East 40th And 41st Street Block Association

1st Draft of the Bylaws of the E40th & E41st Street Block Assn.

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ARTICLE I
Name
The name of the this non-profit organization shall be the East 40th & East 41st Street Block Association, hereinafter to be referred to as “the Block Association.”

ARTICLE II
Purpose
The purpose of this organization shall be:
A. To promote good Neighbors among the residents of the E 40th & E41st Street (between Kings Hwy and Flatlands Ave, Brooklyn), and among the residents of surrounding blocks.

B. To support activities that improve the quality of life for residents of E 40th and E 41st Street as well as the surrounding community.

C. To jointly seek solutions to the community problems that we all face.

ARTICLE III
Membership

Membership Classifications/Obligations
A. Any resident of the East 40th Street, East 41st Street and the surrounding blocks shall be entitled to membership in the Block Association regardless of homeowner or renter status.

B. Active Members are those residents who have paid Block Association dues and who have actively supported and/or participated in Block Association activities. An Active Member is entitled to vote on proposals at Block Association meetings, can run for an Executive Board office and can vote in elections of Executive Board members.

C. Inactive Members are those residents who have not paid Block Association dues and who have not supported or participated in Block Association activities. An Inactive Member is not entitled to vote on proposals at Block Association meetings, cannot run for an Executive Board office and can not vote in elections of Executive Board members.

D. All Inactive Members shall be encouraged to attend Block Association meetings and to become Active Members.

ARTICLE IV
Monthly Meetings
Block Association Meetings

A. The Block Association shall meet on the third Friday of every month(September through June)unless otherwise specified by the President.

B. Meetings shall be held at the Flatlands Reform Church Meeting Hall located at 3931 Kings Highway.

C. A quorum of ten active members must be present at the monthly meeting in order to conduct Block Assn. business in an official capacity.

ARTICLE V
Officers of the Block Association

Section 1: List of Officers

A. The elected officers of the Block Association, otherwise called the Executive Board, shall be:
a. President b. Vice-President
c. Recording Secretaries d. Treasurer

Section 2: Term of Office

A. Officers of the Block Association Shall serve for a term of two years beginning on October 1 of the first year, and ending on September 30 of the second year.

B. All non-elected officers shall be appointed by the President, subject to the approval of the other elected officers.

Section 3: Vacancy in Office

A. Between elections, a vacancy in any office other than that of the President shall be filled by means
of a Presidential appointment of an active member, subject to the approval by a majority of the members present at the next scheduled monthly meeting of the Block Association.

B. Between elections, the Vice-President shall fill a vacancy in the office of the President.

Section 4: Nominations and Elections

A. Candidates for office shall be nominated by the following procedures:

a. Notification of an upcoming election of officers of the Block Association shall be provided to the active membership.

b. Any active member of the Block Association may nominate himself or herself for any office. An active member can run for only one office.

c. Names of candidates for all Executive Board offices shall be sent to the Nominations Chairperson by May 15 in any election year and shall be circulated at the June meeting.

B. Method of Election

The election of officers shall be held at the September meeting in an election year and shall be conducted by secret ballot. Only active members may vote. A majority vote shall elect a given candidate to a given office

Section 5: Duties of officers

A. The duties of the President shall be:
a. To convene and preside at all meetings of the Block Association.
b. To Encourage Good Neighbor Ideas and Activities.
c. To represent The Block Association in official capacities.
d. To attend and report to the members about community meetings of interest to the Block Association.
e. To be a member of all committees
f. To appoint members to any special committee(s) created as deemed necessary by the Executive Board.
g. To direct and supervise the work of officers of the Block Association.
h. To fill appointed position, upon the approval of the elected officers.
i. To preserve any awards, proclamations or acknowledgements given to the Block Association.
j. Refer to Item D., Part a.

B. The duties of the Vice President Shall be:
a. To serve in an advisory capacity to the president.
b. To assume, temporarily, the duties of the President upon the President's request or if the office is vacated.
c. To preside in the absence of the President.

C. The duties of the Recording Secretaries shall be:
a. To be present and record full minutes of all monthly meetings and to distribute copies of the approved minutes to active members no later than fifteen days after the monthly meeting has adjourned. The Secretaries shall also publish a monthly digest of the minutes of the last meeting on the Block Association web site.
b. To keep a record of attendance at all monthly meeting.
c. To keep copies of important documents related to the Block Association.
d. To draft letters, e-mails and other documents that other Block Association officers may request of the secretaries from time to time.

D. The Duties of the Treasurer :
a. The Treasurer, along with the President, shall establish a Block Association checking account bearing the names of both the President and the Treasurer. All checks issued from this account must be double endorsed by both the President and the Treasurer. Checks issued from this account shall be used solely to pay the major financial obligations of the Block Association.
b. To receive and deposit all monies of the Block Association into the checking account and to issue receipts when necessary.
c. To hold a portion of Block Association funds to be used as "petty cash." The Treasurer shall distribute petty cash only when the President and/ or Vice President authorizes such actions.
d. The Treasurer shall keep all receipts from petty cash purchases and will keep accurate records of such purchases.
e. To gather data necessary for the budgetary process
f. To prepare an annual budget to support Block Association activities and to distribute a copy ofthe budget to all active members.
g. To present a full financial report and to furnish active members with a written copy of the report at the monthly meetings.
h. To keep cancelled checks on file for a period of seven years.
i. To be fully informed and communicate any tax benefits related to payment of membershipdues and donations to the Block Association.

Section 6: Transition of Power
By September 30 of an election year, outgoing officers are obligated to provide their successors with all information, files, and materials collected during their tenure in office. Outgoing officers shall also, to the best of their ability, advise the new officers from time to time as the new officers may request.

Section 7: Sanctions
An Officer who fails to or who refuses to properly carry out his/her duties shall be subject to censure or removal from office by a two-third vote of the membership provided he /she has been
given a opportunity for a hearing.

ARTICLE VI
Composition and Duties
of the
Executive Board and Standing Committees

Section 1: Executive Board
A. The Executive Board shall be composed of all elected officers of the Block Association: President, Vice President, Recording Secretaries, and Treasurer.
B. The Executive Board shall be the leadership of the Block Association and may hold meeting when necessary. Urgent business may be conducted by telephone conference or mail. Action taken by mail or telephone conference calls requires an Executive Board quorum and all actions taken shall be ratified and made part of the minutes of the next meeting of the Executive Board.
C. A quorum of the Executive Board shall consist of three elected Block Association officers. One of these officers must be either the President or the Vice President.

Section 2. Standard Committees.
The standard committees of the Block Association shall be: the Events Committee, the Bylaws Committee and the Newsletter committee.

A. Events Committee:
a. Shall be composed of a chairperson as appointed by the president and other interested active members.
b. Shall coordinate and fundraise for all organized events sponsored by the Block Association.

B. Bylaws Committee:
a. Shall be composed of a chairperson as appointed by the President and other interested active members.
b. Shall draft amendments to the Bylaws as needed and present all proposed amendments to the active members at a schedule monthly meetings.
c. Shall review and propose updates to the Bylaws every three years to ensure that they are still relevant.

C. Newsletter Committee:
a. Shall be composed of a chairperson as appointed by the President and other interested active members.
b. Shall design, develop, and disseminate a bi-monthly (every two months) newsletter to residents of the East 40th & East 41st Street Block Association with information relevant to the Block Association membership.

Section 3: Special Committees
The Executive Board of the Block Association may create special committees as it deems necessary.

ARTICLE VII
Finances

Section 1: Fiscal Year

The fiscal year of the Block Association Shall cover the period of September 1 of one year to August 31 of the following year.

Section2: Financial Holdings
All monies of the Block Association received by the Treasurer shall be deposited in a checking account of the Block Association. All monies are the property of the Block Association. By
means of a bookkeeping system, a record of these monies shall be kept up-to-date, reflecting all deposits, withdrawals, and bank charges.

Section 3: General Fund
A. Sources of income
a. Membership Dues
b. Donations
c. All other income such as
government funds, grant monies,
etc.

B. Disbursements, such as:
a. Office supplies
b. Photocopying
c. Postage
d. Courtesies
e. Rentals and reimbursements
f. Refunds and reimbursements
g. Committee expenses

C. If the Block Association is dissolved or inactive for a period of one year or more, all remaining funds held in the Block Association’s checking account and all remaining petty cash funds, which are not required by law to be returned to a governmental agency and/or to the donor of grant monies, will be divided equally among those who were registered as active members at the time of the last scheduled Block Association meeting.

Section 4: Membership Dues

A payment of $25 per year, per household is to be made to the Treasurer in one lump sum or in
five monthly payments of $5 from September to February. All dues must be paid in full by February 28 of each year in order to maintain an active membership.