Northwest Florida Prevention Coalition
By-Laws
Drafted July 2006
Last Revised Date: October 25, 2007
ARTICLE I – NAME
The name of the organization shall be the Northwest Florida
Prevention Coalition referred to as NWFLPC.
ARTICLE II –
DESCRIPTION
A. MISSION STATEMENT
The mission statement of the NWFLPC
is:
Engage Northwest Florida
citizens to promote communities free of drug abuse.
B. GOALS
Goal 1:
Increase membership, participation and funding for the Northwest Florida
Prevention Coalition.
Goal 2:
Reduce drug abuse among the youth of Northwest Florida.
Goal 3:
Formulate strategies to reduce drug abuse among adults in Northwest
Florida.
ARTICLE III – MEMBERSHIP
A) ELIGIBLE POPULATION
The area to be served by the NWFLPC includes all of Escambia and Santa
Rosa Counties.
All residents of these two counties are eligible to participate.
B) MEMBERS OF THE COALITION
The Northwest Florida Prevention
Coalition (NWFLPC) is made up of community
volunteers that are either Active Partners or Community Partners. An Active Partner is defined as someone who
attends at least eight (8) Coalition or Committee Meetings or events during a
calendar year. A Community Partner is
defined as someone or an entity that supports the coalition through
contributions or other means of support.
The Community Drug and Alcohol Council, Inc. (CDAC) is the fiscal agent
for the NWFLPC. As the fiscal agent
for the Coalition CDAC provides support to the Coalition through staff,
financial oversight, grant project management and reporting.
C) SIZE OF MEMBERSHIP
There is no maximum limit to the size of the
membership of the NWFLPC. However,
the NWFLPC should strive for a
minimum of ten (10) Active Partners.
D) TERM OF OFFICE
Membership in the NWFLPC
is not limited to any specific time frame and a person may stay a part of the
coalition as long as they are in good standing in the community and actively
serving the coalition through regular attendance of the committee meetings,
planning meetings, and/or serving the coalition in a specific area.
E) ATTENDANCE
Each NWFLPC
member shall be expected to attend the regularly scheduled NWFLPC meetings and the regularly scheduled
committee meetings of which s/he is a member. After a third unexcused absence
(defined as lack of notification of a member's inability to be in attendance)
from scheduled meetings within a 12-month period, the Chairperson has the
authority to send a letter to the delinquent
member indicating that his/her number of absences has been interpreted as a
resignation from the Coalition.
F) RESIGNATION
Any member may resign at any time by giving written notice to the NWFLPC Chairperson. Officers
are expected to provide at least one month notice.
G) COMPENSATION
Members shall serve without compensation, except for
the reimbursement of reasonable approved expenses incurred during the course of
NWFLPC activities and subject to the
availability of funds in the NWFLPC
budget. Such expenses must be approved by the NWFLPC
Coalition or Executive Committee before being incurred.
ARTICLE IV – MEETINGS
A) RULES OF ORDER
All proceedings of the NWFLPC and its committees shall be
governed by parliamentary procedure using the current edition of Robert's Rules
of Order.
B) MEETING SCHEDULE
The NWFLPC
will meet monthly in an established place accessible to the public. The
Chairperson may cancel such meetings, if there is no business to be conducted.
C) QUORUM
At all meetings of the NWFLPC, a majority (50 % + 1) of
membership in attendance shall constitute a quorum required to transact
business, or a minimum of five (5) members in attendance. The Chairperson will ask for a motion and vote approving or
disapproving the actions taken by the Coalition of the whole.
D) NOTICE OF MEETINGS
Notice of the time, place and purpose of any regular
or special meeting called by the Chair or Chair’s designee of the NWFLPC shall be served upon each member not
less than five (5) working days before such meeting. Notice of special meetings
shall be served no less than two (2) working days before such meeting. Prior
meeting notice of five (5) working days may be waived by majority approval of
the Executive Committee.
E) VOTE
Each member of the NWFLPC shall have the right to vote on
matters coming before the NWFLPC at
regular and/or specially scheduled meetings. A member must be physically
present to vote. At no time shall a NWFLPC member exercise more than one vote on any
matter. Voting shall be done by a show of hands unless a member of the NWFLPC deems that a roll call vote is appropriate.
The vote shall be counted and abstentions duly noted.
F) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The members shall avoid conflicts of interest by observing
the following:
In
the event of a possible conflict of interest on any matter requiring action by
the NWFLPC, the member shall disclose such possible conflicts and abstain from
debate or voting on the matter. This does not prohibit the Coalition from
asking clarifying questions of a Coalition member. If the NWFLPC determines
that a conflict of interest exists, it shall require a member’s abstention. No
NWFLPC Member may vote on a matter under consideration by the NWFLPC regarding
the provision of services by such member (or by an entity that such member represents)
or that would provide direct financial benefit to such member or the immediate
family of such member.
G) Minutes
and Records
The
Coalition shall keep minutes of the proceedings of its meetings, a membership
roster giving the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the members, and other
information as needed to effectively administer the activities of the
coalition.
H)
Inspection of Minutes and Records
All books and records of this Corporation may
be inspected by any member, or his or her agent or attorney, for any proper
purpose at any reasonable time on written demand under oath stating such
purpose.
ARTICLE V – OFFICERS
A) DESCRIPTION OF
OFFICERS
The officers
shall consist of the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary, and Treasurer
and other such officers as determined by the NWFLPC.
B) ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Election of all
officers from its membership will be held at the September meeting for service
the following fiscal year (October 1st through September 30th
of each year). Officers will serve for
one year terms. Officers may serve for up to three consecutive terms in one
position if re-elected each term. A
nominating committee of three members will be appointed by the Chair to
nominate members for each officer position. The nominating committee will
present nominees to the Coalition in August of each year and request nominations from the
floor. The committee will vote in the September meeting to elect the officers
to take office on October 1st.
C) DUTIES OF THE
OFFICERS
1) Chairperson - The Chairperson of
the NWFLPC shall: preside at
meetings of the NWFLPC, establish
agendas for the Executive Committee or the Coalition for every regular NWFLPC meeting, on behalf of the NWFLPC and with NWFLPC
approval sign all necessary legal documents, confirm the Chairperson of each
Committee, or if necessary, appoint a Chairperson, serve as an ex-officio member of all Committees, appoint ad
hoc committees as determined necessary by the NWFLPC,
be the official representative of the NWFLPC
as required, call special meetings of the NWFLPC
as needed, call special meetings of the Executive Committee when a
quorum of the full NWFLPC cannot be
met, and other duties and responsibilities as
determined by the NWFLPC.
2) Vice Chairperson
- The Vice Chairperson of the NWFLPC
shall assume all responsibilities of the chairperson in his/her absence; and
have such additional powers and perform such other duties as may be assigned to
him/her from time to time by the Chairperson or Executive Committee.
3) Secretary - The Secretary of NWFLPC shall be
responsible for notification of all meetings; recording and distributing minutes of all NWFLPC steering committee
meetings to all Coalition and members;
keeping and maintaining records of attendance and terms of office; acting as
custodian of all records and reports; and carrying-out official correspondence
for the NWFLPC.
4) Treasurer – The Treasurer is
responsible for:
a. Receiving and recording funds
deposited;
b. Distributing of funds
and in accordance with the directives of NWFLPC and/or the Executive Committee;
c. Providing
monthly and annual financial reports to the Coalitions Executive
Committee as requested.
d. Keeping and
maintaining records of all financial transactions.
ARTICLE VI – EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
At a minimum, the Executive Committee shall consist of the NWFLPC Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Secretary and
Treasurer. All decisions of the Executive Committee
shall be based on the majority (50 % +1) of the membership of the executive
committee itself. It shall establish and communicate the location and agenda of
NWFLPC meetings; provide oversight
and accountability; have the authority to act on behalf of the full NWFLPC between meetings as deemed necessary by the
Chairperson and shall report such activities at the next regular meeting of the
NWFLPC for approval.
ARTICLE VII - COMMITTEES
Established Committees will meet
regularly in an accessible location at a time and place designated by each Committee
Chairperson. A NWFLPC
member may serve as Chairperson of no more than one Committee at any one time. In addition,
any NWFLPC member may attend
Committee meetings at will. These
Committees may be known as Planning, Data, Membership, Fundraising, and/or
other committees established by the Executive Committee as needed to carry out
the goals and objectives of the NWFLPC.
ARTICLE VIII - MODIFICATIONS AND
AMENDMENTS
Modifications/amendments
of these By-Laws shall be by majority vote. Any
Coalition member may propose an amendment to the By-Laws. Said amendment shall
be provided to the members at least ten (10) days prior to calling for the
vote.
ARTICLE IX - DISTRIBUTION
A copy of the most recently adopted
By-Laws and amendments thereto shall be distributed to all committee members of
the NWFLPC.