TACOMA COUNCIL OF PTA STANDING RULES I. Council Legal Status A. The name of the Council shall be the Tacoma Council of Parent Teacher Association, Inc. (10.9) of the Washington Congress of Parents and Teachers. This council was founded in 1911. This council serves the Tacoma School District children, youth, PTSAs and PTAs. B. This Council was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation by the State of Washington on November 28, 1973. It is the responsibility of the Council to file an Annual Corporation Report in accordance with instructions from the Washington State Secretary of the State. The corporation number is found in our legal documents. The registered agent of this corporation is the Washington State PTA. C. This Council’s Federal Employer Identification Number is found in our legal documents. D. This Council is registered under the Charitable Solicitations Act, the registration number is found in our legal documents. E. This Council is recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3). F. The current treasurer is responsible for filing IRS Form 990 or Form 990EZ prior to the November 15th, if required. II. Council Fees A. The member service fees of this council shall be $1 per Local Unit member. A newly formed Local Unit will pay Council a fee of $25 for its first year of operation. B. Should the Council receive a NSF check; a $20 service fee will be charged in addition to any bank penalties the Council may acrue. III. Elected Officers, Board Members, Committees, and duties to the Council. A. The elected officers of the Council shall be President,Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Legislative Officer. With the exception of Treasurer, any elected position may be held jointly by two (2) people. In the event of Co-Presidents only one shall have a vote. All other co-positions are entitled to voice and vote. B. The Vice President (s) duty will be to coordinate outreach to Local Units. Outreach is defined as providing support and information to Local Unit Leaders. C. Standing committee chairpersons and appointed representatives. Ad-hoc committee members and guests may attend board meetings but they do not have a vote during the meeting. Board meetings of the Council Board of Directors shall be held monthly. D. The standing committees shall be: Reflections, Fundraising, Health & Safety, Membership, Community Relations,Website, and Newsletter E. Appointed representatives shall include but not be limited to: Administrative Liaison (who shall act as a liaison between the school district administration and the Council), School Board Liaison (who shall act as a liaison between the school district administration and the Council), and City Government Liaison (who shall act as a liaison between the city government and the Council). These representatives shall be appointed for a term that ends on June 30th. F. Ad-Hoc committee shall include but not limited to: Nominating, Banquet, Awards, Audit, Budget, Historian and Standing Rules. G. This Council shall approve its annual operation budget prior to July 1st meeting each year. The budget committee shall be chaired by the incoming treasurer. H. Golden Acorn, Outstanding Educator and Outstanding Advocate Awards shall be given yearly. An Outstanding Service and or Honorary Life Membership may be awarded at eh discretion of the Board of Directors. The Awards committee shall consist of past award recipients. I. The Standing Rules shall be reviewed and/or revised annually by a committee consisting of a current board member, an incoming board member and a third member at large. With proper notice of the meeting regarding the changes being considered (if a quorum is present) approval is by majority vote. With no prior notice of the meeting regarding changes being considered (if a quorum is present) approval is with a 2/3 vote of the members present. J. The vote of this Council for the position of Washington State PTA Region 10 Director shall be determined by the board of directors. IV. Meetings A. General Membership Meetings (All-City PTA Meetings) shall be held at least four (4) times per year, between September and June. Dates and times to be determined at the discretion of the incoming President. B. The voting delegates of this Council shall be the Board of Directors and two authorized delegates from each local unit. No one person can cast a vote for more than one local unit at any one meeting. C. An office or chairmanship is declared vacant if that person misses (3) consecutive meetings, unless excused by the President. The Secretary shall conduct a roll call at each meeting and the excused will be recorded in the minutes V. Finance A. The Council shall conduct an audit of its books and records in January of each year in addition to the required audit at the close of the fiscal year. B. For this Council’s authorized bank account(s). The bank statement is to be printed and reviewed monthly by a board member who is not on the bank signature card at the board meetings. C. All reimbursement requests shall include a receipt and shall be submitted to the treasurer within 60 days of purchase. All requests for reimbursement must be received by June 15th. VI. Email Voting A. In circumstances, which require decisions in the interim between board meetings, the Board Members, may ask for voting by electronic mail. In these circumstances, the following steps will occur. 1. After the motion has been made and seconded, it will be forwarded to the Executive Committee. 2. It will then be placed on the board mailing list/listserv for discussion. The discussion will last for a period of time determined by the Executive Committee. All discussion will be for the benefit of the whole board; replies will be made via the mailing list/listserv. 3. The secretary may call those who have have not responded. 4. After the time for discussion is completed, the question will be called and members will be asked to vote. 5. The president will declare the outcome of the vote based on the votes for or against a motion. 6. A valid vote needs the majority of the entire board to vote for or against a motion. 7. The e-mail vote will be ratified at the next regular meeting of the Board of Directors. 8. The secretary will attach hard copies of the votes cast by e-mail to the minutes of that board meeting. VII. Conventions A. The voting delegates to the annual WSPTA State Convention shall be determined by April using the following order: incoming President, outgoing President, incoming Vice President, incoming Secretary, incoming Treasurer, incoming Legislative Officer, outgoing Vice President, outgoing Secretary, outgoing Treasurer then outgoing Legislative Officer. The board of directors shall determine the number of visiting delegates to be funded by the Council. The delegates shall report to the general membership afterwards. B. The voting delegates to the WSPTA Legislative Assembly shall be determined in the following order: Legislative Officer, President,Vice President, Secretary then Treasurer. The board of directors shall determine the number of visiting delegates to be funded by the Council. The delegates shall report to the general membership afterwards C. The delegates to the National PTA Convention shall be determined by February using the following order: President,Vice President, Legislative Officer, Secretary then Treasurer. The board of directors shall determine the number of delegates to be funded by Council. The delegate (s) shall report to the general membership afterwards.