ISWCDEA By-Laws
BY-LAWS OF THE
ILLINOIS
SOIL & WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION
ARTICLE I- NAME
The
name of the Association shall be the Illinois Soil & Water Conservation
District Employees Association (ISWCDEA).
ARTICLE II- MISSION
STATEMENT
We,
the ISWCDEA, are committed to providing quality information, communication,
education, training and representation to all district personnel. We as a team
will further promote legislative contact and continue cooperation with our related
agencies.
ARTICLE III- OBJECTIVES
The
objectives of the ISWCDEA shall be:
1.
Strengthen local Soil and Water
Conservation Districts (SWCDs) in the state
of Illinois.
2.
Provide assistance, information,
and support to SWCDs, employees, and their governing boards.
3.
Promote the professional
development of SWCDs and their employees.
4.
Assist the Association of
Illinois Soil & Water Conservation Districts (AISWCD), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS),
Illinois Department of Agriculture
(IDOA), National Association of Conservation Districts (NACD), and other
organizations deemed appropriate by the individual District Boards.
5.
Promote harmonious working
relationships within and among districts, and
between districts and cooperating agencies.
ARTICLE IV-MEMBERS
Section 1- MEMBERS, ACTIVE MEMBERS &
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS
The
members of the ISWCDEA shall consist of all the full-time and part-time
employees of the Illinois SWCD’s. Active Members shall consist of all full-time
and part-time dues paying members. Associate members are others who support the
employees association financially.
Section 2 – DUES
To
become an active member of the ISWCDEA, SWCD employees shall pay dues annually.
Dues for the ISWCDEA are $10.00 for employees and $10.00 for Associate members.
The amount of dues may only be changed at the Annual Meeting by a simple
majority of the active members (as described in Article IV Section 1) present
of the ISWCDEA. Dues must be paid by December 31 to be considered an active
member for the following year. A new hire has sixty (60) days following the
date of hire to pay dues and be considered an active member.
ARTICLE V-
REPRESENTATIVES
Section 1- REPRESENTATION
Members shall be
represented on the ISWCDEA Board by four District Employee representatives from
each of the five ISWCDEA regions (See map on the next page). Those 4 members may be made up of any discipline.
Section 2- ELECTION OF REPRESENTATIVES
Election
of regional representatives will take place at least 45 days prior to the
ISWCDEA Annual Meeting. Regional representatives must be selected from within
the region they represent. Regions 2 and 4 shall hold elections on even numbered
years and Regions 1, 3, and 5 shall hold elections on odd numbered years.
Representatives must be active members of the ISWCDEA (as described in Article
IV, Section 1). Active=Dues
paid
Section 3- TENURE AND VACANCIES OF REPRESENTATIVES
The
term of representatives shall be for two years and limited to no more than
three consecutive elected terms. If a representative should be unable to finish
their term, a new representative will be chosen by the remaining
representatives of the respective area.
Section 4- DUTIES
OF REPRESENTATIVES
Representatives
shall represent and vote according to the region they represent and as such
must maintain communication with members in their region. Representatives shall
provide agendas of upcoming ISWCDEA Board meetings and copies of the ISWCDEA
Board meeting minutes to all members in their region in a timely fashion.
Representatives
shall provide other pertinent information to members in their region, as it
becomes available. Representatives shall attend all meetings of the ISWCDEA
Board.
ARTICLE VI- ISWCDEA
BOARD
Section 1- ISWCDEA BOARD
The
ISWCDEA Board shall consist of twenty representatives (Article V, Section 1).
Representatives must be active members (as described in Article IV, Section 1).
Representatives
in attendance at ISWCDEA Board meetings shall make motions and vote
representing the members in their respective regions. Co-chairs may not vote
except in the case of a tie. Co-chairs
will evaluate the motion and a consensus of the Co-chairs will be made. Motion
fails if no consensus.
Section 2- NOMINATING COMMITTEE
The
nominating committee will consist of the immediate or most recent available
past Co-Chairs, two district employees and one ISWCDEA Board member. Any
current executive officer will not serve on the nominating committee. The two
district employees and one ISWCDEA Board member will be chosen by the immediate
or most recent available past Co-Chairs. Any person serving on the nominating
committee cannot be nominated for office. The nominating committee will present
a slate of nominees consisting of at least one representative for each office.
Section 3- ELECTIONS OF OFFICERS
At
the ISWCDEA Annual Meeting, a slate of nominees for office will be presented.
The nominees for Co-chair and Co-vice-chair will be from at least two
disciplines represented on the
board. The nominee(s) for Secretary and Treasurer will be representatives from
the ISWCDEA board. Nominations may also be made from the floor. Nominees for
officers shall be active members (as defined in Article IV, Section 1) of the
ISWCDEA. The active members (as defined in
Article IV, Section 1) present at the ISWCDEA Annual Meeting shall elect
officers for the board by a simple majority. All contested offices will be
determined by written ballot. The duties of
newly elected officers shall commence immediately following the close of the
ISWCDEA Annual Meeting.
Section 4- TENURE
AND VACANCIES OF OFFICERS
The term
of office shall be for one year. For the offices of Co-chairs, Vice Co-chairs,
and Secretary, the terms shall be limited to no more than three consecutive
elected terms to the same office. Due to the difficulty of transferring bank
accounts, the office of the Treasurer shall be allowed to extend for the full 6
years of the employees’ service on the ISWCDEA board, if said employee chooses
to do so. In the event of a vacancy in any office of the ISWCDEA Board, a representative
will be appointed by the remaining representatives on the ISWCDEA Board to serve the remainder of the unexpired
term. (Refer to Article VI, Section 3.) If a representative is eligible to
serve on the ISWCDEA Board (Refer to Article V, Section 1) then he/she will be
able to complete his/her term of office.
In the event the ISWCDEARC or AC Co-Chair’s Director is elected AISWCD
President or Vice-President, said RC or AC Co-Chair shall resign their position
but shall remain as a voting member of the ISWCDEA Board; the RC or AC
Vice-Chair shall then move into the vacated co-chair position.
Section 5- DUTIES
OF CO-CHAIRS AND CO-VICE-CHAIRS
The Co-chairs will preside at all meetings of the
ISWCDEA Board. The Co-chairs shall be empowered to appoint, at their
discretion, any person or committee to expedite the objectives of the ISWCDEA.
The Co-Vice-chairs shall have all the powers and perform all the duties of the
Co-chairs in the absence of the Co-chairs.
Section 6- DUTIES
OF SECRETARY
The
duties of the secretary shall be to send notices of upcoming ISWCDEA Board
meetings, to record and keep the minutes of all meetings and to provide copies
of all meeting minutes to each member of the ISWCDEA Board within 15 days
following a meeting.
Section 7- DUTIES
OF TREASURER
The
treasurer will be responsible for maintaining the financial records of the
ISWCDEA board. Expenditure of funds will require a majority vote of the ISWCDEA
Board. The treasurer will be responsible for payments from this account. Funds
will be maintained by the ISWCDEA. The treasurer will be responsible for
keeping a list of active members.
Section 8- ADVISORS
TO THE BOARD
The ISWCDEA shall be assisted by advisors
representing the AISWCD, IDOA-BLWR, NRCS, NCDEA and past ISWCDEA
Chairman/Co-Chairs, only if they are no longer serving on the board.
ARTICLE
VII- BOARD MEETINGS
Section 1-MEETINGS
The ISWCDEA Board shall hold a meeting at least
quarterly. Special meetings shall be held if deemed necessary.
Section 2 – QUORUM
The
quorum for the ISWCDEA Board meetings will be a majority of the seated representative positions.
ARTICLE
VIII – FINANCIAL
Section 1- FISCAL
YEAR
The
ISWCDEA fiscal year will follow the calendar year, (January 1 to December 31).
Section 2- DISSOLUTION
Upon
dissolution of the ISWCDEA, any unencumbered funds shall be divided equally and
be donated to the AISWCD Foundation and the Illinois Envirothon.
ARTICLE IX – ANNUAL MEETING
The
ISWCDEA Annual Meeting will be held in conjunction with Winter Training. Any
business that comes before the ISWCDEA Annual Meeting shall be voted on by
active members present (as described in Article IV, Section 1) of the ISWCDEA.
ARTICLE
X AMENDMENTS
By-laws
may be adopted and these articles of the ISWCDEA be amended by a two-thirds
majority vote of the ISWCDEA active members (as described in Article IV,
Section 1) present at a statewide meeting, provided that the copies of the
proposed by-laws or amendments are sent to all District Employees 30 days
preceding any statewide meeting. Amendments to the by-laws become effective
immediately upon the close of a statewide meeting.
ARTICLE XI- AMENDMENTS
Amended
January 1997
Amended
July 1998 (Article VI, Sec. 4.1)
Amended January 1999 (Article VI,
Sec. 1 and Sec. 2)
Amended December 1999
Amended
August 2000
Amended
August 2001
Amended
December 1, 2004 (Article IV, Sec. 1 and 2; Article V, Sec. 2 and 4; Article VI,
Sec. 3, 7, 8; Article VII, Sec. 1 and 2; Article VIII, Sec. 2; Article IX;
Article X; Article XI.)
Amended
July 30, 2007 (Article V, Section 3)
Amended
December 5, 2007 (Article IV, Section 2 and Article VI, Section 2)
Amended December 7, 2011 (Article IV,
Sec. 1; Article VII, Sec. 2)
Reviewed and
Approved by ISWCDEA Board February 14, 2013
Amended February 13, 2014
(Article VI, Section 2)
Reviewed
and Approved by ISWCDEA Board February 19, 2015
Amended December 5, 2017 (Article
V, Section 1)
Amended
December 8, 2021(Article V Section 1 & 2; Article IV)
Amended
December 7, 2022 (Article VI, Section 4)