Preamble
Embracing our responsibility to our community and our world,
and in the hope of creating an organization that will help
in making Venango County a model of a just and sustainable
society, we, the members of the Green Party of Venango County,
establish these bylaws to govern the operations and functions
of this Chapter.
I. Declarations
The name of this organization shall be the Green Party of
Venango County (the GPVC). The Green Party of Venango County
is both a political party and a grassroots political activist
organization.
II. Membership
A. All residents of Venango County who are registered as Green
Party voters are considered members of the GPVC. Registered
members are encouraged to fill out and submit a membership
form.
B. Individuals who are not registered as Green Party voters
may become members by filling out and submitting a membership
form. Membership for individuals who are not registered Green
does not begin until the second General Meeting attended. Members
who are not registered Green are encouraged to do so.
C. Only members may vote at General Meetings or hold elected
positions in the GPVC.
D. At the discretion of the members present at a meeting,
non-members are welcome to participate in discussion.
E. Members shall be encouraged to make financial contributions,
however, recognition of membership is not conditioned on making
such contributions.
F. A complete list of the members of the GPVC shall be kept
and maintained by the Organizational Secretary.
III. General Meeting
A. The General Membership, meeting together at a General Meeting,
shall be the highest governing body of the GPVC.
B. General Meetings are gatherings of the members to consult
together, share knowledge and information and communicate in
order to make decisions and otherwise declare, maintain and
further the ideals, policies and objectives of the GPVC.
C. As the main deliberative body of the GPVC, the general
meeting shall have the following functions:
1. Define general goals, policies, and priorities of the
GPVC;
2. Make endorsements of candidates and ballot measures;
3. Make recommendations and proposals and provide direction
to other committees;
4. Review and approve the decisions and actions of all committees;
5. Issue public statements in the name of the GPVC and approve
or retract statements made by any other the GPVC body or by
any individual claiming to be a representative of the GPVC;
6. Elect delegates to the Green Party of Pennsylvania;
7. Discuss, deliberate and make decisions on any fundamental
issues of policy, strategy, or structure that face the GPVC.
D. General Meetings shall be open to all members of the GPVC
and interested observers; but only current members may vote
or present concerns that require a vote.
E. General Meetings must be held at least once every six months.
F. The quorum necessary to conduct business shall be five
(3) members or 50% of total membership, whichever is smaller.
G. Each General Meeting shall be facilitated by a member from
a pool of Members who have indicated their willingness to discharge
this task.
H. General Meeting dates and locations may be set by a Committee
or a General Meeting.
IV. County Committee
A. The General Membership shall elect, from within its body,
a County Committee to carry out the will and effectuate the
decisions of the General Membership and be responsible for
the general administration of the GPVC. The County Committee
corresponds to the Steering Committee in other organizations.
B. The County Committee shall consist of the following two
members: Chairperson and Secretary.
C. Elections to select the members of the County Committee
shall be held every year. The term of the County Committee
members shall commence upon election. Each term will last one
year.
D. Only members of the GPVC who are registered to vote with
the Green Party may be elected to the County Committee.
E. In the event of a vacancy on the County Committee, nominations
and a special election will be held at the next General Meeting.
F. If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Chairperson or
Secretary, the County Committee shall insure that the duties
of the vacant office shall be carried out until the special
election can be held.
G. The quorum necessary to conduct County Committee business
shall be three members.
H. The duties and powers of the County Committee shall be
as follows:
1. To propose the agenda for the General Meeting.
2. To monitor all financial activities of the GPVC.
3. To be ultimately responsible for seeing that all financial
and legal responsibilities of the GPVC are met.
4. To notify all members and interested parties of all General
Meetings and all other the GPVC events.
5. To select and train facilitators for General Meetings.
6. To make recommendations and proposals to General Meetings
(this power is not exclusive to the County Committee).
7. To make such decisions as are normally reserved to a General
Meeting but which, owing to the need for a timely decision,
cannot be delayed until the next scheduled General Meeting.
Such decisions shall be subject to revision, rejection, or
retraction by a vote or by consensus of the next General Meeting.
8. To issue statements for or to authorize individuals, other
than the County Committee Chair, to speak for the GPVC, within
the general parameters of established the GPVC policy and platform,
the state and national Green Party policies and platforms,
and recognized Green values.
9. To make any other decisions which, within reason and without
abusing either the spirit or letter of these bylaws, can help
to carry out the will of the General Meeting, subject to the
approval of the General Membership.
10. To enter into contracts on behalf of the GPVC. The Chair
and the Secretary have signatory power, but they may not
sign any document on behalf of the GPVC without the approval
of the County Committee.
11. The County Committee is not allowed to authorize any
contract or closely related group of contracts committing the
GPVC to an expenditure greater than 1/10th the value of the
treasury without the prior approval of the general membership.
I. It is preferable that the County Committee use the consensus
process for decision making. The County Committee may, however,
establish its own rules of procedure.
J. All County Committee meetings shall be open to all Members
of the GPVC. These members may participate in the discussion
and the consensus process. However, only Members of the County
Committee may vote, unless the County Committee chooses otherwise.
K. The County Committee shall meet on a regular basis and
shall make a reasonable effort to schedule meetings at the
same time and location, and on the same day of the week. This
location and time shall be announced at General Meetings.
L. The County Committee shall make a good faith effort to
publicize to the General Membership the time and location of
any irregularly scheduled meetings.
M. Minutes of County Committee meetings shall be made available
to all members of the GPVC in a timely fashion.
N. The County Committee may delegate any of its duties and
functions to Internal Committees when needed. These Internal
Committees may contain non-County Committee members and may
act in all other respects as if they were a Working Group of
the GPVC, but they shall be directly responsible to the County
Committee.
O. Roles and Responsibilities of Officers:
1. The Chair of the County Committee shall be responsible
for the management of the County Committee. The duties and
powers of the Chair shall be as follows:
a. To schedule County Committee meetings;
b. To develop an agenda for County Committee meetings;
c. To facilitate County Committee meetings;
d. To act as spokesperson for the GPVC;
e. To sign contracts on behalf of the GPVC.
2. If the Chair is unavailable for a short period of time,
the County Committee may designate another member of the County
Committee to perform these functions in the interim.
3. The Chair of the County Committee shall also be responsible
for the management of the finances of the GPVC.
4. The duties and powers of the Secretary of the County Committee
shall be as follows:
a. To record minutes at all County Committee meetings and
to see to it that minutes are recorded at all General Meetings.
b. To make the minutes of these meetings available to all Members
of the GPVC in a timely fashion.
c. To ensure that all Committees keep minutes and that these
minutes are made available to all Members of the GPVC in a
timely fashion.
d. To provide training in minute-taking to committees and groups
as requested or as needed.
e. To maintain the records of the GPVC in an orderly fashion.
f. To ensure that the membership is informed of the dates of
the General Meetings and the County Committee meetings in a
timely manner.
5. The Secretary may appoint other Members of the GPVC to
assist with these tasks;
6. The duties and powers of the Secretary shall also be as
follows:
a. To maintain complete and accurate information regarding
the names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other
vital information about the Membership of the GPVC.
b. To distribute, collect, and keep records of membership pledge
cards.
c. To sign contracts on behalf of the GPVC when the Chair is
unable to do so.
V. Working Groups
A. Working Groups are associations of members of the GPVC
organized to carry out work on a particular issue of interest.
B. Non-members may also take part in Working Groups. It is
up to the discretion of the Working Group whether non-members
can participate decision-making.
C. By default, Working Groups shall make decisions by consensus,
but they may establish their own rules of procedure, according
to the specific needs of the Group.
D. Working Groups shall be established or dissolved by the
General Meeting.
E. Working Groups are responsible for making an annual report
to the General Meeting, as well as any other reports that are
requested by either the General Membership or the County Committee.
F. The County Committee will be responsible for keeping track
of which groups are active, and which are not.
G. No Working Group may make any financial commitment or statement
on behalf of the GPVC, unless previously authorized by the
General Membership or County Committee to do so.
VI. Consensus
A. By default, all bodies of the GPVC shall seek consensus
in all decision-making.
B. Any item or resolution presented to a body of the GPVC
which has not chosen another process as provided for under
these bylaws must be passed through the following formal process
of consensus.
C. Within the judgment of the facilitator and the limits of
the agenda, any item presented to the meeting will be given
adequate time for discussion and consideration.
D. When satisfied that the proposal is sufficiently understood
by the membership, the facilitator will ask for, and recognize
members to present, concerns. Each concern may be addressed
by further discussion and proposals to amend the item.
E. When, in the judgment of the facilitator, concerns have
been addressed as well as possible, the facilitator shall call
for consensus by asking for unresolved concerns.
F. If there are no unresolved concerns, then the proposal
has passed.
G. If unresolved concerns remain, then the facilitator shall
ask if the member presenting the concern will stand aside.
If the member is willing, then the proposal has passed; and
the concern will be recorded verbatim in the journal of the
Meeting.
H. If, however, the member is unwilling to stand aside, then
the Meeting shall proceed to vote on the proposal. The total
number of votes for and against the proposal, and the number
of abstentions, shall be recorded in the journal of the Meeting.
I. A 2/3 majority is required for the proposal to pass.
J. If the number of members abstaining from a vote is more
than 25% of the number of members voting yes and no, then the
proposal has not passed.
K. At the request of any two members, the vote shall be taken
by secret ballot.
VII. Election of Officers and Delegates
A. This article describes the nomination and election procedures
for County Committee members and state delegates. For other
nominations and elections within any body of the GPVC, the
body is free to choose the election procedure.
B. County Committee Elections
1. Nominations for all members of the County Committee shall
take place at the first General Meeting of each year, which
shall take place in January.
2. Any member may place names in nomination for any of the
County Committee seats.
3. Any member may be nominated for a single officer position.
4. Nominations shall be confirmed by the Organizational Secretary
and placed on the ballot.
5. Candidates may make brief speeches to the General Membership
at the time of nomination.
6. All members not present at this Meeting will be notified
of the nominations by the Organizational Secretary via e-mail
and/or telephone tree within 1 week.
7. If, for good and sufficient reasons, it is impossible
to nominate a candidate, or for a candidate to accept or decline
nomination during this meeting, nominations shall be accepted
and confirmed by the Organizational Secretary at any time up
to and including the meeting at which the balloting occurs.
These late nominees may make brief speeches to the membership
at the discretion of the Organizational Secretary.
8. If a valid nomination occurs between the meetings, the
Organizational Secretary shall notify the entire membership
of the name of the new candidate as quickly as possible, using
e-mail or telephone tree.
9. Balloting shall take place during the second General Meeting,
to be held in February of the same year, no less than 4 weeks
and no more than 6 weeks after the January Nominating meeting.
10. Voting for all County Committee positions shall be by
Secret Ballot.
11. The election of officers occurs before the election of
at-large positions because it is possible to run for both an
officer position and an at-large position.
12. Each voter selects one candidate for each office. Each
election that has a majority winner is over and the candidate
who received the majority of the votes is elected.
13. If there is not a majority winner for an officer position,
every candidate besides the top two are eliminated, and there
is an immediate runoff election between the top two candidates.
C. Election of State Delegates
1. Two delegates to the General Assembly of the Green Party
of Pennsylvania are to be elected using the same method as
for County Committee at-large members, with the exception that
only two candidates are ranked.
2. State delegates shall serve one-year terms.
3. If a delegate resigns or is removed, nominations for a
replacement shall be made at the next General Meeting and an
election held at the General Meeting following. The County
Committee may temporarily fill any vacancies by appointing
individuals to be alternate delegates. It may also elect delegates
if the General Meeting fails to elect or provide for the election
of sufficient delegates.
4. If, at the General Assembly itself, an insufficient number
of delegates are present, then the delegates present may choose
alternates from any members of the GPVC who are present.
VIII. Nomination of Candidates for Public
Office
A. The provisions of this article apply to
any candidate seeking to run as a "Green" for public office in the County
of Venango, or any subdivision thereof. This article shall
apply so long as the Green Party remains an officially recognized "Minor
Party" in Pennsylvania. Should the Green Party lose
its minor party status, or acquire major party status, these
bylaws shall be amended accordingly.
B. Candidates must first obtain the endorsement of the General
Membership at a General Meeting. Following such endorsement,
the Chair and Recording Secretary shall deliver to the Board
of Elections an Authorization of Candidacy listing the offices
for which candidates have been nominated and the names and
addresses of such candidates. The Board of Elections shall
not certify the nomination of any Green Party candidate for
whom such Authorization has not been received. Such Authorization
may be supplemented at any time prior to the last date on which
nomination papers may be filed. In the case of a substitution
candidate (ref. paragraph IX. E.), such Authorization may be
amended following the filing of nomination papers.
C. Following endorsement, GPVC will initiate
a petition drive to place the endorsed candidates' name(s)
on the ballot as a "Green".
D. Following endorsement, the General Membership shall establish
a Campaign Committee which shall be responsible for managing
all campaign related activities and ensuring that all such
activities are in compliance with local, state, and federal
election laws.
E. Any vacancy happening or existing in the Green nomination
for any public office in Venango County by reason of the death
or withdrawal of a candidate, the calling of a special election,
or other cause, shall be filled by the County Committee, which
shall only nominate candidates who have been endorsed by the
General Membership at a General Meeting.
IX. Conflict Resolution
A. Each new County Committee will nominate,
and with the consent of a General Meeting, appoint three
Arbiters to a Board of Mediation &
Arbitration. The term of office of the Board will be the
same as the County Committee, except that current Arbiters
will continue to serve until the new County Committee appoints
their replacements. No more than one of the Arbiters can
be a member of the County Committee.
B. The Board of Mediation & Arbitration
will have the final say within the GPVC about disputes arising
over interpretation of these bylaws. The Board will also
mediate disputes between Groups within the GPVC if the County
Committee is unable to resolve them, or if the County Committee
is a party in the dispute.
X. Finance
A. The Finance Committee of the GPVC is a standing committee
of the County Committee.
B. The Finance Committee is responsible, under the County
Committee, for the sound management of the finances of the
Party. The duties and responsibilities of the Finance Committee
include financial planning, development and monitoring of the
budget, financial record keeping, day-to-day fiscal management,
and fundraising.
C. The Finance Committee is empowered to make decisions only
within the parameters set down in this Article; the County
Committee reserves the right to approve all business decisions
made by the Committee. The Finance Committee shall report to
the County Committee every month. The Finance Committee is
empowered to propose specific rules and guidelines to implement
its duties and responsibilities as set down in these bylaws,
subject to the approval of the County Committee.
D. Meetings of the Finance Committee shall be open to all
active members.
E. The Finance Committee will consist of the Treasurer, at
least two permanent members, and any other active members of
the GPVC who wish to participate.
F. The County Committee shall appoint, for one-year terms,
at least two permanent members to the Finance Committee. The
elected members are responsible for attending Finance Committee
meetings and insuring that the work of the Committee continues.
G. The Treasurer will be ex-officio a member of the Finance
Committee and may, but need not be, a permanent member of the
Finance Committee.
H. The Treasurer is responsible for seeing to it that the
day-to-day bills of the GPVC and any other duly budgeted and
authorized expenses of the GPVC are paid. The Treasurer is
also responsible for the timely reporting of all campaign-related
financial activities to the County and state in accordance
with applicable federal, state, and local regulations. The
Treasurer must maintain familiarity with such guidelines and
regulations and insure that the GPVC is in compliance with
campaign finance laws.
I. The Treasurer may, with the consent of the County Committee,
appoint one or more Assistant Treasurers to help the Treasurer
carry out his or her duties.
J. All revenue and expenses of the GPVC are to be deposited
and withdrawn from a single bank account or group of linked
accounts. The Treasurer, and at least one other member of the
Finance Committee, must be co-signers on the accounts.
K. No transaction may be made with the GPVC funds without
proper documentation. All revenue, including cash donations,
is to be deposited in one of the GPVC bank accounts. No transactions
may be made with undeposited revenue; all expenses should be
paid from one of the GPVC bank accounts. However, the Finance
Committee may keep a reserve of petty cash no greater than
$50. Small expenses and reimbursements may be paid out of petty
cash provided that all transactions are recorded.
L. All checks for amounts greater than 1/10th of the bank
balance, subject to a $250 maximum, shall require the signatures
of two members of the Finance Committee.
M. If a cash transaction is necessary, and the expense has
been budgeted, then an individual may pay the expense, to be
reimbursed later.
N. Any individual who spends personal funds on an expense
which has not been budgeted or specifically approved by the
County Committee may not be reimbursed unless the unbudgeted
expense has received prior approval by the Finance Committee.
O. All potential fundraising projects must be reviewed by
the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee will evaluate
all fundraising projects based on their financial feasibility,
including startup costs and potential rate of return. Each
fundraising project must report monthly to the Finance Committee,
providing details of revenue and expense as well as rate of
return.
P. Fundraising projects that are losing money may be terminated
at the discretion of the Finance Committee.
XI. Amendment
A. Amendments to these bylaws must be passed by a General
Meeting.
