Dimond Neighborhood Oakland, CA

[danielswafford]

Beat 22X
Dimond, Oakmore, Lincoln Heights,
Woodminster, Montera
Neighborhood Coalition for Positive Change
By-laws
Ratified by the General Membership June 2, 2008

1. NAME
The name of the organization is the “22x Neighborhood Coalition for Positive Change”. The organization serves Oakland Police Beat 22X in Oakland, California. The boundaries are approximately between Dimond Park and Coolidge Avenues and from Highway 580 to the vicinity of the Warren Freeway. See the Oakland Police Beat 22X map


2. PURPOSE
To help prevent crime, promote public safety and enhance the quality of life in Community Policing Beat 22X.


3. MEMBERSHIP
Section 1
Membership is open to all residents of Beat 22X and to community groups and merchants sensitive to community needs and interests, including but not limited to: business groups, merchant associations, merchant employees, Neighborhood Watch groups, school and parent-teacher associations, church groups, labor unions, youth groups and property owners located within the boundaries of the beat. All valid participants have the right to one vote on issues before the Council.

Section 2
The organization shall have a steering committee to manage the business of the Council, consisting of the officers, at-large members and authorized representatives of the communities that comprise Beat 22X, including but not limited to Dimond, Oakmore, Lincoln Heights, Montera and Woodminster.

Section 3
As necessary the organization may also devise committees, known as Neighborhood Action Groups (NAG), devoted to the issues of the Beat ranging from, but not limited to, crime, traffic, and beautification.


4. OFFICERS
The Council shall elect members of the Steering Committee at the annual meeting. The Steering Committee slate shall be presented to the Council by the Nominating Committee and consist of 10 neighborhood representatives, with at least 1 representative from each of the five neighborhoods (Dimond, Oakmore, Lincoln Heights, Woodminster, and Montera), and 3 merchant members, one from each of the three business districts (Dimond, Oakmore, and Woodminster). The Steering Committee will determine which of the 13 Steering Committee members will hold the positions including, but not limited to, the following: Chair, Co-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer,.. The election of officers shall take place at the first meeting of the Steering Committee following each annual meeting of the Members. Vacant positions will be filled by special elections as necessary.

Chair: The chair shall preside at meetings of the Council. S/he shall monitor the time, adhere to the established ground rules of the Council, follow the agenda and provide equal opportunity for all participants to speak. The Chair shall delegate specific areas of responsibility to the Co-Chair and whatever other officers the Council may designate.

Co-Chair
The Co-Chair shall assist the Chair and assume the duties of the Chair when s/he is absent or the position is vacant.

Secretary
The secretary shall record the minutes of the General Meeting and record all votes of the members. S/he shall also keep a current list of the names and addresses of active members and perform correspondence and other duties as director by the Chair.

Treasurer
The Treasure shall monitor and keep records of funds, accept donations on behalf of the Council and prepare reimbursement requests as necessary.

Nominating Committee
The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of candidates to the Council. The Nominating Committee will consist of 5 members appointed by the Steering Committee and consist of 2 members of the Steering Committee and 3 members of the Council. The Merchant Associations or Groups from each of the three respective business districts will determine the merchant representatives for the candidate slate.

Compensation
No Director shall receive compensation for any services rendered to the Association. However, a Director or member may be reimbursed for his reasonable actual preapproved expenses incurred in the performance of his duties as a Director of the Association.

5. MEETINGS
The Council shall conduct one annual meeting per year in the month to be determined, open to all members following notification to every address in the beat. It may conduct other General Meetings during the year as needed, but shall hold a minimum of four such meetings annually.

Regular meetings of the Steering Committee should be held monthly; provided, however, if the Board should determine that the business to be transacted by the Committee does not reasonably justify monthly meetings, then regular meetings of the Committee shall be held at such intervals as the Committee may determine but not less frequently than once every three (3) months. Neighborhood Action Groups shall meet on an as-needed basis. All meetings of all types shall be open to the public and all will be held after a minimum of 15 days notice of the time, place and purpose of the meeting to the Council membership and the public at. Meetings are to be conducted according to standard parliamentary procedures, such as those described by “Roberts Rules of Order: The Latest Edition.”

The following Ground Rules shall govern participants’ conduct at all meetings:

• Always issue an agenda
• Begin and end meetings on time
• Have a commitment toward positive action
• Respect all opinions and agree to disagree when necessary
• Participate as much as possible
• Respect meetings hosts, leaving meeting places as clean as they
were found
• Have fun

6. QUORUM
At least 10 members, including at least the Chair or the Co-Chair, must be present to conduct official business at all Council Annual or General Meetings.

7. AMENDMENTS TO BY-LAWS
The By-laws may be amended at any General Meeting of the Council. Members must be notified at least 30 days in advance of the proposed amendment. For the purpose of changing the By-laws, a quorum shall be increased to 15 members.

8. ADOPTION OF BY-LAWS
These By-laws were adopted on June 2, 2008 by the membership of the 22X Neighborhood Coalition for Positive Change