CHEVY CHASE

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION

          (ANC 3/4G)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BY-LAWS

 

2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 10, 2012

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ARTICLE 1.               NAME

 

ARTICLE II.              DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

            Section 1.         Purpose

            Section 2.         Scope

 

ARTICLE III.            MEMBERSHIP

            Section 1.         Composition of Commission

            Section 2.         Compensation of Commissioners

            Section 3.         In Absentia Vote

            Section 4.         Quorum Requirements

 

ARTICLE IV.            OFFICERS

            Section 1.         Election of Officers

            Section 2.         Time of Election

            Section 3.         Nominations

            Section 4.         Voting

            Section 5.         Tie-Vote

            Section 6.         Assuming Office

            Section 7.         Removal for Cause

            Section 8.         Vacancies

            Section 9.         Duties of the Chairperson

            Section 10.       Duties of Vice-Chairperson

            Section 11.       Duties of Secretary

            Section 12.       Maintenance of Records

            Section 13.       Duties of Treasurer

            Section 14.       Development of FY Budget

            Section 15.       Quarterly Report

            Section 16.       Cosigners of Checks

            Section 17.       Bonding Chairperson and Treasurer

            Section 18.       Depositories

            Section 19.       Emergency Action

 

SECTION V.              MEETINGS

            Section 1.         Public Meetings

            Section 2.         Special Meetings

            Section 3.         Agenda

            Section 4.         Procedure

            Section 5.         Citizen Comments

 

ARTICLE VI.            COMMITTEES

 

            Section 1.         Special Committees

            Section 2.         Commission Representation

            Section 3.         Community Representation and Officers

            Section 4.         Committee Chairpersons

 

ARTICLE VII.           PROCEDURES

 

            Section 1.         Record of Official Action

            Section 2.         Recommendations by Committees

            Section 3.         Publication of Official Actions of Commission

                        a.         Signatures and Commission Stationery

                        b.         Minority Reports

            Section 4.         Other Communications

            Section 5.         Dissemination of Information

            Section 6.         Community Involvement

            Section 7.         Commissioner’s Rights/Responsibilities

                        a.         Office Access

                        b.         Records and Files

                        c.         Review of Financial Information

                        d.         Review of Checkbook and Bank Statements

                        e.         Majority, Concurring and Minority Reports

 

SECTION VIII          AMENDMENTS

 

            Section 1.         Required Procedure and Voting

 

 

BY-LAWS approved by a vote of 7 to 0 at a public meeting held on January 9, 2012. 

 

 

BY-LAWS

OF THE

CHEVY CHASE

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 3/4G

 

 

ARTICLE I - NAME

 

            There is established by an act of the Government of the District of Columbia, the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3G, District of Columbia Government in Chevy Chase, hereinafter referred to as the Commission and known as ANC 3/4G.  The boundaries of ANC 3/4G are as follows:

 

From the corner of 41st Street and Western Avenue, NW Northeast on Western Avenue (extended) to Rock Creek, Southward following Rock Creek to Military Road, West on Military Road to 27th Street, South on 27th Street to Broad Branch Road, Northwest on Broad Branch Road which becomes Nevada Avenue to Nebraska Avenue, Southwest on Nebraska Avenue to Reno Road, and Northwest on Reno Road (which becomes 41st Street) to Western Avenue.

 

 

ARTICLE II - DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

 

Section 1.

            The general purpose of the Commission is to communicate the views and represent the interests of every neighborhood within its boundaries to the Government of the District of Columbia.

 

Section 2.

            The activities, duties and responsibilities of the Commission shall be those specified in DC Code Section 1-207.38 and 1-309.01  et seq.

 

 

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP

 

Section 1.

            The Commission shall be composed solely of those persons duly elected and certified by the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics or duly appointed in accordance with the law to its single member districts.

 

Section 2.

            Members shall serve without compensation.

 

Section 3.

      All members shall have equal voting rights following the principle of one person, one vote. A Commissioner may vote in person or in absentia at any meeting of the Commission.  A Commissioner voting in absentia shall submit a vote in writing (including by e-mail or facsimile), executed by the Commissioner, to the Secretary or other officer of the Commission authorized to tabulate votes, before or at the time of the meeting wherein the vote is held.  The in absentia vote shall specifically indicate the agenda items and motion(s) to which it is addressed.  The in absentia vote shall be effective when so received by the tabulating official of the Commission.  A vote in absentia has the same effect as if the Commissioner had voted in person, except that it shall not affect the declaration of a quorum.

 

Section 4.

            A quorum for the conduct of business, including internal organization and election of officers, shall be a majority of the elected Commissioners.

 

 

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS

 

Section 1.

            The Commission shall elect a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and such other officers as may be necessary from among the Commission members and may be offered as a slate. The offices of Secretary and Treasurer may be held by the same person.

 

Section 2.

            The election of officers shall take place in January of each year.  Nominations for each office shall be made only by the Commission members.  There shall be no limit as to the number of such nominations.

 

Section 3.

            When nominations are closed, the election shall take place by open vote and will be conducted by a designated member of the Commission who has not been nominated.  The person who has received a simple majority of the votes cast shall be elected to that office.

 

Section 4.

            Voting for each office shall be concluded before the floor is opened for nominations for another office, except when officers are offered as a slate pursuant to Article IV, Section 1.

 

Section 5.

            In the event that there is no simple majority after the first ballot, there shall be a run-off election between the two candidates receiving the most votes.

 

Section 6.

            Officers shall assume office at the close of elections.  In the event of a vacancy, the person filling the vacant position shall serve out the term of the officers he/she replaced.

 

Section 7.

            Upon a motion by a Commissioner, after two weeks of prior notice to all Commissioners, a majority of the Commissioners may remove any officer of the Commission for cause.

 

Section 8.

            Vacancies among officers shall be filled at the next regular meeting of the Commission.  Nominations and elections shall occur in accordance with the election procedures set forth in these By-Laws.  In the case of a vacancy in the office of Treasurer, a special meeting of the Commission shall be held within seven (7) days of such a vacancy to select a new Treasurer.

 

Section 9.

            The Chairperson shall serve as a convener of Commission meetings and shall establish the agenda after consultation with Commission members.

 

Section 10.

            The Vice-Chairperson shall fulfill the obligations of the Chairperson in his/her absence and shall perform such other duties as may be delegated by the Chairperson.

 

Section 11.

            The Office Manager, under the Commission approved job description and at the direction of the Chairman, shall be responsible for the preparation of the minutes of all meetings of the Commission and for making the minutes available to all the members of the Commission.

 

            Minutes in draft will be circulated following meetings.  Any changes or corrections must be submitted prior to or at the next regular meeting during which final approval will be made.

 

Section 12.

            The Office manager, under the direction of the Secretary, shall be responsible for maintaining records of all Commission activities, serve as central repository of copies of records of all committees and task forces, and shall perform such other duties as may be required.  In the preparation of minutes, reports, etc., the Office Manager shall have the assistance of available Commissioners.

 

Section 13.

            The Treasurer shall conduct his/her office according to the regulations adopted by the Government of the District of Columbia.

 

Section 14.

            The Treasurer shall develop an annual fiscal budget request on forms to be provided by the Government of the District of Columbia.

 

Section 15.

            The Treasurer shall prepare, and the Commission shall approve, a quarterly financial report within thirty (30) days of the close of each fiscal quarter.  These reports shall be public documents and shall be available for public inspection.

 

Section 16.

            All checks drawn upon checking accounts and all withdrawal orders upon savings accounts of ANC 3/4G shall be signed by any two of the following four officers:  Treasurer, Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary. The Treasurer shall deposit all receipts (including the District allotments), except for any interest earned in a savings account, into the Commission’s checking account.  The Treasurer shall place any funds withdrawn from a savings account only into the Commission’s checking account

 

Section 17.

            The Chairperson and Treasurer shall be bonded.

 

Section 18.

            The Commission shall, by resolution approved by a majority of its members, designate one or more financial institutions within the District of Columbia as depositories of all Commission funds.

 

Section 19.

            The officers of the Commission are authorized to take action, in case of urgency and during the interim between regular meetings, on matters of budgetary or any other matter of significance.  A vote of three of the four officers is required for any such action.

 

 

ARTICLE V - MEETINGS

 

Section 1.

            All meetings of the Commission shall be open to the public.

 

Section 2.

            Special meetings of the Commission can be called by the Chairperson or upon request of any two (2) Commissioners.  The purpose of the special meeting shall be stated in the notice, and no other topic shall be discussed at that meeting, except by unanimous consent of the Commissioners at the beginning of the meeting.

 

 

Section 3.

      Any Commissioner may have an item placed on the agenda of a regular meeting by notifying the Chairperson in advance of that meeting. Constituent recommendations may be received at any time by a Commissioner or by the Commission in its office and shall be processed and considered as soon as practicable after receipt.  The Commissioner in whose single member district the constituent recommendation arose shall be responsible for assuring that the matter is placed upon the agenda of an upcoming Commission meeting or otherwise resolved.  Any such constituent recommendation may be referred to a committee or task force of the Commission as appropriate and in any event shall be acted upon by the Commission as soon as it has been reviewed and is ready for full Commission consideration.

 

 

Section 4.

            Meetings shall in general follow the parliamentary forms set out for conduct of business in “Robert’s Rules of Order”.

 

Section 5.

      Within and on the Agenda of each regular, public meeting convened by the Commission, the Commission will set aside an adequate portion of time to hear and consider the views of residents within the Commission’s geographic area and other affected persons, as provided in the DC Code.  The amount of time for the expression of community views shall initially be determined by the Chair in setting the Agenda and may be altered by a majority vote of the Commissioners in attendance; provided that (except as set forth in the following sentence), there shall be at least an aggregate of fifteen minutes during the discussion of all major Agenda items as they are taken up individually on the Agenda (and/or at other appropriate times during the meeting) for the expression of community views and opinions.  Due to particular, unusual exigencies of an Agenda or in the event that all attendees wishing to speak have already been heard, by majority vote the Commissioners may reduce the amount of time for public comments as necessary, but the Commission shall nevertheless at all times strive to include the maximum, feasible amount of time on its agendas to hear and consider the views of neighborhood residents.

 

ARTICLE VI - COMMITTEES

 

Section 1.

            Committees may be established through which the Commission can conduct its affairs, apart from its regular and special meetings.  These committees may be approved by a majority of the Commissioners at any time.

 

 

Section 2.

            Every committee or task force shall include at least one Commissioner as a member in the conduct of its affairs.

 

Section 3.

            All committees established by the Commission are open to participation by citizens.  Committees may elect such officers, as they shall determine to be necessary to the conduct of their affairs.  Committee officers shall hold office coterminous with those of the Commission.

 

Section 4.

            Chairpersons of committees shall be formally designated following election by active members of those committees or after consultation with Commission members, by the Commission Chairperson.

 

 

ARTICLE VII - PROCEDURES

 

Section 1.

            All official actions of the Commission shall be recorded in full in the minutes of regular or special meetings.  An adequate record of activities and recommendations of committees shall also be maintained, along with the Commission decisions with reference to such matters.

 

Section 2.

            Committees shall receive materials and act on requests from the Commission as a whole, and may develop additional information as needed in order to make recommendations to the Commission.  Committees shall not act on behalf of the Commission, or represent their recommendations as official Commission policy to others, without having obtained formal authorization of the Commission.

 

Section 3.

            a.         All official notices of positions or decisions taken by the Commission as a whole with respect to proposals submitted to it by City agencies or for any other purpose shall be made on Commission stationery, signed by the Chairperson, or if unavailable, the next ranking officer, the next most senior Commissioner (in tenure), or a Commissioner designated by the Commission.  When the Chairperson intends to decline to sign, this should be indicated no later than before the adjournment of the meeting at which the position or decision is taken.

 

 

            b.         Commissioners are entitled to submit a concurring or minority opinion, in case they take a different position from the Commission majority vote.  Concurring or minority opinions may be submitted with the majority opinion on ANC 3/4G stationery, provided said opinions are clearly indicated as concurring or minority and submitted to the ANC 3/4G office in time to be submitted with the majority opinion.

 

Section 4.

            Other communications by individual Commission members (i.e. requests for information, inquiries on behalf of constituents, etc.) on Commission stationery will be properly identified as personal and distinguished from official notices.  Copies of all such communications by Commission members will be filed with the Office Manager and will be kept as part of the record of Commission-related activities.

 

Section 5.

            The Commission will seek to ensure the widest possible dissemination of information to its area’s citizens as to meetings, policies, and activities.

 

Section 6.

            The Commission shall continually strive to involve all segments of its area’s population in its deliberations and activities.

 

Section 7.

            Each Commissioner shall have the right to:

 

            a.  access to the Commission office and be provided a key to said office (which is for Commissioner use only and must be returned upon completion of term of office).  Commissioners will comply with established office procedures;

 

            b.  review all Commission records and files;

 

            c.  review all income and expenses of the Commission including appropriate invoices and receipts;

 

            d.  review the check book and bank statements of the Commission; and

 

            e.  be notified of the time for submission of Commission majority, concurring, and minority opinions.

 

 

ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS

 

Section 1.

            Amendments of these By-Laws requires a vote of five (5) of the Commissioners at a regular meeting with at least two (2) weeks prior notice to each Commissioner of the proposed amendment.