Wicomico Neighborhood Congress

(NOTE: The WNC Steering Committee drafted Guidelines for its own operations and deliberations, and suggested certain key concepts for the Congress going forward. However, it expressly deferred to the Congress itself issues of incorporation, adoption of bylaws, and final definitions of membership. This Charter attempts to provide an organizational structure for the new Congress in its initial formation.)

NAME:

The name or title of the organization shall be the Wicomico Neighborhood Congress (WNC).

MISSION:

The mission and purpose of WNC shall be to bring together the residents of Wicomico County 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.

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.

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. Individual Members

At any given time, as many as ten per cent of the WNC members may be individuals not representative of any existing Neighborhood Member. However, Individual Members of the WNC shall be encouraged to obtain and submit names and addresses of at least five (5) nearby neighbors from separate housing units, who consent to be represented as a new Neighborhood Member of the Congress.

3. Interim and Permanent Membership Status

a. Notwithstanding the definitions of Neighborhood and Individual Membership, until September 30, 2008, all individual County residents, business owners or church members shall be accorded an equal voice and vote in the deliberations and proceedings of the Congress.

b. However, all such individuals shall be encouraged to seek representative status on behalf of a specific Neighborhood Member; or if none exists in a given geographic area, to assist in creation of a Neighborhood unit, to apply for membership in the Congress.

c. A Membership/Credentials Committee process shall accept and verify status of individuals as representative of a Neighborhood or as an Individual Member, with voting rights.

d. It shall be a WNC priority to assist and enable both existing areas and new organizations to coalesce, incorporate (where appropriate) and qualify as Neighborhood Members of the Congress, consistent with these goals and requirements.

e. On or about September 30, 2008, or at such other time as the WNC leadership shall establish, the Membership Committee shall render its report, and a list of permanent Members shall be presented for acceptance.

Representatives and Meetings

The Congress shall consist of all WNC Neighborhood and Individual Members accepted and recognized at any given time. Each Neighborhood Member shall have one designated representative on the Congress; however in unusual circumstances, larger organizations may be permitted no more than two representatives, by two-thirds vote of the WNC. Individual Members shall also have voting rights.

The Congress shall meet at least quarterly 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.

Officers of the Congress

At the first meeting of the Neighborhood Congress, or as soon thereafter as practicable, all participants shall elect by written secret ballot the initial officers of the Congress - namely, a Chairman, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, to perform the duties normally conferred on such officers, or such other duties as may be assigned by vote of the Congress.

On or before September 30, 2008, a new slate of officers shall be nominated, consisting of a Chairman, Chairman-Elect, Secretary and Treasurer, to be elected in accordance with procedures to be established by the Nominating Committee.

The Chairman-Elect shall serve one year in that capacity, succeed automatically to serve one year as Chairman, and the following year shall serve as Immediate Past Chairman, to carry out such duties as may be delegated by the Chairman. The Secretary and Treasurer shall each serve a single term of three years.
Board of Directors and Committees of the Congress

Initially, the Congress shall consist of all voting Members. However, should the number of such Members and the business of the Congress grow to the point of being unwieldy, then the Members may elect from their own number a Board consisting of no more than fifteen (15) members, to carry out the business of the Congress between meetings of the full Congress.

Any Individual Member or representative of a Neighborhood Member will be eligible for serving on a standing committee of the WNC. Each of these committees shall initially be 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) Neighborhood Meetings Committee
(d) Rules and Procedures Committee
(e) Nominating Committee.

Additionally, 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 WNC as a whole.

Dues and Accounts

Neighborhood 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.

Legal Status and Bylaws

By September 30, 2008, or at such other time as the WNC leadership shall establish, the Congress shall consider the desirability of nonprofit incorporation, adoption of bylaws (to replace this charter), and application for recognition of tax exempt status.

Other Matters

(1) A quorum at all meetings of the Congress shall be two-thirds of the eligible members present and voting.

(2) 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 standing committees. All such meetings shall be open to all residents of the County, whose active participation shall be encouraged.

(4) The Membership/Credentials Committee shall be responsible for reporting names and numbers of Members, at each WNC meeting, and for providing notice of meetings to all Members.

(5) WNC's fiscal year shall end on September 30.