BYLAWS
SECTION I
The name of the organization shall be known as “THE KENNEDY FREE LIBRARY ASSOCIATION”.
SECTION II
ORGANIZATION
Article 1
The organization shall consist of nine (9) trustees. The first shall be determined by lot in which the term of office of each trustee shall expire and the new trustees shall be elected annually to serve for five (5) years.
Article 2
The new trustees shall be elected by the Library Board of Trustees at the next regular meeting, following the expiration of a trustee’s term or resignation of a trustee.
Article 3
A trustee missing three (3) consecutive meetings without a cause shall be deemed as resigned and will be replaced once a suitable candidate is found.
The Board may remove a Trustee for misconduct, incapacity, neglect of duty, or refusal
to carry into effect the library’s educational purpose as provided in Education Law 226;
subdivision 8.
SECTION III
Article 1
The annual meeting shall be held at the time of the regular monthly meeting for the month of January at the usual place. The business transacted at this
meeting shall include the election of officers, the designation of the library’s
newspaper of record, and a confirmation of the library’s banking institution(s).
Article 2
The fiscal year of the library shall begin on January 1st.
The operating and financial reports for the previous year shall be presented at the annual meeting.
The preliminary budget for the subsequent calendar year shall be presented at the regular meeting in July.
The final budget for the subsequent calendar year shall be presented for approval at the regular meeting in November.
Article 3
The regular meeting of the Library Board shall be held on the third Tuesday of January, March, May, July, September and November. All meetings shall be in compliance with the New York State Open Meetings Law.
Article 4
A special meeting of the Board may be called at any time by the President or upon the
request of three members for a specific purpose. No business may be transacted at such
a special meeting except the stated business. All meetings shall be in compliance with
the New York State Open Meetings Law.
The President may call for a vote to take place via email for time sensitive issues. Trustees must send their vote to the President and Secretary. Trustees will have 48 hours to vote, if no vote is received then they will be counted as voting “absent”. The Secretary will tally the votes and it will be included on the minutes of the next regularly scheduled meeting.
SECTION IV
Article 1
Officers of the board shall be chosen at the annual meeting of the board and shall be as follows: President, Vice-president, Secretary and Treasurer for the term of one (1) year.
Article 2
An officer may succeed him/herself.
Article 3
The President shall preside at all meetings of the Board, authorize calls for any
special meetings, appoint all committees, execute all documents authorized by
the Board, serve as an ex-officio voting member of all committees, and generally
perform all duties associated with that office.
Article 4
The Vice President, in the event of the absence or disability of the President, or
of a vacancy in that office, shall assume and perform the duties and functions of
the President.
Article 5
The Secretary shall keep a true and accurate record of all meetings of
the Board, shall issue notice of all regular and special meetings, and shall
perform such other duties as are generally associated with that office.
Article 6
The Treasurer shall be the disbursing officer of the Board and shall perform such duties as generally devolve upon the office. In the absence or inability of the Treasurer, his/her duties shall be performed by such other members of the Board as the Board may designate.
The Treasurer shall keep an accounting of the Library Funds, and shall report at each meeting on the state of those funds.
Article 7
The Board shall appoint a Library Director who shall be the chief executive officer of the
library corporation and shall have charge of the administration of the library under the
direction and review of the Board. The Library Director shall be responsible for the care
of the buildings and equipment; for the selection, and management of the staff; for the
efficiency of the library’s service to the public; and for the operation of the library under
the financial conditions contained in the annual budget. The Board shall evaluate the Library Director’s job performance annually.
The Library Director shall render and submit to the Board reports and recommendations
of such policies and procedures, which, in the opinion of the Library Director, will
improve efficiency and quality of library service. The Library Director shall attend all
Board meetings except the portion of the meeting at which the director’s appointment,
salary, or performance is to be discussed or decided.
Article 8
Each Trustee shall have one vote, irrespective of office held.
Article 9
A Trustee must be present at a meeting to have his/her vote counted or meet the
provisions of New York State’s Open Meetings Law.
Article 10
A majority of the whole Board (including vacancies) is required for any motion to pass.
Article 11
All actions of the Board shall be of the Board as a unit. No Board member shall act on
behalf of the Board, on any matter, without prior approval of the Board. No Board
member by virtue of his/her office shall exercise any administrative responsibility with
respect to the library nor, as an individual, command the services of any library
employee.
Article 12
All trustees must comply with continuing education requirements outlined in Section
260-d of New York State Education Law and the Sexual Harassment Prevention training requirements in New York State Human Rights Law.
SECTION V
Article 1
COMMITTEES: The Board will maintain the following standing committees to be appointed at the annual meeting: Buildings and Grounds, Grants and Fundraising, Liaison to Town Board, Policies, Employee Review, Finance, Internal Audit.
Special committees shall be appointed by the President for the study and investigation of special problems. Such committees shall serve until completion of the work for which they were appointed.
SECTION VI
QUORUM: A quorum for the transaction of business shall be four (4) members of the Board.
A majority of the whole Board (including vacancies) is required for any motion to pass. If a quorum is not present at a regular meeting, the attending members may set a date for another meeting to be held within one week, and the presiding officer shall notify the absent members of this specially called meeting.
SECTION VII
AUDIT: an audit of the books kept by the Treasurer is to be made annually by an independent auditor selected by the President.
SECTION VIII
The order of business at regular meetings shall be as follows:
- Call to order & Roll call of members
- Adoption of Agenda
- Public Comments (comments are limited to three minutes per speaker)
- Secretary’s Report
- Treasurer’s Report
- Librarian’s Report
- Committee Reports
- Old Business
- New Business
- Other Business
- Dates of Future Board Meetings
- Adjournment
The Library Director shall publish the agenda and all written reports and necessary documents in accordance with New York State Open Meetings Law.
SECTION IX
AMENDMENTS:
These by-laws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Board of the Association with a quorum present by majority vote of the members present, provided the amendment was stated in the call for the meeting.