By-Laws
By-Laws
Approved by membership at the March 13, 2010 Annual Meeting
Article I - Name
The name of this organization shall be the Good Neighbors of Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island.
Article II - Purpose and Boundaries
Good Neighbors of Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island is an organizational group whose mission is to aid and encourage the residents of Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Islands to work through democratic means and in a spirit of neighborliness, mutual respect and goodwill toward the improvement and enrichment of life and living conditions for its members and residents in general.
The boundaries of the organization shall include the whole of Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island.
Article III - Membership
Section 1: Membership in this organization shall be open to all persons over the age of 18 residing and/or owning property or a business within the boundaries of this organization; and to individuals who work, live or perform a service on the Islands
Non-Resident groups and individuals may be admitted to membership by 3/4 of the Board of Directors, and ratified at the next general membership meeting.
Section 2: Membership becomes effective upon annual payment of dues. Only members of at least three (3) month’s standing shall be eligible to hold or run for a board position. Only members of at least one (1) month's standing shall be eligible to vote on issues before the organization, including election of officers. General members or Board members in whatever capacity, may not speak or act or make requests in the name of the organization without due authorization from the Board of Directors.
Section 3: Annual membership dues shall be set annually by the Board of Directors on a sliding scale.
Article IV - Board of Directors
Section 1: Powers and Duties: The Board of Directors shall have full charge of the business and property of the Good Neighbors of Treasure Island/Yerba Buena Island with the power and authority to act in the name of the organization in all matters, subject to the provisions and intent of these By-Laws and the instructions of the general membership.
Section 2: Members: The Board of Directors shall consist of the officers of the executive committee and five (5) Members-at-large.
Section 3: Terms of Membership: Officers and Members-At-Large of the organization shall serve on the Board of Directors for the period of the election.
Section 4: Vacancies: The Board of Directors shall elect persons to fill any vacant elected position, and such persons shall serve until the next general membership meeting at which time election for any of the remaining positions shall occur. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Board can vacate any Board position whose incumbent is recorded as having missed more than three (3) meetings for whatever reason, for behaviour incongruent with the mission statement, or for causing harm to the organization or its reputation.
The board member may make an appeal to the general membership for reinstatement at the next general membership meeting (article VIII, section 2). A 2/3rds vote of the membership shall reinstate the member.
Section 5: Quorum and Meetings: See Article VIII.
Article V - Officers
Section 1: The officers of the organization shall be the President, the Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer. They shall be elected at the end of the annual meeting of the organization by a simple majority and assume their duties at the next regular meeting of the Board of Directors.
Section 2: The President shall preside at all meetings of the organization and the Board of Directors and perform all the duties of that office. The President must be a resident of Treasure Island or Yerba Buena Island.
Section 3: The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President when the president is absent or unable to act and such other duties as the President shall designate. The Vice-President must be a resident of Treasure Island or Yerba Buena Island.
Section 4: The Secretary shall take the minutes of the Organization and Board of Directors meetings and shall keep a file of all the proceedings and records of the organization.
Section 5: The Treasurer shall have charge of the funds of the Organization, making expenditures upon the direction of the Board of Directors and shall keep regular books of account and treasurer vouchers for the payment of money. The Treasurer shall make reports at Board of Directors and regular meetings, as necessary and annual reports of all receipts and disbursements.
Article - VI - Members-At-Large
Section 1: There shall be five (5) Members-At-Large on the Board. Members-At-Large shall be elected at the annual meeting of the Organization. The term of office shall be one year.
Section 2: Members-At-Large shall endeavour to be alert to developments in the broader organization and how they effect residents or other island constituents and shall perform such general and special duties for the Board as they may be assigned from time to time by the President or at the direction of the Board.
Article VII – Committees
Section 1: The standing committees of the organization shall be the Membership, and Election committees. These committees shall be established within a month following the annual meeting. The chairs of the standing committees shall be elected by the board of directors. These committee chairs with approval of the Board of Directors shall select their committees. All committees will have no fewer than three (3) members. All Committees will have odd-numbered memberships.
Section 2: The Membership Committee shall promote new memberships and shall keep membership and participation records up to date.
Section 3: The Election Committee shall have at least three members (see Section 1) It shall be the duty of this Committee to prepare a slate of nominees for Officers and Members-At-Large This eligible candidate’s pool should be made up of people who have been Good Neighbors members for three (3) months or more. The Committee shall make all reasonable effort to provide a slate that reflects the various facets and interests of the neighborhood and shall solicit nominations from the general membership, at which time the nomination period is closed. The slate shall be presented to all members one (1) month before the annual meeting Election shall be by ballot, except that when there is only one nominee for each office, in which case the President may call for a voice vote.
Section 4: Special committees and sub-committees can be appointed by the President as deemed necessary by the Board of Directors.
Article VIII - Meetings
Section 1: Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be held bi-monthly , in odd numbered months unless otherwise decided by the Board of Directors. Five (5) members of the Board of Directors shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Special meetings may be called by the President upon proper notification and shall be called by the President upon written request by three (3) members of the Board.
Section 2: Regular public meetings of the organization shall be held on the 2nd Saturday of March, July , and November, unless otherwise decided by the organization or the Board of Directors. Eleven (11) members of the organization shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. Special meetings may be called by the Board of Directors upon proper notification and shall be called by the President upon written request by ten (10) members of the organization.
Section 3: The annual meeting of this Organization shall be the March meeting and shall be governed by rules for regular meetings.
Article IX – Amendments
Section 1: These By-Laws may be amended at the November membership meeting by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present and voting, provided proper notification of such amendment has been mailed to the members at least ten (10) days in advance of the meeting. Proper notification means that proposed amendments shall be sent to the general membership before a vote is taken.
Article X Rules
Section 1.
The business meetings of the board, committees, and other official decision-making groups of Good Neighobrs will be run by the agreed upon meeting rules customized from Roberta’s Rules of Order, Resource A. They are kept in our official Governance Notebook along with our Articles of Incorporation and current Bylaws. For large meetings warranting more formal parliamentaory procedure, we will use Robert’s Rules of Order upon majority vote of the board.
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Article XI Dissolution of Organization
Should it be determined by 2/3rds majority of the active and attending members of the organization at a quarterly meeting, and in a concurrent majority of the board of directors to dissolve the organization, it shall be the duty of the board officers:
- To draft and distribute a letter of intent of dissolution to all members of the organization, its affiliate groups and/or organizations 30 days prior to the scheduled date of the vote to dissolve.
- To review all current assets of the organization, and by majority vote of the board dispense to other organizations on the Island that work for the benefits of residents.
- Any records held by the executive board and its members shall be surrendered to a suitable organization if one can be found.
Copies of the GNTIYBI By-Laws are available upon request and shall be maintained on the GNTIYBI website: www.TreasureIslandSF.org