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HomeMy WebLinkAboutADA Advisory Board - bylaws & committee handbookCITY OF REXBURG AMERICANS with DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) ADVISORY BOARD BYLAWS ARTICLE I NAME City of Rexburg AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) Advisory Board, hereinafter referred to as the “ADA Advisory Board”. ARTICLE II MISSION STATEMENT To provide accurate and meaningful information to the City of Rexburg regarding the needs of persons with disabilities as they seek to enjoy equal opportunity to access public property and participate in public meetings, programs, and events. ARTICLE III COMMITTEE MEMBERS 1-The ADA Advisory Board shall consist of no fewer than 6 members, all of whom are voting members and have expertise in the areas of disability to better advise for increased accessibility. Members are appointed to the ADA Advisory Board by the Mayor, after a list of potential committee members is provided to him by current committee members. 2- The ADA Advisory Board shall also include the City’s ADA Coordinator and the Rexburg City Council Member assigned as liaison to this Committee. Each of these representatives are non-voting members but will give vital input to committee members. 3- Committee members are encouraged to attend a majority of meetings. Any member having more than 2 unexcused absences per year may be excused from serving on the ADA Advisory Board. 4- Committee members must reside in the City of Rexburg or Impact Area of the city. 5- All new applications are kept on file with the Rexburg City Clerk’s office for one year. In the event a vacancy occurs in the interim, the applicants will be contacted by the City Clerk’s office to determine if the applicant would like his or her application submitted for the vacant seat. Applications, except those of appointed board members, are purged after the one-year period has expired and applicants will need to reapply for future vacancies. 6- Committee members are appointed to serve a three-year term and are eligible for re-appointment for one additional three-year term by the Mayor of the City of Rexburg. Factors considered in re-appointing incumbents are the enthusiasm of the individual, need for continuity, and the attendance record of the individual. Appointments and reappointments are based on merit, and incumbent members are not automatically reappointed. Article IV OFFICERS 1- A Chairman shall be elected from the current committee membership and will serve a minimum of 1 year and no more than two years as chairman. When a new chairman is elected, a new vice-chairman will also be elected from committee membership. 2- A Vice-Chairman shall be elected from the current committee membership and will chair the committee in the absence of the Chairman. In the event of resignation or incapacity of the Chairman, the Vice-Chairman will serve as Chairman until the election of a new Chairman. This process will occur within a reasonable period of time, preferably at the next ADA Advisory Board meeting when a quorum of members is available. 3- A Secretary to the ADA Advisory Board will be assigned by the Mayor. Article V DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS 1-The Chairman shall have executive supervision over the activities of the Committee within the scope provided by these bylaws. The Chairman shall preside at all meetings and will prepare an agenda for each meeting. The agenda will be e-mailed to members of the committee prior to the appointed meeting. The Chairman, with the agreement of committee members, will submit names of potential committee members to the Mayor for approval. 2- The Vice-Chairman shall assume the duties of the Chairman in the event of incapacity or resignation of the chairman. 3- The Secretary shall keep minutes of committee meetings and maintain a list of members and their attendance. The Secretary will also see that all committee members receive a copy of the prior meeting’s minutes, so that they may be approved at regular meetings of the ADA Advisory Board. Article VI SCHEDULE AND QUORUM FOR MEETINGS 1-Meetings of the ADA Advisory Board will be held quarterly on the second Wednesday of January, April, July, and October at 5:15 p.m. in City Council Chambers, unless otherwise notified in advance. 2- Special Meetings of the ADA Advisory Board may be called anytime at the request of the Mayor or the Chairman of the ADA Advisory Board. 3- A quorum of the ADA Advisory Board shall consist of one half of the regular committee members, plus one (1). A quorum is necessary for approval of the minutes, changing of the bylaws, approval of recommendations within the authority of the ADA Advisory Board, and/or Committee recommendations to be made to the Rexburg City Council. Article VII AUTHORITY The ADA Advisory Board has authority only to implement recommendations and/or projects approved by the Committee as specifically defined in this subsection. For major changes and/or accessibility projects, the ADA Advisory Board serves in an advisory capacity, and will communicate its recommendations to the City Council Liaison, who will present such recommendations to the Rexburg City Council for implementation, modification, or rejection. The ADA Advisory Board may appoint sub-committees for the purpose of research on various accessibility issues, the results of which will be communicated back to the ADA Advisory Board for action as it deems necessary. The ADA Advisory Board will listen to, and consider issues presented by any individual, group of individuals, businesses and/or institutions, for consideration regarding any accessibility issue raised by the community. The ADA Advisory Board Bylaws are approved by the Rexburg City Council. Further modification to the Bylaws is recommended by the ADA Advisory Board and approved by the Rexburg City Council. Committee Bylaws will be reviewed on a regular basis and changes made as necessary. Article VIII PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY The rules established by the Rexburg City Council shall govern the proceedings of the ADA Advisory Board Meetings, except in such cases as are governed by the bylaws. Adopted October 4, 2023. Appendix: General City of Rexburg Advisory Committee Handbook / Introduction Congratulations on your appointment! You have joined other caring citizens who dedicate their time, energy, and ideas to making the City of Rexburg and Madison County a better community. We truly appreciate your commitment, interest, and expertise. This Handbook was created to help you in your new assignment as a volunteer member of an advisory committee, commission, or board to the City Council (and, in some cases to the Madison County Commission) hereafter referred to as a “committee”. City of Rexburg Mission Statement As employees of the City of Rexburg our goal is to improve the community. We serve the citizens by striving to understand their needs and by responding with quality work. Purpose of Committees Advisory Committees are formed to provide research, study, discussion and recommendations on specific issues, or a scope of issues as requested by the City Council. They also provide an opportunity for citizens to actively participate in the decision-making process, which is a critical element for an open and responsive government. These committees add great value to our efforts to provide efficient and effective governance. (See Appendix A for scope of each committee.) Committee Appointments Advisory Committee members are appointed only by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council. Some members of joint city/county committees will be appointed by the County Commission. The Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Secretary of each committee are elected by the committee on the first meeting of each calendar year. New committee members shall usually be appointed as terms expire or vacancies occur. Committees may be asked to provide suggestions to the Mayor of possible future appointees, but should not approach the potential appointees about the appointment. Meeting Notice If a regular meeting schedule is used, meeting agendas must be posted at City Hall and the place of the meeting, if different, 48 hours before the time of the meeting. If not using a regular meeting schedule, meeting agendas must be posted 5 days in advance. Notice of an emergency meeting must be posted 24 hours before the time of the meeting. Agendas A copy of the agenda should be given to the City Clerk, via e-mail as a Word document, if possible. Deliberation in a meeting should be limited to those items on the agenda unless the item is non-controversial in nature and no vote will be taken. Public Meeting Law These rules are designed to ensure a fair decision-making process and to promote public participation in the decisions rendered by your local government. All meetings are open to the public. Public comment should be allowed but may be controlled by way of time limits or subject limits. Committee members must not discuss committee issues with other committee members outside their published meetings. Executive (closed) Sessions are not allowed, except in the case of the Planning & Zoning Committee, and except when the Mayor or City Attorney is present. The scheduling and holding of public hearings should be coordinated with the Mayor and City Clerk. Public hearings have special rules to be followed. Noncompliance with the Open Meeting Law may result in the actions of the meeting being null and void, as well as the actions of the City Council, if they relied upon the invalid actions of the committee. Minutes Full and accurate minutes shall be kept of all meetings, including committee attendance, assignments made, a verbatim account of all motions, and all votes. Planning & Zoning hearings must also be recorded. These minutes should be forwarded via e-mail, if possible, to the City Clerk as a Word document. All minutes, records and back up material are available for public inspection and copying. Rules of Order & Voting The Chairman controls the order of business and discussion and should try to move through issues as efficiently and effectively as possible. Public comment should be allowed but may be controlled by way of time limits or subject limits. All members of the committee should have an equal opportunity to speak and participate in decision making.  Generally, members should be recognized by the chair prior to speaking. Committees without a majority present cannot vote on any issue, nor discuss any controversial issue before them. Members are expected to attend every regularly scheduled meeting and should make every effort to do so. If a member has three consecutive unexcused absences, the Mayor may declare the seat vacant and appoint a replacement. The Chair votes and does not have a veto. Actions shall be taken by motion. Motions require a second.  Only one motion may be considered at a time. Further discussion should be allowed after each motion and before a vote is taken on the motion. Voting is done with a vocalized “Aye” or “Nay”. No decision shall be made by secret ballot. Proxy votes are not allowed. The committee can only act as a body and not as individuals, usually by means of a majority vote on motions; individual members cannot represent the committee’s positions on issues. Committee actions should be the result of a decision on the merits and not a manipulation of the procedural rules. City Council Liaison Each committee is assigned a City Council Liaison. Their role is to assist in promoting communication between the Mayor and City Council and your committee. While the City Council Liaison is allowed to participate in discussions and to answer questions, he or she cannot vote, nor can they attempt to influence the board of commission’s decision. In addition, due to the demand for their time, City Council Liaisons are not required to regularly attend your routine meetings. If necessary to respond to a particular issue, the committee should make a special effort to arrange attendance with your Liaison in advance. Staff Support Each committee will have at least one non-voting staff person assigned to act as a liaison to help facilitate and enhance the committee’s operation and effectiveness. Staff liaison responsibilities include ensuring that the committee follows the open meeting law, provide technical expertise, answer questions related to city policy and procedures and coordinate the involvement of other city departments as needed. Budgeting, Purchasing & Debt Committee budgets are set by the City Council. Any expenditure desired by the committee must be approved by the Mayor and confirmed by the City Council prior to the purchase. The Staff Liaison should be used to facilitate any purchase. Once approved, expenditures must be bid out following City bid procedures and then initiated by a Purchase Order that is signed by the Mayor or City Finance Officer. Purchases without the properly signed Purchase Order will be the responsibility of the person initiating the purchase. Advisory committees where some members are appointed by the County Commission must also obtain expenditure approval from the County Commission on items that are not approved in their annual budget. Debt can only be authorized by the City Council and/or County Commission and can only be signed by the Mayor or County Commissioner. Ethics & Conflicts of Interest Idaho law has established stringent ethical rules for members of government policy-making bodies, including advisory board members. The purpose of these statutes is to protect the integrity and impartiality of governmental actions and to prevent the use of public offices for personal gain. The statutes are enforced by civil penalties; and there are criminal sanctions that may also be imposed. Many of the statutes require disclosure of any personal interests in actions currently before a committee. Strong consideration should be given to making such a disclosure and requesting to be excused from further proceedings to avoid the appearance of impropriety, even if the situation does not fall within the conduct prohibited by the statutes. The disclosure of a conflict does not affect a committee member’s authority to be counted for purposes of determining a quorum and to debate and vote on the matter unless the public official requests to be excused from debate and voting at his or her discretion. If there is any question in their mind about a possible conflict, committee members may wish to read Idaho Code Title 59, Chapter 7 or consult with the City Attorney or their own private attorney. Liability Insurance As a duly appointed committee member you are insured against third-party liability when acting within the course and scope of your appointment. Public Announcements If communication through the media is necessary, committees should prepare a press release that must be approved and disseminated by the Mayor. Communicating with the Mayor & City Council Minutes of the meetings will be distributed by the City Clerk to the Mayor and City Council when received by the City Clerk. Any recommendations from the committee should be presented to the City Council in person, if possible, otherwise by letter to the Council via the City Clerk, and preferably, via e-mail. Contact the Mayor’s Office to be placed on the City Council Agenda. The committee’s recommendations always remain advisory in nature; the City Council, by law, cannot abdicate its responsibility to make the final decision on issues brought before them, and therefore, the Council may not always follow the recommendations made by the committee. For More Information Mayor’s Office 359-3020 ext. 2111 Staff 359-3020 ext. 0