or Institutional Member shall be entitled to designate one or more representative on the Congress. Each representative of Neighborhood and Affiliate Members, and each Individual Member shall have voting rights in decisions of the Congress.
The Congress shall meet as often as needed to transact such business as may then be pending. Whenever feasible, the WNC shall meet in neighborhoods throughout the County, and shall listen to residents’ concerns. Between meetings of the Congress, it shall be the responsibility of Neighborhood representatives to speak with residents about broadly-felt concerns, to be taken to the Congress at its next meeting.
E.OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, COMMITTEES
At each Annual Meeting of the Neighborhood Congress, all such Neighborhood and Affiliate Member representatives and all Individual Members shall be eligible to vote, to elect officers and members of the Board of Directors of the Congress
1.Officers. The officers shall be a Chairperson, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. They shall perform the duties normally conferred on such officers, and such other duties as may be assigned by vote of the Congress or by request or delegation by the Board of Directors.
Each of the officers shall serve until a replacement is elected to the position in question. There shall be no term limits.
2. Board of Directors. The Members and their representatives may elect from their own number a Board of Directors, consisting of no more than fifteen (15) members, to carry out the business of the Congress between meetings of the full Congress. The Board shall meet monthly, or as often as is necessary to conduct the business of WNC, which shall be controlled in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order.
3. Committees of the Congress. Any Individual Member or any representative of a Neighborhood or Affiliate Member shall be eligible to serve on any committee, council or task force of the WNC. Each of these committees shall initially be organized and vested with functions by the WNC and its leadership. The initial committees shall include at least the following:
(a)Membership/Credentials Committee
(b)Community Concerns Committee
(c) Council of Homeowners Associations
(d)The Wicomico River Project.
Each of these committees –- with the exception of the Membership/Credentials Committee – may choose its own leadership, and as it chooses, may structure itself to operate independently of WNC.
Also, a Nominating Committee may be designated by the Board prior to the Annual Meeting, to select or recruit prospective officers and Board members from among such representatives and Individual Members.
Finally, the duly elected officers of the WNC shall serve as its Executive Committee, which shall attend to the day-to-day business of the WNC. However, all decisions and actions of the Executive Committee shall be subject to review and ratification by the Board of Directors and by the WNC as a whole.
F.DUES AND ACCOUNTS
Neighborhood and Affiliate Members of the WNC shall annually be assessed dues of $25.00, and Individual Members shall be assessed dues of $10.00. All funds collected as dues shall be deposited by the WNC Treasurer in an account to be established in its name, and shall be spent solely for incidental expenses such as postage, photocopying, supplies for meetings, etc. The timing of dues payments shall be determined by the Membership/Credentials Committee.
G. OTHER MATTERS
(1) A quorum at all meetings of the Congress shall be two-thirds of the eligible members present and voting.There shall be a sincere effort to make all WNC decisions by consensus of the Members. However, meetings shall be generally conducted, and all contested matters shall be decided, under Roberts’ Rules of Order.
(3) All Members shall be given timely notice of all WNC meetings, including (where feasible) meetings of its Board of Directors. All such meetings shall be open to all residents of the County, whose active participation shall be encouraged.
(4) WNC’s fiscal year shall end on September 30.
