Lauderdale-By-The-Sea CITIZENS INITIATIVE COMMITTEE BY-LAWS
Article I – General
1. The name of the group is: Lauderdale-By-The-Sea Citizens Initiative Committee.
2. The official address shall be that of the current President, Secretary, or Treasurer.
3. The purpose of the organization is to support the right of LBTS citizens to initiate and petition for the enactment of amendments to the Town Charter, as provided in Section 166.031, Florida Statutes. To support the right to initiate and petition for the enactment, repeal, or amendment of municipal ordinances, as provided in Article IV of the Town Charter, reaffirmed by referendum in March 2004. To address any issues that deal with citizens rights and related political concerns.
Article II – Membership
1. Membership shall be open to all LBTS residents, or property owners, or who are employed by a business within the town, subscribing to the above stated purpose and paying dues of $10.00 annually for each household or single member, or $50.00 annually for Charter membership. Any exceptions will be at the discretion of the Board.
2. Meetings shall be held once a month, more or less, according to the direction of the Board of Directors.
Article III – Board of Directors and Officers
1. Nine (9) members shall be elected by the General membership to serve on the Board of Directors for a term of one year, or until their successors are elected and duly qualified. This election to be held annually each Spring.
2. To qualify to vote, or to hold office, members must hold valid membership for six months, or more, prior to the election; each member household is entitled to cast only one vote.
3. Four officers shall also be elected each Spring by the General Membership concurrently with the election of Directors. For that purpose, each member may cast one vote for each officer-director position listed below and not more than five (5) votes for ordinary directors. The four officers to be elected are:
President - to preside at meetings and any other duties as designated.
Vice President - to serve as President in his / her absence.
Secretary - to attend meetings, keep minutes, and maintain all books / records as required.
Treasurer - to have custody of all money, keep regular books, making them available on request by any Board member.
4.. Term of Office: The President shall serve one term only, but may run again after stepping down for a year. President may also serve in another office, following his term as president, if duly elected to said office. All other officers may serve repeatedly in the same office, but must be elected to that office each year.
5. No serving commissioner or mayor-commissioner of the Town may be a candidate for election as - or be appointed to - any of the four officer positions listed above or as a director. If elected, or if appointed as commissioners or mayor-commissioners, CIC officers or directors may continue to serve in their CIC positions until the expiration of their one-year CIC terms of office.
Article IV – Amendment of the By-Laws
1. These By-Laws may be amended by a vote of a majority of the Executive Board and ratification by a majority of all members present at or mailing properly completed ballots to a duly constituted annual or regular meeting of Members.
2. Alternatively, a proposed amendment may be placed on the agenda of any regular or annual meeting of Members upon the written request of forty percent (40%) of voting Members. If approved by a majority of voting Members present at such duly constituted Membership meeting, a proposed amendment would then need to be ratified by a vote of a majority of the Executive Board, following which it would take immediate effect.
3. No proposed amendment may be considered by Committee Members unless it presented in writing and is mailed or hand-delivered to each member not less than six (6) working days prior to the meeting at which the amendment is to be considered
4. An amendment which fails to be ratified by a majority of the membership, may not then be reconsidered until the next annual meeting is held.
Adopted by vote of the membership on April 29th, 2007 and modified by a vote of the membership on April 27th, 2008.