Tacoma Policies as of July 2015

BYLAWS - THE MOUNTAINEERS, TACOMA BRANCH
Originally approved by membership - January 20, 1961 and a
Amended on various occasions from September 1961, to September 2000.
Updated per Article III and approved by Branch Council on February 25, 2013, to reflect change to 501 c 3 non-profit corporation, the change from a monthly to a bi-monthly publication, and the evolved importance of various electronic and internet platforms as a means of communicating with membership via the branch and organization websites and other social media.
ARTICLE I
This organization shall be known as “The Mountaineers, Tacoma Branch”.
ARTICLE II
The principal place of business shall be the city of Tacoma, Washington.
ARTICLE III
The Bylaws of The Mountaineers shall be the governing instrument of the Tacoma Branch except as otherwise provided herein. The Bylaws of the Mountaineers, Tacoma Branch shall not be inconsistent with the Bylaws of the Mountaineers. Any changes necessary to maintain this relationship shall be made automatically and not require voting approval by the Branch membership.
ARTICLE IV
Purposes
To explore, study, and enjoy the mountains, forests, and watercourses of the Northwest and beyond; to gather into permanent form the history and traditions of these regions and explorations; to preserve, by the encouragement of protective legislation or otherwise, the natural beauty of the natural environment; to make expeditions and provide educational opportunities in fulfillment of the above purposes; to encourage a spirit of good fellowship among the lovers of outdoor life; to hold and sustain landscapes, properties and program sites for the furtherance of the purposes of the organization.
ARTICLE V
Membership
SECTION 1: Persons of desirable character, who are interested in the purposes of this organization, as stated above, are eligible for membership. Procedures for becoming a member shall be determined by the Mountaineer’s Board of Trustees and implemented by the clubhouse secretary.
SECTION 2: All applications for membership shall be submitted to the Mountaineer’s Board of Trustees according to procedures determined by said board.
SECTION 3: Members of The Mountaineers from other localities may transfer membership to this Branch.
SECTION 4: Eligibility for Voting in Branch Elections. All Tacoma Branch members in good standing shall be eligible to vote in Branch elections.
SECTION 5: Voting in Branch Elections. Members who are entitled to vote may vote in person at any meeting, or such member may vote by mail or electronic transmission (such as email or “web voting”). Whenever proposals are to be voted upon by members, the vote may be taken by mail or by electronic trans-mission (such as email or “web voting”) if the name of each candidate and the text of each proposal to be voted upon are set forth in the notice of the meeting. A vote may be conducted by electronic transmission if the Branch has designated an address, location, or system to which the ballot may be electronically transmitted and the ballot is electronically transmitted to the designated address, location, or system, in an executed electronically transmitted record.
ARTICLE VI
Officers and Management
SECTION 1: The officers of the Tacoma Branch shall be a Chair, a Chair-Elect, a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Council Member to represent the Tacoma Branch on the Mountaineer’s Board of Trustees, and five (5) Council Members.
SECTION 2: The officers shall compose the Tacoma Branch Council in which is vested the entire management and government of this Branch, including the appointment of chairmen of committees, and expenditures of the funds in the treasury, subject, however, to such restrictions and regulations as the Branch may make. All appointees of the Tacoma Branch Council shall be notified in writing by the Secretary.
SECTION 3: Neither the Tacoma Branch nor its Council shall have power to incur any indebtedness beyond the amount of funds actually in its treasury.
SECTION 4: The Tacoma Branch Council shall be responsible for seeing that newly appointed chair- persons are acquainted with their respective duties.
ARTICLE VII
Duties of Officers
SECTION 1: It shall be the duty of the Chair to preside at all business meetings of The Mountaineers, Tacoma Branch, and of the Tacoma Branch Council; he or she shall be charged with the supervision of all committees to see that the work and objectives of this association are properly carried out. He or she shall have authority to appoint chairmen of committees in cases of vacancy when conditions prevent the appointment from originating in the Tacoma Branch Council.
SECTION 2: The Chair-Elect shall act in the place of the Chair in the latter’s absence and shall then have all the powers and duties of the office.
SECTION 3: It shall be the duty of the Secretary to take care of all correspondence and keep a record of all Tacoma Branch Council meetings and reports of committees.
SECTION 4: It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to guide the Branch Council and various activity committees in meeting the organizational requirements of operating as a
financially sound unit of the not-for-profit corporation, The Mountaineers. To this end, the Treasurer is tasked with providing a channel of communication and coordination, relative to Branch financial matters, between the various Branch activity committees and the Branch Council. Working with the Tacoma Branch Representative to the Mountaineers Board of Trustees, the Branch Treasurer will also provide a channel of communication and coordination between the Branch and the various staff in the Seattle office and Board positions concerned with financial management. If the Treasurer is not available the Treasurer’s responsibilities will default to the Branch Chair.
The Mountaineers Board Financial Management Policy governs Branch financial management. The financial management responsibilities of the Branch are spelled out in these excerpts of this policy (The full text of this policy, adopted 1/5/2012, can be found at www.mountaineers.org under the Board of Directors document archives.):
Budgeting: ”All organizational units shall monitor revenues and expenditures on a regular basis and make program adjustments as necessary to ensure adherence to the approved operating and capital budget.”
Responsibility: “Branch and division treasurers are responsible for: Participation in preparing annual budgets for submission to the Finance Committee. Budget monitoring as discussed above. Ensuring that branch or division financial obligations are met. Understanding financial results and status of all branch or division financial accounts.
If a branch or division treasurer is not established this responsibility defaults to the chair.”
SECTION 5: The Tacoma Council Member serving on the Mountaineer Board of Trustees (Seattle Representative) shall attend and participate in the meetings of that board, and shall render a written record of its activities to the Tacoma Branch Council.
ARTICLE VIII - Election of Officers, Terms of Office
SECTION 1:
a. The Chair - To provide for continuity of leadership, the current Chair-Elect, elected yearly, shall automatically become the Chair for the coming year. If the current Chair-Elect declines to succeed to the office of Chair, then the Chair shall be elected in the same manner as the other officers as specified in Section 1b.
b. All other officers of the Branch shall be elected by the members in September each year. The term of office for the representative to the Mountaineers Board of Trustees will be two years. The term of office for the Secretary and Treasurer shall be one year. The term of office for the five Council Members shall be two years (two Council Members elected on even number election years and three Council Members elected on odd number election years). (10/2003)
c. The Chair of the Nominating Committee shall present to the Tacoma Branch Council, at the February board meeting, the names of five or more members selected from leaders across a wide range of activities to serve as a nominating committee. Their names shall be posted on the Branch website and sent out to members via email after approval by the Tacoma Branch Council. Nominees shall not serve on the nominating committee. This committee shall submit to all voting members of the Tacoma Branch, via posting on the Branch website July 1st a list of nominees for each office, who are able and willing to serve. Written nominations may be submitted by any member in good standing to the Nominating Committee and shall be received by the Chair of the Nominating Committee by July 15. A ballot, along with a voter’s information sheet containing information about each nominee, shall be placed on the Mountaineers Tacoma website by September 1st. The information submitted by each nominee shall be reviewed by the nominating committee for the voter’s information sheet, limited to a maximum of 250 words per nominee. The order of the listing of nominees in the voter’s information sheet and the ballots shall be determined by random draw at a meeting of the nominating committee. The proposed voter’s information sheet shall be given to each nominee by July 20. Any revisions by that nominee to their information must be submitted to the chair of the nominating committee by August 1.
d. Recognizing that the treasurer position requires some knowledge of accounting, budgeting, financial analysis, and fiscal policy, the Nominating Committee shall review such skills of all candidates for the treasurer position. Only those candidates approved by the Nominating Committee as meeting minimum standards (as determined by the Committee) shall be allowed to run for the treasurer position.
e. Recognizing that all council positions require knowledge of the branch, the Nominating Committee shall review such knowledge of all candidates for board positions. Only those candidates approved by the Nominating Committee shall be allowed to run for Tacoma Branch Council positions.
SECTION 2: All members in good standing shall be eligible to vote. All members in good standing, except Junior Members, shall be eligible to hold office.
SECTION 3: Outgoing officers shall hold their offices until the night of the Annual Banquet or until the October meeting of the Tacoma Branch Council, whichever is earlier.
SECTION 4: A vacancy in any office shall be filled by appointment from the membership of the Branch by the Tacoma Branch Council and each officer so appointed shall hold office until the next general election. No member may serve in more than one office at one time.
SECTION 5: Ballots – Members who are entitled to vote may vote in person at any meeting, or such member may vote by mail or electronic transmission (such as email or “web voting”). Whenever proposals are to be voted upon by members, the vote may be
taken by mail or by electronic trans-mission (such as email or “web voting”) if the name of each candidate and the text of each proposal to be voted upon are set forth in the notice of the meeting. A vote may be conducted by electronic transmission if the Branch has designated an address, location, or system to which the ballot may be electronically transmitted and the ballot is electronically transmitted to the designated address, location, or system, in an executed electronically transmitted record. Ballots must be received by September 30. Write-in votes are not allowed. The Chair shall delegate a Tellers Committee to verify the ballots returned and tally the ballots prior to the annual banquet, so that the results of the election may be announced at this meeting.
ARTICLE IX
Committees
SECTION 1: The Tacoma Branch Council shall delegate the management of all activities and properties of the Tacoma Branch to such committees as it sees fit.
SECTION 2: Each committee chairperson may appoint as many members to assist as deemed necessary.
ARTICLE X
Duties of Committees
SECTION 1:
a. Each committee shall provide the Treasurer a budget of estimated expenses to be incurred in the forthcoming year.
b. Each committee shall make such charges to members and guests as may be reasonable to cover the expenses of the committee. Committee expenses shall include an amount for Branch administration and building operations in lieu of any charge for committee use of the building and support by office staff.
c. Each Committee Chair shall work with the Branch Treasurer to ensure that all monies received from committee activities are promptly deposited and handled according to the Treasurer’s established procedures for handling monies.
d. Each Committee Chair shall request reimbursement by the Treasurer of all proper expenses incurred by committee members, according to procedures established by the Branch Treasurer.
e. Upon Tacoma Branch Council authorization, the Treasurer may authorize advancement of a sum not in excess of $200.00 to a custodian designated by the committee chair to establish as imprest (petty cash) fund for that committee, subject to such terms and conditions as the Treasurer shall impose.
SECTION 2:
a. Each committee shall submit an annual report of its activities to the Tacoma Branch Council, in writing, and shall submit additional reports as deemed necessary by the Tacoma Branch Council or the committee chairman.
b. Each committee shall work with the Branch Treasurer to prepare an itemized annual financial report, together with such funds as it has on hand, not later than October 15. This report shall cover the period from October 1 to September 30, which shall be the fiscal year.
ARTICLE XI
Meetings
SECTION 1: Regular meetings of the members shall be held at such time and place as the Tacoma Branch Council may designate. Due notice of each meeting shall be made through email blasts to the Branch membership and posting on the Branch website.
SECTION 2: Regular meetings of the Tacoma Branch Council shall be held monthly except during the month of July. Whenever possible, all decisions by the Tacoma Branch Council shall be made at meetings provided for in this article.
SECTION 3: Special meetings of the Tacoma Branch Council or of the entire membership may be called by the Chair, or at the request of any five members, to be held at any time other than the regular meeting, provided due notice shall be given.
SECTION 4: An Annual Banquet shall be held in the month of October at which time the outgoing officers shall turn over their respective offices to the incoming officers. The Annual Banquet shall be in the charge of and presided over by the outgoing officers.
ARTICLE XII
Quorums
SECTION 1: Five members of the Tacoma Branch Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of its business.
SECTION 2: Twenty percent of the members eligible to vote in the Tacoma Branch shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at a regular or called meeting of the membership.
ARTICLE XIII
Rules of Order
Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern all parliamentary matters.
ARTICLE XIV - Amendments
Amendments
SECTION 1: AMENDMENTS PROPOSED. Amendments to the Bylaws may be proposed by ten members of the branch by July 15. The proposed amendment must be presented to the Secretary, who shall then present the proposed amendment to the board at its next meeting or within 15 days of receipt, whichever is later. A committee,
of which the sponsor shall be a member, may be appointed to study the proposed amendment. Any proposed Bylaws amendment shall be accepted by the Tacoma Branch Council at the first regular meeting of the council following the meeting at which it is presented.
SECTION 2: VOTE OF MEMBERSHIP REQUIRED. Any Bylaw amendment, along with a statement for and against its passage, shall be submitted for approval of the membership at the next regularly scheduled election or by special ballot with notification of the vote posted on the Branch Website and in an email communication to the Branch Membership. Each Article proposed for amendment shall be voted upon separately. The balloting shall be conducted as provided for in Article VIII. Approval by the membership shall be defined as a simple majority of ballots returned. An amendment shall be effective the first day of the month following approval, unless it states otherwise.