FLINT PUBLIC LIBRARY

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

BY-LAWS

 

ARTICLE I

INCORPORATION AND NAME

Section 1.  This organization was formed by Agreement between the City of Flint and the School District of the city of Flint, County of Genesee, dated October 1, 1998, (the “Agreement”).

Section 2.  In accordance with the terms of the Agreement, this organization shall be called the Flint Public Library.

 

ARTICLE II

MEMBERSHIP

Section 1.  In accordance with the District Library Establishment Act (MCL 397.171 et seq.) (the “Act”) and the Agreement, the Board of Trustees of the Flint Public Library shall consist of seven (7) members, three (3) of whom shall be appointed by the City and four (4) of whom shall be appointed by the School District.  An individual appointed as a member of the Board shall be a qualified elector of the Party which appoints the member on the date the appointment is made and a resident of the District Library district.  The terms of the initial appointees shall begin the Effective Date and shall end on September 30 of the year shown below. Thereafter, each appointee shall serve for a term of three (3) years beginning on an October 1 and ending on the September 30 occurring three calendar years later.

 

Terms of Initial Appointees

APPOINTING PARTY	TERM ENDING SEPTEMBER 30
School District appointee #1	1999
School District appointee #2	2000
School District appointee #3	2001
School District appointee #4	2001
City appointee #1	1999
City appointee #2	2000
City appointee #3	2001

Section 2.  In accordance with Section 8(2) of the Act, the Governor of the State of Michigan shall have the power to remove a member of the District Library Board for cause, pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 of Article V of the State Constitution of 1963, as amended.  Vacancies shall arise in the event of the removal by the Governor, resignation, death, conviction of a felony, in the event a member ceases to be a resident of the District, or otherwise as provided by law.  In the event of a vacancy, the Party which appointed the member of the District Library Board whose position has become vacant shall appoint a replacement therefore within 2 months of the vacancy who shall serve until the end of the term of the member being replaced.  In the event no such replacement shall have been appointed by the appropriate Party at the end of such 2-month period, the District Library Board shall have the power to appoint such replacement, whose term shall extend to the end of the term of the District Library Board member being replaced or until an appointment is made by the appointing Party, whichever comes sooner. The appointee shall be a resident of the Party which appointed the member being replaced.

Section 3. Members shall be expected to attend all meetings. In the event that a member of the Board of Trustees is absent from three (3) or more of the general meetings called pursuant to Article VI hereof during any fiscal year (July 1 through June 30 of the following year), the remaining members of the Board of Trustees, by a simple majority vote of the Trustees present, may request the resignation of such member.

The following notations will be listed in the minutes regarding Board attendance at meetings: 

• Present
• Absent with notification
• Absent without notification

Section 4.  A person shall not be re-appointed to the Board of Trustees if that person is a current Board member and has already served nine or more consecutive years on the Board. 

Section 5.   Nominating Committee:  The Flint District Library Board of Trustees may appoint a Nominating Committee consisting of three sitting Flint District Library Trustees and two other Flint City residents.  The Nominating Committee will deliberate and propose to the Flint District Library Board of Trustees the nominee(s) to recommend to either the Flint Board of Education or the City of Flint.  The nominee(s) will fill the Trustee position(s) that will be vacated due to term expiration or resignation.  Proposed nominations will be presented to the Flint District Library Trustee Board on or before the regular Trustee meeting in June of each year or within three (3) months of a resignation or vacancy.

ARTICLE III

POWERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Section 1.  The Board of Trustees may exercise any and all of the powers granted to it in the Act.  The Board may delegate such powers to the Officers of the Board and/or the Library Director as it deems necessary.

Section 2.  The Board of Trustees shall have the exclusive control of the budget of the Flint Public Library.

Section 3.  Until a district-wide millage proposed by the Board has been approved by the electors of the District, the fiscal year of the Flint Public Library shall be the annual period commencing July 1 and ending the following June 30, provided that the initial fiscal year shall commence the date of the Agreement and shall end July 30, 1999.

Section 4.  The Flint Public Library Board shall prepare and publish an annual budget in accordance with the Uniforms Budgeting and Accounting Act, being Act No. 2 of the Public Laws of Michigan of 1968, as amended

ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS

Section 1.  Officers of the Board shall be President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Section 2.  The officers shall be elected for a term of one year at the October meeting of the Board.

Section 3.  Vacancies in office shall be filled by the Board at the next regular meeting of the Board following the occurrence of a vacancy, except for the office of President, in which case the Vice-President shall assume the duties of the office for the unexpired term.  A successor Vice-President shall be elected to fill the vacancy so created in that office.
 

ARTICLE V

DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

Section 1.  The President shall preside at all meetings, authorize calls for any special meetings, and generally perform the duties of a presiding officer.  The President shall appoint each committee chair with the approval of the Board.  Up to three Board members can volunteer to serve on any committee.  If more than three Board members wish to serve on a particular committee, the President shall decide which three Board members will serve, with the exception that the Treasurer always serves on the Finance, Budget and Policy Committee.  The committee chair shall be responsible for appointing all other committee members who are not Board members.  The power and authority of each committee must be granted in writing with the approval of a majority of the Board. 

Section 2.  In the absence of the President, the Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President.  In the case of the resignation, removal, disability, or death of the President, the Vice-President shall assume the office for the unexpired term.

Section 3.  The Secretary of the Board shall see that a true and accurate account of all proceedings of the Board meetings is kept.  In compliance with any requirements of state law regarding the holdings of meetings, the Secretary shall issue notices of all regular meetings, and, on the authorization of the President, of all special meetings, and shall have custody of the minutes and other records of the Board of Trustees.  With the approval of the majority of the Board, the Secretary may delegate any of these responsibilities to the Library Director.

Section 4.  The Treasurer shall have charge of the funds of the Flint Public Library, providing for their sage custody and investment as directed by the Board, subject to limitations for investment of public funds as provided by law.  The Treasurer shall control expenditures

from the Library fund through a system of vouchers presented by authorized personnel.  A record of all moneys received or deposited to the Library fund, and all disbursements, sales and transfers from the fund shall be kept by the Treasurer, and reported monthly to the Board of Trustees at its regular meeting.  In addition, the Treasurer shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed for him or her by State or Federal law and these-by-laws.  With the approval of a majority of the Board, the Treasurer may delegate any of these responsibilities to the Library Director.

 

ARTICLE VI

MEETINGS

Section 1.  The annual meeting of the Flint Public Library Board shall be held each year in the month of July.  At the annual meeting, the Board shall determine the months, the dates and hours of the regular meetings of the Board for the year.  Within ten (10) days following the annual meeting a notice shall be posted in a public place setting forth the dates, times, and place of all regular meetings scheduled for the ensuing year.  Any changes to this schedule, as required, shall be posted in the monthly announcement of the regular meeting.

Section 2.  Special meetings may be called by the President or upon written request of two Trustees, provided eighteen (18) hours of notice is given of the time and purpose for which such meeting is called.  The announcement of a special meeting at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall be sufficient notice of such meeting.  Trustees not present at the time of announcement of such special meeting shall be notified by the Secretary.

Section 3.  Notices of regular meetings with agenda shall be posted in a public place and shall be distributed by the Secretary to all members at least three (3) days before the meeting.

Section 4.  The agenda for regular meetings shall include but not be limited to:

                                    Call to order and attendance

                                    Approval of agenda

                                    Approval of minutes

                                    Public comment

                                    Financial Report, including approval of expenditures

                                    Director’s report

                                    President’s and Committee reports

                                    Adjournment

 

Section 5.  A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of four (4) members of the Board.

Section 6.  Any Board action, to be official, must be approved at an official Board meeting by a majority of the qualified members of the Board.

Section 7.  In case of emergency, if Board action is needed when the Board cannot meet, with concurrence of the President, members may be polled individually by a Board member or by the Library Director.  An effort shall be made to contact all Board members.  Official confirming action shall then be taken at the next Board meeting.

Section 8.  The Board shall use Robert’s Rules of Order (most current edition) as guidelines for the conduct of meetings.

 

ARTICLE VI

MEETINGS

Section 9.  The procedure for public comment at Board meetings shall be as follows:

1. Members of the public who wish to address the Board should sign up on the Public Comment list before the meeting is called to order.
2. Persons will be allowed to address the Board in the order in which they signed up to speak. After these persons have spoken, the President, at his/her discretion, may open the comment period to other speakers within the stated time limits.
3. An individual addressing the Board, upon being recognized by the President, will state his/her name, whether he/she is a resident of the City of Flint, and the name of any group he/she is representing.
4. All public comments must be addressed to the Board President. The President may question speakers but is not obligated to answer questions or make statements or commitments in response to issues raised by the public.
5. There will be a three-minute time limit per individual, unless otherwise ruled by the President.
6. Written comments and other materials brought before the Board by speakers will be accepted during the “Public Comment” period and will be made available to the Board.
7. Employees of the Board and representatives of employee organizations and/or unions must exhaust administrative procedures before addressing the Board on matters for which administrative review is provided.

 

Section 10.  A request by the public to place an item on the Board agenda must be made to the Board President or Library Director at least ten (10) days in advance of the meeting at which it is desired to have the item discussed. The request should include a concise statement of the matter to be brought before the Board, along with any background information available which may be provided to the Board in advance of the meeting.

The Board President, in consultation with the Library Director, shall determine whether or not the matter is an appropriate agenda item for that meeting or a future meeting. The Library Director shall notify the person making the request whether or not the item will be placed on the agenda. If the item is placed on the agenda, the person making the request shall be allowed a reasonable amount of time to present or discuss the issue.

Section 11.  Photographing, broadcasting and recording of the public Board and Board committee meetings shall be permitted except when, in the judgment of the Board, the use or proposed use of any camera or recording device will be an unduly disruptive influence upon the proceedings. All recording devices including microphones will be kept in the area designated for the public, unless otherwise permitted by the Board.

 

ARTICLE VII

AMENDMENTS

Section 1.  These by-laws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Board by a majority vote of all members, provided the amendment was presented in writing at the previous regular meeting.

            Adopted by the Flint Public Library Board at its special meeting on February 4, 1999.

            Amended by the Flint Public Library Board at its meeting on December 4, 2008.

            Amended by the Flint Public Library Board at its meeting on January 7, 2010.

            Amended by the Flint Public Library Board at its meeting on October 14, 2010. 

            Amended by the Flint Public Library Board at its meeting on December 2, 2010.

            Amended by the Flint Public Library Board at its meeting on April 5, 2012. 

            Amended by the Flint Public Library Board at its meeting on April 4, 2013.