BY-LAWS

 

ARTICLE I: NAME

 

The name of the organization shall be the Block Island Substance Abuse Prevention and Wellness Coalition, referred to as The Wellness Coalition (TWC), and herein referred to as the Coalition.

 

ARTICLE II: MISSION

 

The mission of the Coalition is to educate substance abuse awareness and prevention in the Block Island community, and promote wellness.

 

ARTICLE III: DIRECTORSHIP

 

Section 1. The Town of New Shoreham has authorized the creation of the Coalition and acts as the fiduciary agent. The Coalition is its own entity, independent of the municipal government, with the power to control the programs and funds from the Rhode Island Substance Abuse Prevention Act and any other State, Federal or Private funding.

 

Section 2. The composition of the Coalition shall include a cross section of community representatives who are its directors. No person may be excluded from the Coalition directorship on the basis of age, sex, race, national origin, ethnic group, handicap, or sexual orientation. The directorship may include representation from, but not limited to: interested citizens, parents, students, educators, businesses, school department, elected officials, religious institutions, youth organizations, minorities, medical community, handicapped, law enforcement, elderly, community development groups, municipal government, etc. The Coalition represents both public and private sectors of the Block Island community on a voluntary basis. The Coalition will make every reasonable effort to insure that its directorship fairly represents all segments of the community.

 

Section 3. The directors shall demonstrate a commitment to the Coalition’s mission and shall be responsible to attend Coalition meetings, serve on committees, provide fiscal oversight, and in general shall perform all duties incident to serving as a director. In addition, if a representative of an agency, the director must live, or work in Block Island. Directorship recruitment is the responsibility of the coordinator and the Coalition directors.

 

Section 4. Provided that the state requirements for coalition representation are adequately filled, directorship shall be open to a minimum of seven (7) directors and a maximum of eleven (11) directors. Directorship shall include those who are dedicated to the mission of the Coalition.

 

Section 5. A vacancy on the Coalition shall be deemed to automatically occur when a director has missed three consecutive meetings without satisfactory explanation or upon written notice by the vacating director to the Chair. With a seven (7) day notice, the Coalition may discuss the removal of any director by submitting a petition signed by 25% of the sitting directors. Said director may be removed from office, with cause, by an affirmative vote of 2/3 of the total number of directors serving at the time. Any director or Officer may resign at any time by notifying the Chair in writing. Any such resignation shall take effect at the time therein specified.

 

Section 6. The Coalition directorship is for five years. Only two directors should leave in any one year. The Coalition may vote to extend the term of directors beyond five years should this occurrence take place. When an elected official is appointed to the Coalition, their directorship term will expire when the elected official leaves office.

 

Section 7. The RI Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals will be informed of any changes to the directorship of the Coalition by the Coordinator on an annual basis.

 

ARTICLE IV: OFFICERS

 

Section 1. The Officers of the Coalition shall be as follows: Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer. Officers are eligible to serve a maximum of (3) three consecutive (1) one-year terms, commencing October 1st of each year to September 30^th. Officers of the Coalition shall be nominated and elected by the directorship at a general meeting held prior to the end of the program year, September 30th. In the event of a vacancy in any office, a successor shall be appointed by the majority vote of the directors and will serve for the completion of the term year.

 

ARTICLE V: NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF OFFICERS

 

Section 1. Only the directorship of the Coalition can make nominations and vote. Self nominations are permitted. Elections of Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be held annually at the September Coalition meeting.

 

Section2. Nominations are made from the floor.

 

ARTICLE VI: DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

 

Section 1.

Chairperson:

• Shall preside at all meetings of the Coalition
• Shall perform all duties of said office as required by the Coalition
• Shall appoint a sub committee as needed after seeking volunteers to serve

Vice Chairperson:

• Shall in the absence of the Chairperson, perform the duties and exercise the powers of the Chairperson

Secretary:

• Shall take minutes of all general meetings of the Coalition
• Shall make minutes available to all directors
• Shall track the directorship roll at all general meetings

Treasurer:

• Shall act under the supervision of the Coalition
• Shall have charge and custody of, and be responsible for all funds of the Coalition
• Shall keep or cause to be kept bank accounts as may be designated from time to time by the directors
• Shall be responsible for the keeping of accurate and adequate records of the assets, liabilities, and transactions of the Coalition.
• Shall deposit, or cause to be deposited, all monies and other valuable effects of the Coalition in the name of and to the credit of the Coalition in such banks, as may be designated from time to time by the directors
• Shall disperse, or cause to be dispersed, the funds of the Coalition based upon proper vouchers for such reimbursement and in accordance with the Coalition authorized budget
• Shall report in writing the state of the treasury at each regularly scheduled Coalition meeting and prepare or cause to be prepared all other financial reports as required by the Chair and Coalition directors

 

ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS

 

Section 1. The Task Force shall hold at least eight (8) meetings each year. Directors will receive notification of meetings and agendas prior to the meeting.

 

Section 2. A special meeting of the Coalition may be called at anytime by the Chair or by any three (3) directors. The directors shall notify written notice to the Chair regarding request for the meeting and of the proposed business. The Chair shall send or cause to be sent notice to the directors.

 

Section 3. A quorum consists of no less that 1/3 of the active directorship.

 

ARTICLE VIII: VOTING

 

Section 1. Voting is restricted to active directors. Directors shall be deemed ineligible to vote or to hold office if they have been absent from three (3) meetings per year without a satisfactory explanation. If there is more than one director from the same agency, only one director can vote.

 

Section 2. By a simple majority vote, the Coalition shall remove any director who has failed to comply with Article VIII, Section 1.

 

Section 3. Voting is prohibited for directors who have a vested interest or conflict of interest in the matter at hand. “Vested interest” shall be interpreted to mean financial interest, commercial benefit, be a director of such organization or groups seeking of grant money, whether it is a volunteer or paid employee.

 

Section 4. Voting by proxy is not permitted. Mail-in, phone or electronic votes will be counted.

 

ARTICLE IX: POWERS OF THE COALITION

 

The Coalition shall have all the powers and duties conferred on them by these bylaws, the articles and organization and law in addition thereto:

• Establish policy to transact business
• To insure the achievement of the purposes as stated in the bylaws
• To hire employees as required to fulfill our duties and programs. This will include hire of a Coordinator and a Student Assistance Counselor
• Approve or act on requests, reports, and recommendations of the Coordinator of the Task Force

 

ARTICLE X: FISCAL POLICIES

 

Section 1. The fiscal year of the Coalition shall be July 1 through June 30.

 

Section 2. Checks, Drafts, etc. The Treasurer, Chair, and Vice Chair are authorized to sign all proper vouchers for payment of money, notes or other evidence of indebtedness issued in the name of the Coalition.

 

Section 3. Disbursements. All disbursements of funds of the Coalition shall be in check form, or through appropriate banking transaction.

 

ARTICLE XI: AMENDMENTS

 

These bylaws may be altered, amended or repealed by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Coalition at a special meeting called. Adequate notice in writing of the proposed alteration, amendment or repeal shall have been given at least fifteen (15) days prior to said meeting. Amendments take effect immediately upon approval as stated herein.

 

ARTICLE XII:  

 

The Directors and officers together will hire qualified persons to fill the positions of Student Assistance Counselor and  Program Coordinator. These positions will work both in tandem and independently as needed in order to carry out the required programming. Salaries will be commensurate with experience and weekly hours may vary.

 

RESOLUTION: Town of New Shoreham, Rhode Island whereas, pursuant to Rhode Island General Laws §16-21.2-3, the New Shoreham Town Council has established and authorized the Block Island Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition to provide a comprehensive substance abuse prevention program for the Town of Block Island; whereas, the Coalition voted unanimously at its DATE meeting to amend its By-Laws in the form attached hereto, subject to approval of the New Shoreham Town Council; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Council of the Town of New Shoreham does hereby approve and ratify the amended By-Laws of the Block Island Substance Abuse Prevention and Wellness Coalition in the form attached hereto.

PASSED AS A RESOLUTION of the New Shoreham Town Council this DATE

The BLOCK ISLAND SUBSTANCE ABUSE PREVENTION AND WELLNESS COALITION is a board of The Town of New Shoreham, Rhode Island. This state funded, community based drug and alcohol abuse prevention task force is defined as a coalition according to the rules and regulations for Substance Abuse Prevention Organizations in Rhode Island.