Benton County Dems By-Laws
Benton County Dems By-Laws PDF MS-Word
(as of January 25, 2021. Major revision of By-Laws approved February 22, 2016. Amended May 22, 2017 to change organization name from "Benton County Democrats" to "Benton County Dems". Amended January 25, 2021 for additional flexibility in scheduling meetings and to fix some inconsistencies.)
ARTICLE 1. Name
Sec. 1. The name of this organization shall be Benton County Dems, hereafter known in this document as the BCD.
A. Meetings will normally take place monthly as determined by the Board. The Board may elect to skip a General Meeting in a month in which other exceptional events or conflicts are occurring (such as December and the month of the Little Flock Picnic), or if unusual circumstances make a meeting impossible or unsafe (such as a pandemic)
B. Under circumstances where in-person meetings are impractical or unsafe (as determined by experts), the Board may elect to conduct meetings on-line using various applications suitable for that purpose.
ARTICLE 2. Purpose
Sec. 1. The purpose of this organization shall be to promote understanding of issues of importance to Democrats, to provide fellowship among the members and to further activities that support the goals of the Democratic Party.
ARTICLE 3. Membership
Sec. 1. Any person who is a Democrat and is sympathetic with and supportive of the purpose of this organization shall be eligible for membership.
Sec. 2. Membership requires annual payment of dues.
ARTICLE 4. Dues
Sec. 1. Membership dues shall be determined by the Board annually and due in January.
Sec. 2. Dues paid on or after October 1 shall include the following year’s membership.
Sec. 3. Members requesting a hardcopy of the newsletter mailed to them may be subject to an additional fee annually as determined by the Board.
ARTICLE 5. Officers and Board of Directors
Sec. 1. The elected Officers of this organization shall be: President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Their terms shall be from January 1 through December 31.
Sec. 2. Eligibility to be an Officer requires membership of one year and attendance at a minimum of six general meetings within the previous year. If an office has no candidate meeting these qualifications and the Board believes another person to be capable in every other way, it may vote to make an exception for an individual for this specific nomination. When this candidate is presented in nomination to the general membership, the Board’s reasoning must be explained at that time.
Sec. 3. Officers shall be eligible for re-election for the same office for one term.
Sec. 4. If a vacancy occurs in any elected office, it shall be announced via e-mail. The Board shall present a candidate at that time and if further nominations are received, those shall be publicized in the same manner. A vote of the membership shall be held at the following general meeting after possible further nominations from the floor.
Sec. 5. The Board of Directors shall be formed of the four elected Officers above, the Immediate Past President, Membership Chair, Social Media Chair, and Publicity Chair.
Sec. 6. If a vacancy occurs in any non-elected Board position as specified in Sec. 5 [Membership Chair, Social media Chair, Publicity Chair], the opening will be announced by email to the general membership and the Board shall select a replacement. Other appointed positions may be filled by the President with concurrence by the Board.
Sec. 7. Other committee members not named in Sec. 5 may attend Board meetings but will not be able to vote.
Sec. 8. Any member may request attendance at a Board meeting in order to make a presentation or to lodge a grievance.
Sec. 9. In the event that the Immediate Past President is no longer able to meet with the Board, and the current Board feels it lacks continuity with the previous Board, the Board may choose to fill a vacated "Immediate Past President" Board position with some other"Immediate Past Board Member".
Sec. 10. The Board shall meet, normally monthly, at a place or on-line, and at a time to be determined by the Officers.
ARTICLE 6. Committees
Sec. 1. Committees for the BCD shall include: Membership, Reservations, Publicity, Social Media, Correspondence and Nominating.
Sec. 2. Standing Committees shall be made up of a chair and as many additional members as the chair deems necessary.
Sec. 3. The Nominating Committee shall consist of three non-Board members selected by the Board from nominations from the floor at a prior General Meeting. The default General Meeting for those nominations will be May, but may be changed by the Board as long as the Nominating Committee has sufficient time to meet its deadlines.
A. The Nominating Committee shall with prior announcement present a single slate of Officers at a General meeting designated by the Board, but no later than the November meeting, allowing further nominations from the floor. This report is usually at the August or September Meeting, but the Board may designate a later month of the year. Elections shall be held at the November meeting.
ARTICLE 7. Parliamentary Authority
Sec. 1. Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern meetings.
Sec. 2. A quorum for Board meeting shall consist of five of its eight members.
Sec. 3. A quorum for general meetings shall consist of 25% of members.
ARTICLE 8. Amendments
Sec. 1. These bylaws may be amended or replaced at any meeting of the BCD by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of members present. Prior notice of any proposed changes shall be disseminated in writing, then presented at a general meeting and voted on at the following general meeting.
ARTICLE 9. Privacy and Integrity of Communications
Sec. 1. Membership lists shall be maintained and used only for organizational purposes by Officers and Board Members.
A. No membership lists are to be shared without prior Board approval.
Sec. 2. All announcements at general meetings and through other communications shall be directly related to the purpose and mission of the organization.
ARTICLE 10. Conflict of Interest
Sec. 1. Whenever an Officer or Board Member has a financial or personal interest in any matter coming before the Board, the affected person shall:
A. Fully disclose the nature of the interest and
B. Withdraw from discussion, lobbying, and voting on the matter.
ARTICLE 11. Removal of Officers
Sec. 1. Officers and other Board members may be removed from their positions by the Board due to absence at three or more Board meetings per year without reasonable cause or for failure to fulfill their duties.
ARTICLE 12. Dissolution of the Organization
Sec. 1. The organization may be dissolved by a two-thirds vote of members present at a general meeting. Prior notice of this dissolution vote shall be disseminated in writing, then presented at a general meeting and voted on at the next general meeting.
Sec. 2. Upon dissolution of the organization, all funds remaining in any BCD accounts shall be forwarded to the Arkansas State Democratic Party.