Green Forest Utility District

ARTICLE I 

Name of District

The name of the organization is the Green Forest District, (hereinafter, the District), Texas Water Utilities Association (T.W.U.A. or Association).

Relationship to the Texas Water Utilities Association

Having been created within the organizational structure of the Texas Water Utilities Association, the District shall function as a subsidiary unit of the Association and comply with the provisions of the T.W.U.A. Bylaws and Policies and Procedures Manual.

Geographical Boundaries

The District shall include that area described as follows: Montgomery, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity, and Walker counties.

Regional Affiliation

The District lies within the Southeast Region of T.W.U.A.. The District shall be a functioning activity of the Region and shall send representatives as prescribed in the Bylaws of T.W.U.A. to the meetings of the Governing Body of the Region.

ARTICLE II

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of the District is to promote public health and maintain environmental quality through the encouragement of professionalism among water utility operators; the training and education of persons in the field; the exchange of information and ideas; and the maintenance of a high level of performance standards among water utilities personnel. 

The objectives of the District shall be directed to the fulfillment of the organizational purpose through the application of the following policies and actions:

• Support T.W.U.A. in the accomplishment of its programs by disseminating information, responding to inquiries, performing administrative and management activities involving the Interrelationship of all T.W.U.A. functional levels.
• Hold meetings at intervals of frequency which satisfy the training needs of the District members.
• Plan, develop and conduct special training events (all day meetings, seminars, workshops, etc.) independently or in concert with Regional Schools for the benefit of District members and/or other members of T.W.U.A..
• Maintain records of attendance for each member of the District and transmit the formation to the T.W.U.A. Central Office for inclusion in the permanent records.
• Send records of District training programs and special events to the T.W.U.A. Central office for permanent record.

ARTICLE III

Membership

The membership of the District shall consist of individual and organizational members.

1. Individual Members shall be classified as follows:

• Active Members will be a superintendent, manager, official or employee of a municipal,

          private or other waterworks or wastewater system, engineer, scientist, or any qualified

          person engaged in operation of management or interested in the knowledge of water

          and wastewater.

• Student Members will be students that are enrolled in a college or university on a full-time

           (12 semester hours) basis.

• Honorary Members are those members who have been given special recognition for

          outstanding achievement and valuable service to T.W.U.A., the District or the Water Utilities

          Industry. Honorary members have the same privileges as Active Members. Upon

          meeting the requirements of the Honorary Membership application and approval by

          two-thirds vote of those voting at any meeting shall have their District and T.W.U.A. dues

          paid by the District treasurer.

2. Organizational Members

• Organizational Members shall include organizations involved in service, supply, or

          consultation with regard to water utilities and also those having an interest in at least one of

          the stated objectives of the District. Organizational members shall designate one individual

          as their representative who shall be entitled to receive the benefits and exercise the rights

          and privileges of an individual member. The representative may be changed upon written

          notice from the organization to the Secretary/Treasurer of the District.

• Organizational members may also include those categories of membership established in

          the T.W.U.A. Bylaws, ARTICLE II, B.

• Membership in the District shall require membership in T.W.U.A..     

• Membership shall be contingent upon payment of the District and Association dues.

ARTICLE IV

Governance

Officers

The officers of the District shall be the President, President-Elect, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer and Immediate Past-President.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall be composed of the officers of the District. The Committee shall be empowered to act for the membership in the management of the general business affairs of the District, but is subject to the approval of the District for any action taken. The Executive Committee is responsible for planning and executing the activities of the District, overseeing the projects, pursuing the goals and objectives herein set forth and maintaining close communication with the Association. The Committee shall meet at least four times each year. The President shall preside at all meetings. If the President is absent the President-Elect shall preside The presence of three member at a meeting of the Executive Committee constitutes a quorum.

Duties of the Officers

1. The President shall preside at the meetings of the Executive Committee and the general membership of the District. The President shall appoint the members of all District committees and name the committee chairman. The President shall serve as a non-voting, advisory members of all District committees. The President shall serve as the District's representative to the Board of Directors of T.W.U.A. and the Governing Body of the Region. The President should attend all meetings of these elements of T.W.U.A., but, if unable to do so, a proxy should be appointed in writing to assure District representation at a meeting.

2. The President-Elect shall serve in absence of the President and carry out the duties of that office as necessary. The President-Elect shall serve as the Chairman of the Nominating and Awards Committee.

3. The Vice-President shall assist the President and serve as the Chairman of the Program Committee.

4. The Secretary-Treasurer shall attend all meetings of the Executive Committee and the District and record the minutes. The Secretary-Treasurer shall record attendance at all meetings and training events; collect membership dues; forward T.W.U.A. dues to the Executive Director; notify members of meetings and special events; maintain the financial records of the District and serve as the Chairman of the Finance Committee; submit to the Executive Director of T.W.U.A. the record of member attendance at all meetings where training credit is granted; prepare an end-of-year financial report to be forwarded to the Executive Director of T.W.U.A. and in general comply with all of the reporting provisions of the T.W.U.A. Policies and Procedures Manual. The Secretary-Treasurer will be covered by a surety bond in an amount established by the Executive Committee. The annual premium for the bond will be paid by the District.

5. The Immediate Past-President shall provide advice and assistance to the President and serve as District Parliamentarian.

Election of Officers

1. The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of nominees for the District offices of President-Elect, Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer at the October meeting. Other nominations for these offices may be received from the floor of the meeting provided the candidates have given prior consent to serve if elected. The current President-Elect shall be elevated to the office of President for the following year upon the approval of the majority of the membership present at the October meeting. If approval is not achieved, nominations for the office of President shall be received and placed on the ballot. The annual election of District officers shall be completed during the November meeting. The Secretary-Treasurer shall report the election results to the Executive Director of T.W.U.A. prior to December 1 of the current year.

2. The casting of votes may be accomplished through the showing of hands, by voice or by written ballot. Each office shall be voted on separately. The candidate receiving a majority of the votes for a particular office shall be declared elected. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a run-off election will be held between the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes. The candidate receiving the majority of the votes in the run-off election shall be declared elected.

Term of Office

The term of office for all officers shall be two years on a rotating basis beginning on January 1 of the year following their election. Beginning January 1, 2002, the Vice President and Treasurer will serve until January 1, 2003. The President and Secretary will serve until January 1, 2004.  Thereafter the terms will be two years, with two officers elected each year.

Vacancies in District Offices

A vacancy in a District office may be created by death, resignation or the removal of an officer for a good cause.

The removal of an officer before the expiration of their term of office shall be approached with extreme caution and concern for both the well-being of the individual and the District.  An officer may be removed for not fulfilling the duties of the office to which he/she was elected; for the lack of respect or blatant disregard for a professional ethical standard; or a violation of civil or penal law resulting in a conviction. In any case, the procedure for removal must originate in the Executive Committee, either through its own initiative or by the petition of two-thirds of the members of the District. The charges against the individual must be clearly stated, supported by fact and discussed with the officer during an executive session of the Executive Committee where ample opportunity will be provided for a response to the charges. Both the Executive Committee, acting for the District, and the officer being charged may seek the advice of legal counsel and be assisted during the procedures by their respective attorneys. If the charges cannot be confirmed during the executive session, then the charges shall be dropped and the officer shall remain in office for the remainder of the elected term. If the charges are sustained during the executive session, the officer should be given the opportunity to voluntarily submit a letter of resignation. If the officer does not choose to resign and the Executive Committee approves a proposal to remove the offending officer from office by the unanimous vote of the other officers of the District (the charged officer is not to be included in this vote), a copy of the proposal shall be mailed to each member of the District no less than 15 days prior to the next regularly scheduled District meeting. During the course of the meeting, the proposal will be considered and brought to vote. If the proposal is approved by a two-thirds majority of the members present, the officer shall be considered removed from office. If the motion for approval fails, the charges against the officer shall be dropped.

Officer Vacancies: should vacancies occur in any of the offices, the following procedure will govern:

     a. A vacancy in the office of President shall be filled by the President-Elect.

     b. A vacancy in the office of the President-Elect shall be filled by the Vice President.

     c. Should the office of Vice President become vacant during a term of office, it shall be the

         duty of the Executive Committee to elect a new Vice President for the duration of the

         unexpired term.

     d. If a vacancy in the office of Secretary-Treasurer occurs, the President shall immediately

         appoint a qualified member of the District to fill the vacancy for the duration of the unexpired

         term.

Committees

The Program Committee shall consist of at least three (3) members and shall assist the Vice President in planning and conducting programs for regular District meetings, seminars and workshops.

The Finance Committee shall consist of at least three (3) members and shall assist the Treasurer in the preparation of a District budget, the collection of dues and the administration of the financial affairs of the District.

The Nominating and Awards Committee shall consist of at least three (3) members. The Committee shall submit a report to the membership during the October meeting, naming the candidates to fill the offices for the ensuing year. Each candidate shall be an active, qualified member of the District who has agreed to serve, if elected.

The Committee shall seek out members whose performances have been outstanding and recognize their achievements through a District awards program. The Committee will also make recommendations to the President for member recognition in the T.W.U.A. Awards Program.

Special Committees may be formed by the President as needed, to direct effort to special projects or to assist in achieving certain objectives.

District Dues

The Finance Committee shall examine the fiscal needs of the District in the development of the annual budget. Based on these findings, the amount of the annual membership dues proposed for the following year shall be reported to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may approve or adjust the proposal and present it to the membership of the District for final approval no later than the October meeting.

ARTICLE V

Meetings

The District shall meet monthly at a date, time and location determined by the President with the assistance of the Program Committee. The monthly meetings shall generally conform with the following agenda:

1. Business Meeting

    a. Call to order

    b. Reading and approval of previous meeting minutes.

    c. Treasurer's report

    d. Old business

    e. New business

2. Program

    a. Introduction of program speaker and/or subject.

    b. Presentation of the program which is related to some aspect of water/wastewater

         with a minimum duration of 30 minutes.

    c. Program response time for questions and discussion.

3. Closing

    a. Final announcements

    b. Adjournment

All meetings of the District will be conducted in accordance with the most recent revision of Robert's Rules of Order. A quorum for a business meeting of the District shall be established as the presence of not less than 30% of the total District membership.  Committee quorums shall be set for the presence of a majority of the members of the Committee.

ARTICLE VI

Dissolution

In the event of the dissolution of the District, the assets remaining after the payment of debts of the District, will be distributed to the Association for its exclusive use in carrying out its objectives and purposes. The President of the Association may appoint a committee to investigate the causes for the termination of the District and submit findings and recommendations to the Association's Board of Directors.

ARTICLE VII

Amendment to the Bylaws

The members of the District may amend these Bylaws in any manner not inconsistent with the Bylaws of the District or T.W.U.A. by two-thirds vote of those voting at any meeting of the District or by sealed ballot, providing that either a copy of the proposed amendment has been mailed by the Secretary to each member of the District at least thirty (30) days prior to such meeting; or that the proposed change has been presented as an agenda item at the previous meeting and discussed. All amendments to these Bylaws must be submitted to the Executive Committee of T.W.U.A. for final approval.

IN WITNESS THEREOF:

The foregoing Bylaws for the Green Forest District of the Texas Water Utilities Association were unanimously approved for adoption by its members during a meeting held at New Waverly, Texas, on the 13th day of November, 2000 with 28 members present, to supersede all previous organizational documents (Constitution and/or Bylaws) effective immediately.

Carol Reed, President,

Green Forest District

Ronald Green, Secretary,

Green Forest District

APPROVED:

The foregoing Bylaws of the Green Forest District of the T.W.U.A. were approved and ratified by the Executive Committee of the T.W.U.A. on the 6th day of June, 2001 effective immediately.

Daniel C. Allen, Executive Director T.W.U.A.