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2016-06-16 Friendship City Commission Bylaws BY-LAWS OF THE RICHFIELD FRIENDSHIP CITY COMMISSION June 16, 2016 COMMISSION PURPOSE The Friendship City Commission is charged with maintaining an ongoing friendship city relationship with Heredia, Costa Rica for mutual community-wide enrichment, fostering goodwill, learning to understand one another better, promoting mutual exchanges, and strengthening peace in the world. The Commission periodically organizes and promotes visits of Richfield delegates to Heredia and hosts groups from Heredia. COMMISSION MEMBERSHIP The Commission shall consist of nine (9) regular members appointed by City Council. Regular members shall be appointed in January of each year by the City Council to serve three-year terms. Terms of the members of the Commission shall begin on the first day of February of the year of appointment and shall continue until the 31st day of January in which their appointment expires or until their successors are selected, subject, however, to prior termination as otherwise provided in Section 305 of the City Code. Of the nine (9) regular members, the City Council shall approve up to two (2) non-resident members and two (2) youth appointments (resident and/or non-resident) with full voting privileges. Youth appointment terms shall be in accordance with Section 305 of the City Code. In addition to the nine (9) regular members of the commission, it shall have two (2) non-voting, ex-officio members as follows: One member shall be appointed by the Richfield Friendship City Commission to serve as Ambassador (see duties below); and one member shall be appointed by the Richfield City Council from among its members. Selections of ex-officio members shall be made annually and, insofar as possible, in January of each year, with such ex-officio members serving for a term of one year or until their successors are appointed. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO RESIDENCY, TERMS, ATTENDANCE, REMOVAL/VACANCIES, AND STAFF/COUNCIL LIAISONS Section 305 of the Richfield City Code shall dictate requirements related to residency, terms, attendance, removal/vacancies and staff/council liaisons. OFFICERS The members of the Community Services Advisory Commission, at their first regular meeting in February of each year shall elect, from their membership, a chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, treasurer, ambassador, and historian to serve for the ensuing year. DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS The chairperson shall chair all regular and special meetings and shall be responsible for the annual report to the City Council. The vice-chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Commission in the absence of the chairperson. The secretary shall provide a record of all proceedings of the Commission and transmit copies to the City Liaison in advance of the next meeting. The treasurer shall prepare and maintain the Commission's financial reports, to include reconciliation with city records and maintain an inventory of items belonging to the Commission as well as their locations. The ambassador shall serve as the official communicator with Heredia officials, lead trips to Heredia and provides additional support to the Commission. The historian shall keep a scrapbook and records of activities of the Commission and perform other duties as requested. MEETING PROCEDURES The Friendship City Commission shall hold regular monthly meetings on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM. Special meetings may be held on other dates at the call of the chairperson or any two members of the Commission. All questions presented to the Commission shall be decided on by a simple majority of the number of the commissioner members present at the meeting provided a quorum is present. A simple majority of the current roster present at the meeting is needed to obtain a quorum. Sturgis Parliamentary Procedure shall govern the conduct of meetings of the Commission. CITY CODE SECTION 305. - ADMINISTRATION; COMMISSIONS; BOARDS  305.00. - Definitions. Subdivision 1. The following terms, when used in this Section, shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: Subd. 2. "Commission" means a body established by the City Council to advise the Council on matters of municipal concern. The terms "commission" and "board" may be used interchangeably in this Section. Subd. 3. "Youth" means an individual who is at least 15 years of age. (Added, Bill No. 2015-17)  305.01. - Creation; general requirements. Unless otherwise provided by law or herein, the provisions in this subsection apply to all City commissions. Subdivision 1. Creation. A Commission may be established by a majority of the City Council. The Council shall adopt a resolution or ordinance that will describe the purpose and function of the Commission. City Commissions are advisory bodies to the City Council. The Council shall periodically review the role, responsibilities and procedures of each Commission. The Council may eliminate a Commission by adopting a resolution or ordinance rescinding the resolution or ordinance establishing the Commission. Subd. 2. Residency. Members of city commissions shall be residents of the City, unless an ordinance or resolution expressly provides otherwise. Subd. 3. Terms. The City Council shall appoint members to the commissions for terms not to exceed three years. No member shall serve more than three consecutive terms on the same Commission. Appointment to serve on a Commission for a period of time greater than one-half of a complete term shall be counted as a full term. If the Council appoints an individual who had a break in continuous service of at least one full term, it shall be treated as a first-term appointment. Commissioners may only serve on one Commission at a time. Subd. 4. Youth appointments. The City Council may appoint a maximum of two youth members to certain commissions. Terms for youth appointments shall be one year, commencing on September 1 and ending on August 31. No youth member shall serve more than three consecutive terms on the same Commission. Except as otherwise provided for by resolution of the Council, youth members must be residents of the City and enrolled in a high school or equivalent. A youth member may only serve on one Commission at a time. Subd. 5. Attendance. Members are required to attend regular commission meetings. Commission members shall notify the Commission Chair or staff liaison if he or she is unable to attend a meeting. The Council shall conduct an annual review of the attendance of members of City commissions. Subd. 6. Removal/vacancy. Commission members serve at the pleasure of the City Council and, unless prohibited by law, may be removed at any time for any reason, including but not limited to, excessive absences from commission meetings. When a vacancy occurs, the Council shall appoint a person to fill the unexpired term of the vacated seat. Unless provided otherwise by law or city resolution, a seat on a Commission is vacated upon any of the following: (a) Death; (b) Removal of legal residence in the City; (c) Resignation in writing presented to the City Manager, or designee; (d) Removal by the Council; or, (e) Election or appointment to a public office. Subd. 7. Committees. Commissions may establish committees from time to time as the need arises. Subd. 8. Staff/council liaisons. Each January, the City Council shall designate a Council member as liaison and one alternative liaison to each Commission. The City Manager shall appoint one City employee to serve as a staff liaison to each Commission. Council and staff liaisons are not voting members of a Commission. Subd. 9. Bylaws/rules of procedure. (a) Commissions may adopt bylaws to govern meeting procedures and other matters not addressed in this Section. If the bylaws of a Commission and this Section conflict, this Section shall prevail. Commissions may amend bylaws with approval of a 2/3 majority vote of the Commission. (b) At all meetings of a Commission where formal action is required on a matter, the meeting shall be governed by Sturgis' Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedure. At meetings where no action is required, no formal parliamentary procedure shall govern the conduct of the proceedings unless necessary such as when a formal motion is before the Commission. (Added, Bill No. 2015-17)