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BYLAWS
OF THE
FLORIDA LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCE AGENCIES
Article I
NAME
The name of this organization shall be the Florida Local Environmental Resource Agencies, Incorporated, also known as “FLERA”
Article II
PURPOSE
The purposes of FLERA are as follows:
(1) To promote a better public understanding of the necessity for a sustainable environment and the importance of local government planning, growth management and environmental protection programs;
(2) To provide enhanced communication among local government environmental resource agencies and communication links to state and federal resource protection agencies;
(3) To promote local program efficiency and environmental protection performance measurement, and to enhance and improve the profession of environmental protection;
(4) To encourage the establishment of local government environmental programs, and to promote the effective and efficient combination of local, state, and federal programs in protecting public health and natural systems and the use of program delegations, contracts, grants, interagency agreements and other cooperative arrangements to accomplish this purpose;
(5) To promote partnerships with other not-for-profit associations, businesses and private sector organizations involved in preserving, restoring and protecting Florida’s environment;
(6) To monitor and inform members of proposed legislative actions and judicial rulings that may impact local environmental programs.
Article III
MEMBERSHIP
(1) Regular Membership
Any local public environmental resource agency in Florida is eligible for membership in FLERA, including agencies involved in environmental regulation, land management, growth management or environmental health.
(2) Associate Membership
(a) Any organization or corporation, including state or regional agencies, academic institutions or programs, or substate districts, with a professed interest in promoting FLERA’s purposes may seek to become an associate member of the organization.
(b) Associate members shall not be entitled to vote but are otherwise fully eligible and encouraged to share in the activities of the organization
Article IV
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
(1) Membership
The officers, the most immediate past president of FLERA, three regular members and two Associate members shall serve as the Board of Directors. The regular members of the Board shall elect the Associate member of the Board for a term of one year. No two members of the Board may be employed by the same organization.
(2) Duties
The Board shall adopt general policies for the organization and approve the annual budget. The Board shall adopt financial policies for the organization.
(3) Quorum
Four members of the Board shall constitute a quorum.
(4) Elections
Election of regular members of the Board shall be conducted every year during the annual business meeting of the organization held in conjunction with the Annual Conference for a term of office of one year. There shall be no limitation on the number of times a member of the Board may be re-elected to office
Article V
OFFICERS
The officers of FLERA shall consist of a President, Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer.
(1) Duties - The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
(a) The President shall be responsible for calling meetings of the organization and shall preside at all meetings. The President shall oversee the activities of the organization and Executive Director, shall establish committees as provided herein, appoint committee membership and chairpersons, and serve as an ex- officio member of all committees.
(b) The Vice-President shall conduct the duties of the President in the President’s absence. The Vice-President shall serve as chairperson of the annual conference committee and shall oversee the planning and completion of the annual conference. He/she shall perform other related duties as assigned by the President. In the event of a vacancy in the current term of office of the President, the Vice- President may elect to assume the office of President.
(c) The Secretary-Treasurer shall ensure that an accurate record of all meetings of the organization is kept and shall oversee the financial affairs of the Organization. In the event of a vacancy in the current term of office of Vice-President, the Secretary-Treasurer may elect to automatically become Vice-President. The Secretary-Treasurer shall have the authority to sign checks on behalf of the organization.
(2) Elections
Election of officers shall be conducted every year during the annual business meeting of the organization held in conjunction with the Annual Conference. The term of office of each officer shall be one year. There shall be no limitation on the number of times an office-holder may seek to be re- elected to office.
Article VI
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
(1) The Executive Director of the organization shall be nominated by the officers, subject to confirmation by a majority of the Board of Directors.
(2) The Executive Director shall be the executive officer of the organization and, under the direction of the Board of Directors, shall establish and manage the organization office. The Executive Director shall do or cause to be done on behalf of the organization all actions directed by the officers and Board, and shall generally have the power to carry on the business of the organization and to do the things necessary or appropriate to execute the policies, decisions, and instructions of the officers and Board. The Executive Director or the designee of the Executive Director shall keep all records of the organization, give notice of such meetings at the direction of the President, receive all moneys of the organization and record and deposit the same in approved depositories, and at the close of each month, render a financial report to the officers.
Article VII
COMMITTEES
(1) The President may establish standing committees, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors, or ad-hoc committees at his or her discretion. No committee may act on behalf of FLERA without first obtaining approval of either the Board of Directors or the FLERA membership. Committees shall convene as needed to discharge their duties.
(2) Standing committees of the organization shall include the following:
(a) Conference and Education – The conference and education committee shall be responsible for coordinating with the Vice President and Executive Director in the planning and administration of the organization’s workshops and conferences, and other educational programs.
(b) Membership – The membership committee shall be responsible for coordinating and supervising the organization’s efforts in recruiting new members, providing membership services and ensuring continuity of the existing membership.
(c) Communications – The communications committee shall be responsible for coordinating and supervising the organization’s newsletter and website.
Article VIII
VOTING
Each Regular member of FLERA shall have one vote in all matters coming before the membership. However, voting privileges of any member whose dues are more than three months delinquent shall be suspended until such time as the dues are made current. All issues will be settled by a simple majority vote of FLERA members present at a duly noticed meeting.
Article IX
MEETINGS
(1) FLERA shall hold general membership meetings at times and places as decided by the officers. The Board may call special meetings for specific purposes as necessary. There shall be an annual business meeting held in conjunction with the Annual Conference. Committee chairs may schedule committee meetings as necessary.
(2) Membership meeting agendas shall be developed by the Executive Director in consultation with the President. Any regular or associate member may propose an agenda item for a FLERA meeting by submitting a request to the Executive Director at least 15 working days prior to the meeting date.
Article X
FISCAL YEAR
The Fiscal Year of the organization shall begin January 1 and conclude December 31 of each year.
Article XI
DUES
A dues schedule shall be adopted or revised by a majority vote of the FLERA members upon recommendation of the Board of Directors and shall be payable annually.
Article XII
AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS
These bylaws may be amended upon positive recommendation by the Board of Directors and two-thirds majority vote of the regular members present at a meeting for which there was at least 30 days notice of the proposed amendment.
Article XIII
ROBERTS RULES OF ORDER
Unless otherwise provided herein, meetings of the membership, Board of Directors and Committees shall be governed pursuant to the provisions of Roberts Rules of Order, newly revised.
History:
§ Revised at Annual Business Meeting, August 21, 2008 (Board of Directors Expanded)
§ Revised at Annual Business Meeting, August 1, 2007 (Revised regular member and officer elections to a one year term)
§ Revised at Annual Business Meeting, August 3, 2005 (Major Update and Provisions for Executive Director added)
§ Revised at Quarterly Meeting, October 17, 2003 (Board of Directors Expanded)
§ Revised at Quarterly Meeting, January 24, 2003 (Purpose Updated)
§ Revised at Quarterly Meeting, April 20, 2001 (Addition to Expenditure Chapter)
§ Revised at Quarterly Meeting, January 19, 2001 (Major Update and Rewrites to Support Incorporation)
§ Revised at Annual Meeting, June 21, 1996 (Objectives, Membership, Expenditures, Achievement Award)
§ Revised at Quarterly Meeting, January 26, 1989 (Membership, Achievement Award)
§ Revised at Quarterly Meeting, July 22, 1988, (Officers)
§ Revised at Quarterly Meeting, January 18, 1979
§ Revised at Quarterly Meeting, October 23, 1975
§
Approved at Organizational Meeting, July 24, 1975
FLERA thanks Volusia County Government for hosting our Web site.