The Charter Revision vote has concluded, the motion passed to revise the Seattle Branch Charter and the new charter is displayed below.
2008
BRANCH CHARTER - SEATTLE
Section I ‑ Name
The name of this branch of The Mountaineers shall be: The Mountaineers-Seattle Branch.
Section II ‑ Authority
This branch governing document is adopted pursuant to the authority granted by Article VII of The Mountaineers Bylaws. The governing instruments of the Seattle Branch shall be the current Mountaineers Bylaws and this branch governing document. This branch governing document shall not be inconsistent with the current Mountaineers Bylaws. Any changes to this branch governing document which become necessary solely for the purpose of reflecting current amendments to The Mountaineers Bylaws or Policies may be made by the branch governing body without resort to the procedures for amendment set forth in Article IX. Any such changes shall be considered to have taken effect as of the effective date of the corresponding amendment to The Mountaineers Bylaws or Policies.
Section III ‑ Purposes
The purposes and mission of the Seattle Branch shall be those of The Mountaineers.
Section IV ‑ Membership
Membership in the Seattle Branch is open to all current members of The Mountaineers upon request. In the event that no branch is specified or requested, the Seattle Branch shall be the assigned branch. Classification and privileges of members, including eligibility to vote and hold office, shall be the same as those established for The Mountaineers.
Section V ‑ Officers, Council, and Management
1 The Officers of the Seattle Branch shall be a Chair, Chair-elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and the Board Representative. The Officers and all serving Activity Committee Chairs or their designee(s) shall constitute the Branch Council.
2 The Branch Council [hereafter usually “Council”] shall, to the extent consistent with The Mountaineers Bylaws, this branch governing document, and the powers herein reserved to the Branch members and the Branch activity committees, be solely responsible for the governance of the Branch, including but not limited to making rules and determining policy for the Branch and its programs and property, managing the budget and controlling the expenditures of the Branch, and acting to further the interests, mission, and purposes of the Branch in support of the well-being and fulfillment of its membership.
3 There shall be an Executive Committee of the Council consisting of the Chair, Chair-elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and the Board Representative. The Executive Committee shall sit in the stead of the full Council when emergency, timeliness, or other special circumstances require such action to protect the best interests of the Branch. Any appointments made or actions taken by the Executive Committee shall require ratification by the full Council at the next regular meeting.
4 The Council may create, restructure, or dissolve such administrative committees as may appear necessary or desirable for carrying out the purposes and programs of the Branch, appoint officers and members of such committees, and delegate to such committees appropriate powers and duties, except that no such committee shall displace any activity committee, as described in Section IX of this document, from operating within its appropriate sphere of activity.
Section VI ‑ Duties of Officers/Voting
1. The Chair shall preside at all regular and special meetings of the Council and at any meetings of the Executive Committee. The Chair shall serve as spokesperson for the Branch, shall insure that the Chair-elect is prepared to assume the duties of the Chair, and shall perform any other duties prescribed herein. The Chair shall represent the branch at all regular meetings of the Mountaineers Managing Committee.
2. The Chair Elect shall act as Chair during the temporary absence or disability of the Chair and shall prepare to succeed to the office of Chair as forth in Article VI. Except for good cause, the Chair elect is expected to attend all meetings over which the Chair presides.
3. The Secretary shall be the recording officer of the Branch and shall be the custodian of all Branch records, correspondence, and reports other than those for which the Treasurer is responsible. The Secretary shall prepare and distribute written agendas for all regular and special meetings of the Council and shall take, maintain, and distribute to the Full Council in a timely fashion minutes of all Council and Executive Committee meetings. With the assistance of any ad hoc committees the Chair chooses to appoint, the Secretary shall organize elections of Officers and voting on proposed amendments, including preparing, distributing, collecting, and counting ballots and recording and announcing the results.
4. The Treasurer shall insure that procedures are established and properly operating for the collection and disbursement of all funds for which the Branch is responsible and shall make periodic and annual reports concerning the same. The Treasurer shall assist in the preparation of and receive and review the budgets proposed by the activity committee chairs for the next fiscal year and shall combine them into a Branch budget proposal. The fiscal year shall run from October 1 to the following September 30.
5. The Board Representative shall serve as the Seattle Branch Trustee of The Mountaineers Board of Trustees. In addition to the duties of a Branch Trustee set forth in The Mountaineers Bylaws, the Board Representative shall represent the Seattle Branch at the meetings of The Mountaineers Board of Trustees and shall render a report of the Board’s activities to the Seattle Branch Council.
6. Each Officer, Activity Committee Chair or designee in attendance and the Safety Officer are entitled to vote on any matter coming up for decision at any regular or special meeting of the Council and each member of the Executive Committee is likewise entitled to vote at its meetings, with the exception of the Chair, who shall vote at meetings of the Council or the Executive Committee only in the event of a decision whose outcome would be affected.
7. In order to provide for continuity of leadership, the terms of office for the Seattle Branch Officers shall be as follows: The term of each office shall be two years, beginning October 1 of the year elected and ending September 30 of the second year following, except for the Chair elect, who shall be elected annually. The Chair elect, after serving one year, shall succeed automatically to the office of Chair in the following year, serving a one year term as Chair. Should the Chair elect be unable or unwilling to succeed as Chair, then the Chair shall be nominated and elected in the same manner as the other Officers as provided in this Article, except the term of office for a Chair so elected shall be limited to one year.
8.
For purposes of
this provision, successive service as Chair elect and Chair shall be considered
as one term.
Section VII ‑ Election and Removal of Officers
1 A nominating committee for the election of officers shall consist of the Secretary and two non officer members of the full council. The Secretary shall maintain the official list of nominees for each office which is up for election. At the end of the nomination period, the Nominating Committee shall automatically dissolve.
2 By July 1, the Nominating Committee shall nominate two qualified Branch members who are willing and able to serve for each position coming up for election at the next annual election. In the event that no nominees are found, the Chair may nominate officers, subject to Council ratification, for the coming term(s)
3 A qualified Branch member who is willing and able to serve may also be nominated for any position by means of a petition submitted to the Nominating Committee or the Branch Secretary by August 1. Such petitions must bear the signature of at least ten Branch members in good standing.
4 The non-officer members of the Council will elect the Branch Officers from those nominated for each position
5 No Officer shall be removed prior to the expiration of the applicable term of office except as follows. The process of removal may be initiated only upon a two thirds vote of the Council, with the affected Officers counting only toward the quorum. Removal may only be voted for good cause shown at a meeting called for that purpose, with electronic notice of that purpose sent to all Council members.¬ Failure to attend three consecutive meetings, unless excused by the Chair, or majority vote of the Council if the Chair is affected, shall be considered one of the acts or omissions constituting good cause for removal.
Section VIII ‑ Meetings
1 Regular meetings of the Council shall be held bi-monthly in odd-numbered months or more frequently as the Council may determine. The Chair or any two other Officers may call for a special meeting in advance of the next regularly scheduled meeting with ten days due notice to the Council members. In the circumstances prescribed in Section V, Paragraph 3, the Chair or any two other members of the Executive Committee may call for a meeting of that committee with due notice to its remaining members. Five non-officer members, plus two officer members, of the full Council, or any three members of the Executive Committee, shall constitute a quorum of the Council or the Executive Committee, respectively. A quorum must be present for a vote on any matter. Regular meetings of the Council shall be announced in advance and a proposed agenda made available by a suitable means of publication. Members interested in presenting or commenting upon agenda items shall be accommodated within reason on the time and space available, but the Council shall be entitled to maintain order of its meetings and control of its meeting schedule.
2 When required or in case of questions of points of order, the current edition of Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall provide guidance subject to The Mountaineers Bylaws, this Branch Charter and any Standing Rules of Order established by the Council for governing its affairs.
Section IX ‑ Activity Committees/Safety Officer
For the purpose of furthering the desire of Branch members to pursue selected types of activities and programs not inconsistent with the mission and purpose of The Mountaineers, including the offering of coursework and instruction emphasizing the safe and skillful enjoyment of such activities and programs, Branch activity committees shall be formed as follows:
1 A new activity committee may be created by the Council when presented by Branch members with a petition consisting of the signatures of 20 branch members in good standing and proposed charter. If, after an examination of the facts and circumstances, the Council concludes that the interests of the Branch and its members will be served thereby, the council will, by majority vote, approve the formation of the new activity committee.
2 Each such committee shall have its sphere of interest, activity, or program and other purposes, powers, duties, and reporting relationships defined and documented in the form of a committee charter or other appropriate committee governing documents. So long as not inconsistent with The Mountaineers Bylaws, this governing document, and other applicable Mountaineers’ and Seattle Branch Council policies, each committee is authorized to govern itself and to manage participation in the program or activities within the scope of its charter, including but not limited to adoption and amendment of an appropriate structure, governing documents, and other appropriate rules, regulations, policies, and procedures, selection of a chair and other officers and committee members, management of its budget and control of its funds and expenditures, and enforcement of its rules of fair and consistent disciplinary procedures.
3 Each Activity Committee Chair, or designee, and the Safety Officer shall be a voting member of the Council. Committees with co chairs shall designate one of them to be the voting chair. Activity Committee Chairs may also be removed by majority vote of the Council upon a showing of good cause after a prompt and timely due process hearing by the Council.
4 The Council is empowered to resolve issues involving conflicts or questions arising between, among, or within activity committees, to rule upon petitions from Branch members or other program or activity participants allegedly aggrieved by the failure of any committee to follow its own rules, by any asserted inconsistency between a committee practice and a controlling Mountaineers or Seattle Branch policy or procedure, or by the failure of any committee to provide an appropriate disciplinary or grievance process. The Council may delegate its authority in the foregoing respects to an appropriate administrative committee or to the activity committee chairs for resolution at their regularly scheduled meetings. In the latter case, only the chairs of unaffected committees shall participate in any resolution of the matter at issue.
5 The authority of an activity committee to manage its own funds and budget is subject to the duty to submit a proposed annual budget to the Branch Treasurer, to make such financial reports to the Council or Treasurer as the Council may reasonably require, and to the Councils authority to adopt an overall budget and to control the funds and expenditures of the Branch in their totality.
6
The
Branch Safety Officer shall be a member of the Council and represent the Branch
on the Board of Trustees Safety Committee, as outlined by Board Policy 322. This
policy established a branch Safety Committee to standardize safety practices,
concepts and awareness at the branch and activity level. The Branch Safety
Officer will be appointed and removable by the Branch Chair, subject to
ratification by the Seattle Branch Council. Each term will be two years
with no term limits.
Section X ‑ Amendments
Amendments to this Branch Governing Document may be proposed in either of the following ways: by petition by any member of the Branch or by majority vote of the Council.
1 Any Branch member may propose an amendment to the branch governing document by presenting the text of the proposed amendment together with a petition supporting such amendment to the Branch Secretary. The petition of support must be signed by at least twenty Branch members in good standing. The Secretary shall then present the proposed amendment and the petition to the Council at its next meeting. The Council may accept the proposed amendment following presentation, if two-thirds of those voting find the amendment appropriate. If the Council does not accept the amendment, the Secretary will report the reasons given therefore to the proposer.
2 Any individual Officer, Council Member or any committee appointed by the Council may also propose an amendment to the branch charter via the Council. The proposed amendment must be presented to the Branch Secretary, who shall then present the proposed amendment to the Council at their next meeting. The Council shall vote on the proposed amendment no later than the first meeting following its presentation. A two-thirds vote of the Council is required to enact an amendment.
Governing Document of the Seattle Branch Amended via Ballot December 2001.
Branch Charter-Seattle – Amended via Ballot December 2005.
Branch Charter-Seattle – Amended via Ballot November 2008.