Constitution

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Constitution of the Daniell Heights Residents' Council

June 2005

ARTICLE I- Name

This organization shall be known as the Daniell Heights Residents' Council.  Hereafter the organization shall be known as the DHRC.

ARTICLE II- Objectives

A.  To provide service for the community, represent the residents to management, and contribute to building the community.

1.  To sponsor events that members can participate and organize.

2.  To provide a social network for members of the Daniell Heights community.

ARTICLE III- Membership

A.  Qualifications

1.  The council shall consist of any adults who are currently residents of Daniell Heights.  Adult is defined as a person who is at least 18 years of age or is a Michigan Tech student.

2.  In compliance with the Michigan Technological University’s Board of Control Equal Opportunity Policy effective 12/9/05, the DHRC will not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, height, weight, or marital status.  The DHRC must also be committed to the policy of not discriminating against disabled individuals or veterans.

B.  Removal of Members

1.  A member may be dissociated from the organization on the grounds of abusive behavior or behaviors destructive to the DHRC and/or its purpose.

2.  Removal will require a 2/3 majority of those voting.

C.  Any member of the Daniell Heights Resident’s Council is eligible to vote and hold office.

ARTICLE IV- Officers

A.  Officers:

1.  President

2.  Vice President

3.  Secretary

4.  Treasurer  

B.  Officer Qualifications

1.  Any member of the Daniell Heights Residents' Council is eligible to be elected an officer of the Council.

C.  Term of Office

1.  Nomination of officers will take place at the March meeting and be voted on at the April meeting.   Nominations may be made proir to the March meeting by contacting the Assistant Director.  Nominations will be closed at the end of the March meeting.  Nominations at the March meeting will be taken in the following order: Preseident, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer.

2.  Old and new officers will chair the summer meetings together.

3.  New officers will begin their term in office immediately following the election and will serve through the election at the following April meeting.

D.  Elections

1.  A simple majority is required for election of officers.

2.  In the event that an officer resigns, an election will be held within one month’s time to fill the vacancy that exists.

3.  Absentee ballots must be typed up and in the Office within five days after the meeting where nominations took place.  Anyone wishing to vote should sign his/her name in a register indicating that he/she has taken an absentee ballot.  If a person cannot get to the office to pick up an absentee ballot themselves, they may have another Daniell Heights resident pick one up for them; that person must co-sign the register along with the person’s name for whom they picked up the ballot.  Ballots will be placed in a ballot box in the Office and will be brought to the meeting by the Assistant Director or an officer that is not running for an office.  Casting absentee ballots must be completed and in the voting box or suggestion box by the time of the meeting that the voting takes place.

E.  Officers Duties:  All officers shall attend regular monthly officers meetings.

1.  President:  The president shall preside over meetings and organize committees.  S/he shall vote only to break a tie vote.  The President must check the council’s mailbox in the Daniell Heights office at least one day before the meeting.

2.  Vice President:  The vice president shall preside over the office of the president when the president is absent and is responsible for chairing at least one committee during her/his term.  The vice president shall take meeting minutes in the absence of the secretary.

3.  Secretary:  The secretary is responsible for meeting minutes and for chairing at least one committee during her/his term. The secretary shall provide the Daniell Heights office with a copy of the updated Constitution by the first meeting in October of the fall term.

4.  Treasurer:  The treasurer shall keep records of all expenditures, and other financial matters which shall include presenting a financial report monthly.  S/he will prepare a budget after the April council meeting with the assistance of the incoming treasurer. 

5.  Officers will propose a calendar of activities for fall through summer to be presented at the May meeting.

F.  Filling Vacancies:

1.  Vacancies are filled by holding elections at the next available meeting.  Nominations will begin upon vacancy and be open for no less than one weeks.  Absentee ballots shall be available after nominations are closed and will be available for no less than one week before the election.

2.  The president can appoint an interim to an office until the special election takes place.

G.  Impeachment:

1.  An officer may be removed from office on the grounds of malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance of their duties.  The impeachment must be brought up and voted on at two consecutive meetings and passed at each meeting by a ¾ majority of those voting (not including abstaining votes).

H.  Advisor:

1.  The advisor for the DHRC will be the Assistant Director of Apartment Housing and Life.

ARTICLE V- Committees

A.  Standing Committees

1.  The Christmas Bazaar committee shall present a list of possible charities to the entire DHRC for a vote to determine who shall receive the profits from the bazaar.  The committee shall provide a number of charities to which the money can be donated.  There shall be at least two more charities than the total number of charities that money can be donated to.

2.  Standing committees will be officially dissolved and removed from the DHRC Constitution automatically after not having members in a committee for two years.

B.  Special Committees will be formed as needed

1.  A sign-up sheet shall be passed around at the monthly DHRC meetings where members can sign-up on a committee for special events as outlined in the budget.

2.  Special committees exist only as long as events last.  However, the committee will have the option of forming a standing committee if they wish to organize a series of special events throughout the year.

ARTICLE VI- Meetings

A.  Regular scheduled meetings shall be held at least once a month, September through May, and thereafter as required.

B.  All meetings shall be guided in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, subject to changes established in the Constitution and By-Laws.

C.  Agenda for each meeting shall be displayed where all members can view it prior to the opening of the meeting.

D.  Since it is impossible for 2/3 of all residents to come to the meetings, a quorum is not necessary to vote.

E.  A 2/3 majority of those voting (not including abstaining votes) is required to pass any minor business.

F.  Money proposals, except as specified in By-Laws, must be brought up and voted on at two consecutive meetings and passed at each meeting by a 2/3 majority of those voting (not including abstaining votes).

G.  Residents wishing to vote absentee may do so in writing.  S/he must sign her/his name and apartment number and give it to the secretary in the Daniell Heights Office by 4:30 p.m. the day the meeting voting takes place.

H.  The minutes of the meetings must be posted on the website no later than seven (7) days following that meeting.  Extra copies of the minutes should be available at each meeting for members to review before the meeting begins.

ARTICLE VII- Constitution

A.  Adoption

1.  This constitution must be ratified by a two-thirds majority of the membership at two consecutive meetings.

2.  It will take effect when approved by the Office of Student Activities or its designated representative.

B.  Amendments

1.  Any voting member may propose any amendment.  This proposed amendment must be in writing and presented at a regular meeting.

2.  Members must be notified that a vote will take place on an amendment at least one week prior to the meeting at which the vote is to occur.

3.  A vote on said amendment shall be taken at the next regular meeting to allow membership to discuss and/or debate the pros and cons of the amendment.  A two-thirds majority of those members present at the meeting is required for passage.

BY-LAWS

1.   The budget for each year (12 months) from October through September, must be planned prior to, and presented at the first meeting of the fall term and voted upon at the second meeting of the fall term.

2.   Interchanging of the budget funds over $100.00 must be proposed at and voted upon at one meeting and voted upon again at the following meeting.  Interchanging of budget funds up to and including $100.00 per proposed item may be proposed and voted on at one meeting.

3.   All proposals shall be in writing and submitted to the President or put in the DHRC mailbox prior to the meeting.  If a proposal is brought up during a meeting, the person who brought it up should consult the President as to the correct wording of the proposal.

4.   Any submitted and signed proposals shall be counted as a “yes” vote for said proposal if the resident cannot be present at the meeting. 

5.   Any revenue generated by any activity will be added to the Daniell Heights Resident’s Council checking account.

6.   At the end of Fall and Summer terms, unspent funds, other than those in the long-range projects account, will be divided so that 50% will be deposited in the Council savings account to be used for long-range projects.  The other 50% will be used as needed.

7.   If deemed necessary by the DHRC President, a discretionary fund of $100.00 will be budgeted for the year.  Any expenditure from this fund must be presented to the DHRC at the next monthly meeting.  The fund will then be once again increased to $100.00 if the DHRC agrees that the expenditure was necessary and wise.  The purpose of the discretionary fund will be to allow the DHRC President to take care of any financial request which must be dealt with prior to the next DHRC meeting. 

8.   Flyer Runner- The council hires from a list of runners to deliver any flyer that    the Council needs delivered.  The pay will be $20.00 for the entire Daniell Heights.  $4.00 will be paid for each additional set of flyers delivered.  $10.00 will be paid for each set of flyers delivered that are one per building.

9.   Sports Equipment- The Sports Equipment Manager will store the sports equipment in the DHRC sports equipment cabinet in his/her building.  Sign out procedure for equipment will be as follows:  Names, address, Phone number, and proof of ID (apartment key).  Equipment will be checked out by Daniell Heights residents ONLY. Equipment sign out will be for two days, and those who keep the equipment out longer than two days will be charged a fee of one dollar for each day the equipment is late.  The money collected will go into a special fund for purchasing new sports equipment.  (Does not include summer specials)

10.     Kayak Procedure- Procedure and checkout are to be implemented as per instructions on appropriate sign-out documents.

11.     Community Room Cleaning- Community room cleaning list will be added to the contract in the fall by the Assistant Director.  The Council also voted to buy the cleaning supplies.  The coordinator of an event held in the Community Room shall be held responsible for cleaning the room after their event.

12.     Community Room Use- If a Daniell Height resident wants to hold a class in the Community Room, open ONLY to Daniell Heights residents, then they will not be charged rent for the room.  If a Heights resident or someone from outside Daniell Heights should want to use the room to teach a class for free, open to the public, they must convince the Council that doing so will benefit the Daniell Heights community.  The Council will then decide if they should be allowed to hold the class, and under what Council conditions, rental fee being among the conditions, the activity will be allowed.

13.     Activity Flyers- The President is allowed to give approval to the Council for a flyer to go out regarding an activity discussed at a previous meeting.

14.     DHRC Property Procedure- If someone has received property of the DHRC, and has not returned it in the time allotted, a letter will go out to the person telling them what they are responsible for.  A copy of this letter will also go to the Assistant Director of Daniell Heights.  If the item is not returned in one week, another letter will go out to the resident, along with a copy to the Assistant Director.  After another week the matter is turned over to the Assistant Director to deal with by charging the rent bill for the amount to replace items.

May 2007 – Grammatical updates only

October 2007 – Added paragraph H under Article VII about DHRC Advisor and other small updates that do not impact the sense of the constitution.

August 2008 – Grammatical and format updates made.  Changes also made to Article III, Section A, Subsection 1; Article IV, Section C, Subsection 1; Article IV, Section C, Subsection 3; Article IV, Section E, Subsection 2; Article IV, Section E, Subsection 4; Article IV, Section E, Subsection 5; Article IV, Section E, Subsection 1; Article V, Section A, Subsection 2; By-Laws 9; and By-Laws 11.