Sparta Ground Water Conservation District Commission Bylaws

Adopted: November 14, 2006

ARTICLE I: DOMICILE & BOOKS OF RECORD

(1) The office of the District shall be the place designated by the Board’s sitting chairman.

(2) The official books and records of the District shall be retained at Louisiana Tech University library.

(3) The official books and records of the District shall include minutes of meetings of the Board, minutes of meetings of committees having any of the authority of the Board, and the Board’s By-Laws.

ARTICLE II: ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL YEAR

The administrative and fiscal year of the Board shall be the calendar year.

ARTICLE III: MEETINGS

Section 1: Schedule, place, time of meetings

(1) Pursuant to LA RS 38:§3087.135A, Regular meetings of the Board shall be held quarterly.

(2) The chairman shall cause a draft plan for the next year’s meetings to be developed for presentation to the Board.

The place of meetings shall be decided within limits determined by the rules of rotation among parishes, which rules

are established by Louisiana Revised Statute R.S. 38:3087.135B.

(3) Regular meetings for the coming year shall be decided by majority vote at the last Regular meeting of each year.

(4) In the event that meeting arrangements decided at the last Regular meeting of the year cannot be carried out, a

Regular meeting may be rescheduled by action of the chairman.

(5) A Special meeting may be called by the chairman if he deems necessary or upon request of six members of the

board.

Section 2: Public notice of meetings.

(1) The By-laws requirements for notice of meetings are consistent with LA RS 42:4.1-13 (Louisiana Open Meetings Law).

(2) At the beginning of each calendar year, a written notice of Regular meetings shall be published in the official

journal of the district as defined by Article III:Sec.2(5) and shall be sent to the editor of any other journal who

requests the notice. Such notice shall include the dates, times, and places of such meetings.

(3) A written public notice of any Regular, Special, or rescheduled meeting shall be published no later than twenty four hours before the meeting. Such notice shall include the date, time, place, and agenda of the meeting.

(4) Notice shall be posted in the Police Jury Office of the parish where the meeting is to be held. Notice shall also be

sent, with a request to post, to the Police Jury Office of the major Sparta using parishes, as defined by Article III(5)

of these By-Laws. Notice may also be published in the official journal of the District, as defined by Article III:Sec.2(7), so as to be available to readers no less than twenty-four hours before the meeting.

(5) In cases of extraordinary emergency, defined by the Open Meetings Law RS42.6.1(5), such notice shall not be

required; however, the chairman shall give notice of the meeting as he deems appropriate. [ref. Open Meetings Laws

RS42:A(b)(iv)].

(6) Upon request, the same notice provided members of the board shall be provided to any member of the news

media.

(7) The official journal of the Sparta Ground Water Conservation District shall be the newspaper with the largest

circulation among the newspapers in the major Sparta using parishes.

Section 3: Notice of meetings to Members of the board and meeting preparation.

(1) At least forty-eight hours before each Regular, Special, or rescheduled meeting, each Board member shall have a

notice stating the date, time, place, and agenda. Failure to send initial notice of any Regular meeting, however, shall

not invalidate such meeting if said meeting is to be held at a time and place specified in Article III:Sec.2(2) of these

By-Laws.

(2) In cases of extraordinary emergency, such notice shall not be required; however, the chairman shall give notice of the meeting as he deems appropriate and as circumstances permit.

(3) The secretary of the Board is responsible for notification.

Section 4: Conduct of business.

(1) At Regular and at Special meetings, no business other than that set forth in the written public notice of the meeting may be considered and action taken thereon, provided, however, consideration of other business may be approved by vote of two-thirds of the members of the Board who are in attendance at the meeting.

(2) Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the members of the board in the conduct of Board meetings.

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ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS, DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1: Selection of officers; term of service, filling of vacancy

(1) In keeping with RS38:3087.135(1), members of the Board shall elect a chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, and

treasurer by majority vote at the last Regular meeting of each year. The chairman shall appoint an assistant secretary. New officers shall assume the duties of office at the first Regular meeting of a year.

(2) The term of service as officer shall be one year. There shall be no limit on the number of terms a member may

serve.

(3) A vacancy of office shall be filled by majority vote.

Section 2: Duties of chairman

The chairman shall directly perform or shall oversee the following tasks of the District:

(a) preside at all meetings of the Board.

(b) appoint all committees and committee chairpersons. Appointments shall be subject to approval by a majority of

members of the Board.

(c) at the end of each year, in preparation for the coming year: (i) cause a Budget to be developed and approved

pursuant to By-laws Article V:Sec.2(1); (ii) cause officers to be nominated and elected pursuant to Article IV:Sec.1;

(iii) cause meetings to be arranged and approved pursuant to Article III:Sec. 1.

(d) perform all other such duties as are usually required of chairmen of corporate bodies.

Section 3. Duties of vice-chairman

The vice-chairman shall perform the duties of the chairman in case of his absence or disability.

Section 4. Duties of secretary and administrative record-keeping

The secretary shall directly perform or shall oversee the following tasks of the District:

(a) make and maintain full records of all proceedings of the District and place with La Tech library (By-Laws Article I(2));

(b) have the custody of copies of all official records and of all other papers belonging to the District;

(c) give notice of the time, place and agenda of all meetings, in accordance with By-Laws Article III:Sections 2 and 3;

(d) conduct the correspondence of the District and the members of the board upon request of the chairman;

(e) issue public notices and respond to requests for information provided for by law;

(f) perform other duties incidental to the office.

Section 5. Duties of assistant secretary

The assistant secretary shall perform the duties of the secretary in case of the secretary’s absence or disability.

Section 6: Duties of treasurer and financial record keeping

The treasurer shall directly perform or shall oversee the following tasks of the District:

(a) receive and have custody of all monies of the District;

(b) deposit and disperse the funds of the District as directed by the Board and in accordance with By-Laws;

(c) keep full account of all monies received and paid out and report thereof to the Board as they require and to

government agencies as may be required by law;

(d) receive and have custody of all financial papers of the District and keep full accounts of these papers;

(e) arrange check-signing authority for a member who is granted this authority pursuant to By-Laws Article

V:Sec.1(3);

(f) sign papers required by the office of treasurer and directed by the Board;

(g) perform other duties incidental to the office.

ARTICLE V: FINANCES

Section 1: Spending Funds

(1) All disbursements of funds shall be made only by check(s) of the District.

(2) Every check written shall have two signatures.

(3) The officers of the Board, namely chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, and treasurer, shall have check-signing

authority.

(4) Within any three months period, the chairman may spend up to $100, and the secretary may spend up to $50, for

District business, without approval of other authority, provided there are budgeted funds within the appropriate budget category.

(5) The treasurer is authorized to pay bills for routine operating expenses of the District without Board approval.

(6) All spending, other than that provided for in this section, shall be approved by majority vote.

(7) All receipts for expenditures shall be presented to the treasurer.

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Section 2. Budget Development, Presentation, and Approval.

(1) The chairman shall cause a draft Budget to be developed, which draft Budget shall be presented at the first

Regular meeting of each year for amendment and correction., then final approval by majority vote of members of the Board.

(2) A budget does not authorize expenditures. Article V:Sec.1 provides for spending authority.

(3) A majority vote is required to revise a budget, including to transfer funds from an overbudgeted category or from

the District’s savings to an underbudgeted category.

ARTICLE VI: DECISIONS

(1) An issue requiring a decision of the Board may be introduced at any Regular or Special meeting. When possible,

it shall be introduced in writing. It shall be confined to a single subject expressed in the title.

(2) A majority vote is required for the adoption of each decision of the Board, except that, in accordance with the

Open Meetings Law (LA RS 42:4.1-13), two-thirds of members in attendance must approve a change in a meeting’s

agenda (Article III: Sec.4(1).

(3) Unless otherwise specified, a decision shall become effective upon its adoption.

ARTICLE VII: RULES OF PRACTICE

The Board may establish its rules of practice relating to the administration of the District business, on condition that

such rules are not incompatible with these By-Laws.

ARTICLE VIII: INTERPRETATION OF BY-LAWS

Words in these By-Laws shall be defined as follows:

(1) ‘district’ shall refer to the Sparta Ground Water Conservation District.

(2) ‘Board’ shall refer to the Board of commissioners of the Sparta Ground Water Conservation District.

(3) ‘chairman’ shall refer to the chairman of the District’s Board of commissioners.

(4) ‘majority vote’ shall refer to an affirmative vote of a majority of members present at any duly held meeting at

which a quorum is present.

(5) ‘major Sparta using Parish’ shall refer to a parish whose Police Jury nominated representative serves a three year

term on the District Board, according to LA RS 38:§3087.134 A(1), namely, Bienville, Claiborne, Jackson, Lincoln,

Morehouse, Ouachita, Union, Webster, and Winn . ‘Minor Sparta using Parish’ shall refer to a parish whose

representative, by the same definition, serves a one year term, namely Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, LaSalle,

Natchitoches, Richland, and Sabine.

(6) ‘Meeting’ shall refer to a quorum convened to deliberate, act, or receive information on a matter within the

Board’s jurisdiction. It does not apply to chance meetings, social gatherings, or gatherings for presentation of

information only, if no vote, including any form of polling, and no other official action is taken. (LA RS42:4.2).

(7) Words used in masculine or singular include the feminine or plural, depending on the context.

ARTICLE IX: AMENDMENTS

Any provision in these By-Laws may be revoked or amended at any Regular or Special meeting by majority vote.

The change will become effective immediately unless stated otherwise in the majority vote