BelmontNA Bylaws

Approved October 2006

ARTICLE I - NAME, LOCATION AND PURPOSE

The name of the organization shall be the Belmont Neighborhood Association (the "Association").

The boundaries for membership in the Association shall be the centers of Greenville Avenue, Ross Avenue, Skillman Avenue, Live Oak Avenue, and the alley between Belmont Avenue and Goliad Street.

The purposes of this civic, non-profit, non-partisan corporation shall be

To protect the residential integrity of the neighborhood,

To prevent unwanted commercial encroachment into the neighborhood,

To serve as a liaison between the neighborhood and governmental agencies,

To promote communication within the neighborhood and with other neighborhoods,

To promote and encourage the safety, improvement, beautification, and general quality of life in the neighborhood.

The Association shall be operated exclusively for such purposes as stated above. No part of the earnings of the Association shall inure to the benefit of any director, officer or member of the Association or any private individual. No substantial part of the activities of the Association shall be the attempt to influence legislation, by propaganda or otherwise. The Association shall not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distribution of statements) any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.

ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP, VOTING, DUES AND QUORUM

Membership in this association shall be open to all those over the age of 18 who reside within the stated boundaries of the Association.

There is no limit to the number of members per household.

Each member of the Association shall be entitled to one vote on each matter brought before the Association. Members may vote in person or by proxy except that no person may hold the proxy of more than one (1) other member. The proxy must be signed and dated by the absent member, and shall become a part of the record of the vote.

A neighborhood business may join the Association, but this business shall have no voting rights in the Association. The owner or employees of the business may join as members with voting rights if they reside within the stated boundaries of the Association.

The members present at any regularly scheduled membership meeting shall constitute a quorum.

Quarterly membership meetings shall be held in each month except December. A minimum of four meetings per year shall be business meetings. A maximum of three special meetings shall be of a social or educational nature.

Special meetings may be scheduled on any day of the month, at the discretion of the Board of Directors. A reasonable attempt shall be made to notify the residents of the date, time and location through the newsletter and website.

Whenever possible, when a policy vote of the membership is to be taken, a description of the item to be voted on shall appear in the newsletter preceding that meeting, but no action taken shall be invalid because of lack of such publication.

If time permits, all positions to be taken before public agencies on behalf of the Association must be voted on by members of the Association and if time does not permit, the item shall be presented to members of the Association for ratification at the next regular meeting.

Dues are set as $2.00 per eligible member per year.

ARTICLE III - OFFICERS

The officers of the Association shall be a president, vice president, a secretary, and a treasurer. All officers must be members of the Association.

Officers shall be nominated by a nominating committee and/or by nomination from the floor at the annual meeting to be held in September of each year. Officers shall then be elected by a majority vote of the members present at the annual meeting.

The nominating committee shall first consider the person holding the office of vice president as its nominee for the office of president. In the event that the vice president can not serve as president, the committee’s nominee for president shall be a current member of the Board of Directors, other than the president.

The term of office shall be one year (October - September) and until successors are elected or appointed and assume office. A vacancy in any office shall be filled by appointment by the Board of Directors. Removal of officers may be accomplished in the same manner as required to amend these by-laws, as set forth in Section 8.1. Officers may be removed because of action in violation of these by-laws, dereliction of duty or incompetence in office, misappropriation of funds, or misconduct in office.

The president shall preside at all meetings; shall conduct the day to day business of the Association and such matters as directed by the Board of Directors; shall serve as chair of the Board of Directors; and shall serve as general spokesperson for the Association.

The vice president shall act in the absence of the president, shall assist the president in the execution of business; and shall be responsible for securing a location for general meetings.

The secretary shall record the minutes of both general and special meetings and those of the Board of Directors; shall keep a register of meeting attendees and maintain correspondence records.

The treasurer shall have charge of the funds of the Association and shall pay all of the Association bills from those funds. The treasurer shall make a monthly Treasury Report in writing to the Board. The treasurer shall file all annual tax returns, both state and federal, and shall include a copy in that month’s report to the Board.

Expenditures of $50 or less may be authorized by the treasurer. Expenditures greater than $50 but less than $500 must be authorized by the majority vote of the Board of Directors. Expenditures greater than $500 must be approved by the general membership.

Exceptions to the approval limits will be the standard recurring fees and expenses that the membership has approved. These include but are not limited to: membership fees for the Dallas Homeowners League, the newsletter, and post office box rental. Reimbursement and authorized expenditures require a receipt, unless so specified by the membership.

A special spokesperson who may represent the Association on a specific topic may be appointed by the Board of Directors or the membership by a majority vote, or may be temporarily designated by the president in an emergency.

ARTICLE IV - BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Board of Directors shall consist of the president, the vice president, the secretary, the treasurer, and five members-at-large, all elected at the annual meeting.

The five members-at-large shall be nominated by a nominating committee and/or by nominations from the floor at the annual meeting to be held in November of each year. The Board of Directors shall then be elected and ratified by a majority vote of all members present at the annual meeting.

The Board of Directors shall have the power to conduct the business and manage the affairs of the Association on behalf of the membership between the regular meetings.

Regular meetings of the Board of Directors shall be as decided by the Board of Directors at its first meeting each fiscal year and no further notice shall be given. Special meetings of the Board of Directors may be called by any Director upon 24 hours notice to all Directors.

A quorum of the Board of Directors shall consist of a majority of the Board.

ARTICLE V - COMMITTEES

The standing committees of this Association shall be as follows: a Newsletter, Website and Advertising Committee; a Crime Watch / Safety Committee; a City Council Liaison Committee and a Code Compliance Committee. Ad Hoc committees may be formed as needed by a majority vote of the Board of Directors.

The committees shall elect their own chair by majority vote and any member of the Association may be appointed by the Board to serve on any committee.

The Newsletter, Website and Advertising Committee shall be in charge of publication and distribution of the monthly newsletter of the Association, and of maintaining the Association’s Internet website. The Committee shall include the newsletter editor, the distribution coordinator, the advertising coordinator, the webmaster and other members as required. At least one member shall be a member of the Board of Directors.

The Crime Watch / Safety Committee shall be responsible for promoting and encouraging crime watch / safety within the neighborhood.

The City Council Liaison Committee shall represent the Association to our representative at the Dallas City Council and speak on behalf of the Association on matters before the Council and its various committees.

The Code Compliance Committee shall be responsible for handling city code compliance issues affecting the neighborhood.

ARTICLE VI - THE NOMINATION COMMITTEE

The nominating committee, consisting of five members, shall be elected by the membership at the June general meeting. This committee shall elect its own chair. The president may not serve on the committee. It shall be the function of the committee to prepare a slate of nominees for the annual election.

ARTICLE VII - STANDARD AUTHORITY

The rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised, shall govern the Association in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws.

ARTICLE VIII - AMENDMENTS

Amendments to these by-laws (and removal of officers) may be accomplished in the following manner: (1) at any general membership meeting, a majority vote of those present shall determine that a revision shall be considered, (2) the proposed revision shall then be published in the next monthly newsletter, and (3) the proposed revision shall be enacted if it receives two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members present at that following general meeting.

Amended and approved by the membership October 2006.