MONMOUTH COUNTY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION
ARTICLE I: NAME
This organization shall be known as the “Monmouth County Human Relations Commission,” and shall be referred to subsequently as the “Commission” or “MCHRC.”
It was established as a result of several community-based meetings with technical and resource assistance provided by the Jersey Shore Chapter of the “National Conference of Community and Justice,” now known as the “American Conference on Diversity. It was officially recognized by The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders on April 12, 1990 by Resolution No. 90-274.
ARTICLE II: MISSION
A. To monitor the trends of bias and discrimination within Monmouth County, working in collaboration with law enforcement and key community stakeholders.
B. To advocate for residents, communities, and organizations who are targets of bias and discrimination in the county.
C. To educate concerned citizens, business leaders, and key community stakeholders about these trends and their impact on the quality of life for Monmouth County residents.
D. To partner with organizations that work within targeted communities to proactively address area concerns around bias and discrimination.
E. To proactively support efforts that prevent and combat bias and discrimination within Monmouth County.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
The Commission shall consist of Monmouth County leadership representing government officials, law enforcement, clergy, community individuals/organizations, corporate and educational sectors and members-at large who comprise interested persons and Municipal Human Relations Committees representatives.
A. Overview: It is the intention of the Commission that henceforth the appointment of all new members and the filling of any newly-created vacancies shall be governed by the rules and provisions of, the membership provision of the bylaws.
B. Voting Members: All persons who are active through their attendance at scheduled meetings and participation in the activities of the Commission via their involvement on Standing and Ad-Hoc Committees are permitted to vote. (See Article IX for Membership Rules).
C. Non-Voting Members: These are members that are not subject to the attendance requirements of voting members, but are individuals and organizations that may participate as issues present themselves.
D. New members may become active on the MCHRC in one of two ways:
1. The prospective member shall write to the MCHRC to express interest and explain the rationale for representation on the Commission. Prospective members will complete and submit an application form to the Membership Committee, who will review for consideration by the membership at a future meeting.
2. Upon recommendations of the Membership Committee, the MCHRC may solicit memberships that will be helpful in attaining the goals and objectives of the Commission, following the same process for prospective members.
ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS
A. Chairperson – The duties of the presiding officer are as follows:
The chairperson shall preside at all meetings;
The chairperson shall solicit volunteers to serve as chairperson for each of the committees. If there are no volunteers, the chairperson shall select and request that a person to serve as chairperson. All chairperson positions are subject to the approval of the Full Commission.
The chairperson shall be an ex-officio member of all committees, except the Nominating Committee.
B. Vice Chairperson - The duties of the vice chairperson shall be to preside at meetings in the absence of the chairperson. . The chairperson should give the vice chairperson as much advance notice as possible. The vice chair may be assigned special duties as determined by the Chair.
C. Secretary – The duty of the secretary is to be responsible for the keeping of records of Commission meetings. Minutes are written, legal records of an organization and may be subpoenaed. Additional duties include:
Maintain the minutes and attendance sign in sheets of the commission;
Notify members of regular and special committee meetings;
Notify members who are being removed from the commission;
Be the keeper of all official records, such as the official Membership Directory;
Keep a current copy of the bylaws listing any revisions, amendments or other special adoptions; and,
Establish whether the Commission has a quorum at the start of each meeting. (A quorum is one-fourth of the membership).
D. Treasurer – The duties of the treasurer shall be as follows:
Be responsible for the funds spent;
Maintain a written report of all monies spent;
Submit a brief written report at all official meetings;
Receive all bills and present them to the Commission for payment;
Prepare a budget for the organization in collaboration with the appropriate administrator of the county. The budget should be introduced and discussed at the November/early December meeting;
In the absence of the general chairperson and the vice chairperson, the treasurer shall preside at the full commission meeting.
Note: If all three officers are absent and a quorum exists, the group may elect a person to preside from the members present.
E. Chairperson Emeritus: All previous chairpersons should be available to the present chairperson to assist in any way the chair requests.
F. Vacancy: If a vacancy occurs for any reason, the chairperson shall have the power to appoint another member of the Commission to the unexpired term or until a new officer is elected, subject to commission approval by a majority vote at a regular or special meeting called for that purpose.
ARTICLE V: COMMITTEES
A. Membership Committee – The Membership Committee shall consist of three to five members of the Commission. The duty of the committee is to solicit applicants for membership on the Commission.
Upon completion of the MCHRC application form and interview, the committee shall review the information submitted and make a written or oral report to the Full Commission.
B. Officer Nominating Committee – The Nominating Committee is elected at the September meeting. It shall consist of three to five members in good standing. The committee shall determine who will serve as its chairperson at its first called meeting, which should be at the convenience of all committee members. The nominations will be emailed to all members at least 30 days before the November/early December meeting.
The duty of the Nominating Committee shall be to present a slate of officers at the November/early December Commission meeting to be voted on at that meeting, as the last order of business.
Further, upon completion of the Nominating Committee’s report, the Full Commission may call for additional nominations from the floor or the Full Commission may wait until just prior to the voting to call for any further nominations from the floor.
C. Teasley Award Committee—This Committee serves to select the annual Earl T. Teasley Humanitarian Award. It will consist of three voting members and will meet as needed to review the applications for the award presented at the June meeting. It will also be responsible for developing a program for the award.
D. Standing Committees: The Commission has established four committees to assist in the operation of the Commission:
1. Communications
2. Police and Community Relations
3. Programs
4. Education
The Commission is not limited to the above and from time to time may create additional committees. These additional committees shall be referred to as ad-hoc committees. Ad-hoc committees will dissolve upon completion of its assignments or tasks.
ARTICLE VI: EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
The chairperson shall be the only person to communicate externally on behalf of the Commission. Written communications shall be submitted to the Communications committee before release. Individual commissioners should not include commission affiliation in expressing their individual views.
ARTICLE VII: TERMS OF OFFICE
Officers may serve more than one term.
The term for officers and chairpersons of standing committees shall be for a period of two years, which commences at the next scheduled meeting following the Annual Meeting in November/early December.
The general chairperson may re-appoint any standing and Ad-hoc committee chairpersons.
ARTICLE VIII: QUORUM
In order for the Commission to carry on any business at a regular commission meeting or an executive committee meeting, there shall be present, no less than one-fourth of the general membership at the start of the meeting. The secretary shall ascertain if a quorum exists. If during the meeting the quorum is lost then no further business will be conducted.
ARTICLE IX: MEMBERSHIP RULES
A. Members in good standing shall be entitled to one vote.
B. Removal of a voting member of the Commission:
A member may be removed from the Commission whenever sufficient cause exists as follows:
If a member misses four (4) consecutive Commission meetings
If a member fails to actively serve on a Standing Committee; and/or
If the Commission determines ‘just cause’ by majority vote;
C. Procedure for Removal of a Voting Member:
The secretary shall write to the inactive member asking for reason(s) for the inactivity.
If no answer is given or any commitment made to become active, the secretary shall write to the organization or group, if any, informing it of the member’s inactivity and request the name of a replacement, who will be given the MCHRC membership information packet and complete an application just for background information.
A member shall not be removed from the membership rolls of the MCHRC unless at a majority of the members present shall vote in favor of the removal at a Full Commission meeting or a Special Meeting called for that purpose.
ARTICLE X: MEETINGS
5 Commission Meetings, with Standing and Ad-Hoc Committees meeting as needed.
A. January- Review of the annual bias incident/crime report from the prosecutor’s office, and begin programs for the year.
B. March-Community information forum based on leading topics identified in bias report and developed by the Program Committee. Feature invited speaker/community leader. Proposed budget adopted.
C. June-Teasley humanitarian award ceremony.
D. September-Community Program and other outreach.
E. November/early December-Annual Program Planning, subject to approval by the membership, and year-end report. The proposed budget will also be reviewed. Annual meeting report. Vote on new officers.
A. Commission Meetings -
Commission meetings shall be held on the first Monday in January, March, June, September and November/early December unless circumstances require that a different date be chosen.
The location shall be at a place designated by the chairperson. All meetings and forums shall be held at locations accessible to people with disabilities.
The secretary shall provide notice to all members and leave signs to the effect of any proposed change on the door of the original meeting location.
B. Annual Meeting -
The annual meeting of the Commission shall be held at the regular scheduled November/early December meeting.
C. Meeting Notices -
The secretary shall notice all members in good standing not less than seven (7) days or more than fourteen (14) days before the scheduled date of any meeting. The secretary shall also send a yearly schedule of meeting dates. The schedule shall cover the calendar year and Full Commission dates. The yearly schedule shall be posted on the MCHRC Web site. Meeting notices, etc., may be sent by e-mail, as suggested by the county attorney.
D. Special Meetings -
Special meetings of the Commission may be called by the general chairperson or at the written request of not less than seven (7) commissioners.
Process: The request for a Special Meeting must be in writing at least fourteen (14) days before the requested date or by vote taken at a Full Commission meeting. The request should be forwarded to the Commission secretary, who in turn notices the general chairperson, officers and members in good standing. The site, date, time and agenda should be included in the notice.
No other business, except that specified in the notice of the meeting shall be transacted at a special meeting.
The same number of Commission members needed for a quorum at a regular meeting to start is required for a special meeting, which is one-fourth of the membership.
ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENTS
The bylaws of the commission may be altered, amended or repealed by an affirmative vote of not less than two-thirds of the members present at a meeting of the Full Commission. Notice of such amendments to the bylaws must be mailed to all commission members at least thirty days prior to the meeting at which the voting will take place.
THESE BYLAWS ARE APPROVED BY THE MONMOUTH COUNTY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION ON OCTOBER 2, 2017.