ARTICLE I
NAME
1. The name of this organization shall be The Sound Beach Civic Association, Incorporated.
ARTICLE II
MISSION STATEMENT
1. The mission of this Association shall be to protect the mutual interest and to advance the common welfare of its members and the residents of Sound Beach, Suffolk County, New York.
ARTICLE III
MEMBERSHIP
1. Membership shall be open to all bona fide residents, business owners, and property owners within the Hamlet of Sound Beach who have reached the age of eighteen.
2. Annual family dues shall be determined by the Board. Those joining after October 1st will be validated through the next calendar year.
3. An individual shall be determined to be a member in good standing if membership dues are current and that individual has been a member for at least three months.
4. No member shall have the authority to act on behalf of the Civic Association without the express written permission of this Association.
ARTICLE IV
GOVERNMENT
1. The general management of the affairs of the Association shall be vested in the Board of Directors, who shall be elected as provided in the By-Laws. There shall be seven (7) members of the Board of Directors (5 officers, 2 voting board members).
2. The officers of the Association shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Membership Chair, who shall be elected from the Board of Directors.
3. The President shall be a member, ex-officio, of all committees.
4. A member of the Board of Directors who shall, without reasonable excuse (such as illness, emergency, or vacation), fail to perform the duties of the office as stipulated in Article VIII or who is absent for three (3) consecutive executive meetings or three (3) consecutive association meetings may be removed from that position by a majority vote of the Board of Directors or a majority vote of the membership present at a meeting of the Association. The vacancy shall be filled as per Article VII, Section 1.
Under special circumstances, a Board member may be granted a specified leave of absence. This would not alter the term of office, and the Board member is still empowered to vote even as he or she is missing meeting after meeting during the leave of absence.
ARTICLE V
MEETINGS
1. Regular monthly meetings of the members of the Association shall be held on the second Monday of each month at such time and place as shall from time to time be designated by the Board of Directors.
2. Emergency meetings of members may be called by the President and shall be scheduled as soon as practical with notification of time, place, and purpose made by whatever means available. At such emergency meetings there shall only be considered the business specified in the notification of the meeting.
3. At all meetings of the Association, either regular or special, ten (10) members in good standing plus four (4) Board members shall constitute a quorum.
4. If a quorum is not present, the presiding officer may adjourn the meeting to a day and hour fixed by the presiding officer.
5. Meetings of the Board of Directors shall be called by the President on the President’s own initiative whenever in the President’s judgment it may be deemed necessary or by the Secretary upon request of any two members of the Board of Directors.
6. Five days notice of meetings of the Board shall be deemed sufficient notice.
7. Meetings of the Association shall not be recorded (visual/audio) without prior permission of the Board.
ARTICLE VI
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
1. The Directors of the Association shall be elected at the July meeting by a ballot vote. Voting privileges shall be limited to two members in good standing per household. Each member in good standing shall be entitled to one vote for each director to be elected and the candidates receiving the most votes cast shall be declared elected. In the event that there is only one nominee for an office the ballot vote shall be suspended and the nominee shall be elected by unanimous consent. In the case of a tie, a revote shall be held immediately.
2. The directors shall be elected for a three-year term with one-third of the officers’ terms expiring each year. Then, upon expiration of each term of office, a Director shall be elected for a full three-year term.
3. The Board of Directors shall elect from among their number a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Membership Chair. The meeting of the Board of Directors to elect officers shall be held within one month following the July meeting of members and officers so elected shall preside for one year or until new officers are elected.
4. There shall be a nominating committee which shall consist of the Vice-President as Chair and one other member elected by the members at the May meeting. In the event that the Vice-President is a nominee, a substitute Chair will be chosen at the President’s discretion.
5. No person shall be elected to the Board of Directors unless that person is a full-time resident of Sound Beach, is a member in good standing, and has attended a minimum of three (3) meetings during the fiscal year.
ARTICLE VII
VACANCIES IN OFFICE
1. If a vacancy occurs in the Board of Directors, the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term by the Board of Directors, at their discretion.
ARTICLE VIII
DUTIES OF OFFICERS
1. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association and of the Board of Directors and shall appoint such Committees as the President or the Association shall consider expedient or necessary. The President shall decide all questions of order and call all special meetings.
2. In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall perform those duties.
3. The Secretary shall keep the minutes of all meetings of the Association and shall read such minutes at each meeting for approval. The Secretary shall generate correspondence of the Association as the Board of Directors considers necessary.
4. The Treasurer shall keep accurate account and collect all dues and perform such other duties as may be required by the By-Laws or the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall have charge of all receipts and monies of the Association, shall deposit them in the name of the Association at a local bank, and shall disburse funds as ordered or authorized by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall keep regular accounts of the receipts and disbursements, submit records when requested, and give a financial accounting at regular meetings of the Association. At the President’s discretion, the President or Treasurer shall sign checks and withdrawal slips on behalf of the Association upon any and all of its bank accounts, and the same shall be honored on these signatures. Each July and/or change of the Treasurer, the Treasurer’s books of the Association shall be audited by the Board of Directors.
5. The Membership Chair will mail out notices and keep records of the membership, including a roster of the members in good standing.
ARTICLE IX
DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
1. The Board of Directors shall have general charge and management of the affairs, funds, and property of the Association. They shall have full power and it shall be their duty to carry out the purpose of the Association according to the By-Laws.
2. The Board of Directors may appoint such Committees as they may deem necessary or advisable.
3. The Board of Directors meeting may be held at any place designated by the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE X
FISCAL YEAR
1. The fiscal year of the Sound Beach Civic Association shall be from January 1st to December 31st.
ARTICLE XI
AMENDMENTS
1. The By-Laws of the Sound Beach Civic Association may be amended by two-thirds of the members in good standing in attendance at any regular membership meeting or at any emergency meeting called for that purpose, provided that written copies of the proposed changes shall be given to each member at the previous month’s meeting, where said amendments were open to discussion by the membership. The changes become effective immediately upon passing.
2. Cost of reproduction of sufficient copies of proposed By-Law Amendment shall be borne by the Sound Beach Civic Association.