MPPL Board of Trustees Bylaws
I. PURPOSE
II. ORGANIZATION
A. Membership
1. Number of Members
2. Terms of Office
3. Vacancies and Resignations
B. Officers
C. Standing Committees
D. Temporary Committees
III. DUTIES OF MEMBERS AND OFFICERS
A. Members
B. Public Statements
C. Chair
D. Vice Chair
E. Secretary
F. Standing Committees
1. Budget/Finance Committee
2. Buildings and Grounds Committee
3. Personnel Committee
4. Organizational Committee
IV. POLICIES AND BYLAWS
A. Administration of Policies
B. Adoption of Policies and Bylaws
V. MEETINGS AND MEETING PLACES
A. Regular Meetings
B. Special Meetings
C. Executive Sessions
D. Organizational Meeting
E. Quorum
F. “Open Meetings Law”
G. Parliamentary Procedure
H. Agenda
I. Publicity
I. PURPOSE
To provide library services to the people in the library district of the Town of Mount Pleasant as conceived by the original Agreement between the Town of Mount Pleasant and the Village of Pleasantville, January 14, 1965.
II. ORGANIZATION
A. Membership
1. Number of Members
The Board of Trustees shall consist of nine trustees.
a. The governing Board of the Town of Mount Pleasant shall appoint four members of the Board of Trustees. The governing Board of the Village of Pleasantville shall appoint four members of the Board of Trustees. Such members shall be known as Class A Members.
b. One member of the Board of Trustees shall be alternately appointed by the Board of the Town of Mount Pleasant or the Board of the Village of Pleasantville to serve for one term. This member shall be known as a Class B Member.
2. Terms of Office
a. Each member of Class A and Class B shall be appointed for a term of five years.
b. Upon expiration of a full five-year term, a Class A Member of the Board of Trustees may be reappointed for one term.
3. Vacancies and Resignations
a. Vacancies due to cause other than expiration of term shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term of either a Class A Member or a Class B Member by the governing Board who had appointed the member who caused the vacancy.
b. A member absent from three consecutive Board meetings without an acceptable excuse is considered to have resigned and the local appointing municipality be notified.
B. Officers
At the organizational meeting, which shall be held at the first meeting of the year, the Board of Trustees shall elect from its membership the following officers: Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary. The Treasurer of the Mount Pleasant Library Board shall be the Town Comptroller from the Town of Mount Pleasant in accordance with the New York State Education Law Sec. 259.2.
C. Standing Committees
The Chair shall appoint the standing committees at the organizational meeting. The standing committees are:
1. Budget/ Finance Committee
2. Buildings and Grounds Committee
3. Personnel Committee
4. Organizational Committee
D. Temporary Committees
The Chair as needed shall appoint temporary committees. Their terms shall not exceed one year.
III. DUTIES OF MEMBERS AND OFFICERS
A. Members
The Board of Trustees shall:
1. Hire the Library Director
2. Develop Library Policies
3. Oversee the hiring of personnel
4. Oversee the purchase of library materials, equipment, and supplies
5. Prepare a budget for the Library for the ensuing calendar year and submit this budget to the governing bodies of the Town of Mount Pleasant and the Village of Pleasantville at those times designated by the two municipal bodies
6. Approve contracts
7. Attend all Board Meetings
8. Approve the payment of all bills by Board resolution
9. Serve on at least one committee and attend committee meetings when scheduled.
10. Abide by the Code of Ethics established by the Town of Mount Pleasant or the Village of Pleasantville.
B. Public Statements
No member of the Board shall have the power to act in the name of the Board outside of the Board meetings, unless authorized by these Bylaws or by formal Board motion to carry out a specific action.
C. Chair
The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Board. The Chair shall:
1. Appoint all standing and temporary committees and committee chairs
2. Be a member ex-officio of all committees of the Board
3. Be empowered to co-sign all checks for expenditures approved by the Board
4. Be empowered to sign all contracts approved by the Board
5. Have the right, as do other members of the Board, to vote thereon
6. Serve as Chair of the Personnel Committee
7. Assist Director in generating monthly meeting agenda
D. Vice Chair
In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair shall perform all the duties of the Chair. If the Chair steps down, the Vice Chair shall assume all duties of the Chair for the remainder of the year. A new Vice Chair shall be elected in a timely manner once the Vice Chair assumes the Chair position.
E. Secretary
The Secretary shall:
1. Record and transcribe the minutes of all Board meetings
2. Submit a draft copy of the minutes to the Board and Library Director within two weeks for posting in accordance with the “Open Meetings Law” requirements. The draft minutes will be sent with the agenda to Board members prior to the next regular Board meeting.
F. Standing Committees
1. Budget/ Finance Committee
The committee shall be composed of the Budget/Finance Committee Chair and two other members. Members shall be designated by the Board Chair.
The Budget/Finance Chair shall:
a. Co-sign with an officer or with the Director all checks from the Gift Fund
b. Have responsibility for the Investment Policy of the Gift Fund
c. Confer with the Director and the Board Chair regarding the3 accumulation and recommended use of gift funds
d. Review the claims of payment prior to Board of Trustee meetings
e. Present a monthly financial report to the Board
The Committee in conjunction with the Library Director will prepare an annual budget that is:
a. In a format conforming to the requirements of State and local law
b. In a format including relevant history and appropriate rationale
c. Submitted to the full Board of Trustees for approval
d. Submitted in time to meet the requirements of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Pleasantville and the Town Board of the Town of Mount Pleasant
2. Buildings and Grounds Committee
The committee shall be composed of the Building and Grounds Chair and at least one other member. Members shall be designated by the Board Chair.
The committee shall:
a. Confer with the Library Director and the Board Chair as to the needs of the buildings and grounds and presents plans and suggestions to satisfy those needs to the Board
b. Report annually to the Board the future capital needs of the library
3. Personnel Committee
The committee shall be composed of the Board Chair of Trustees and
at least one other member. Members shall be designated by the Board Chair.
The Personnel Committee shall:
a. Determine annual responsibilities and objectives of the Library Director
b. Evaluate Library Director’s performance on an annual basis
c. Act as the Search Committee to hire a Director if necessary. The Search Committee shall:
i. Call for applicants for the position
ii. Accept all letters and resumes and decide whom to reject and whom to interview
iii.Conduct all interviews
iv.Bring its decision to the full Board for final approval or for guidance in the event a decision cannot be reached
4. Organizational Committee
The committee shall be composed of the Organizational Committee Chair and two other members. Members shall be designated by the Board Chair.
The Organization Committee shall prepare a roster for the January Organizational Meeting, of Officers and Standing Committee Chairs and Memberships
IV. POLICIES AND BYLAWS
The policies and Bylaws shall be set by the Board of Trustees and shall direct the function of the Library and its Board of Trustees. However, such policies and Bylaws shall be at all times subject to the provisions of the Education Laws of the State of New York and of any other statutes of the State relating to or affecting the Library. Should any provision of said statutes or of the regulations of the Commissioner of Education be in conflict with the stated policies of the Library Board of Trustees, such Library policies shall be deemed to be amended without further action of the Board.
A. Administration of policies
The Director of the Library shall administer the policies of the Library.
B. Adoption of Policies and Bylaws
1. All propositions involving the making of new policy or the changing of any standing policy or the revision of any of the bylaws of the Board of Trustees of the Library shall be presented in writing for discussion at two consecutive regular Board meetings at which a quorum is present.
2. Adoption or amendment of such policies or bylaws shall be by a majority vote of the full membership of the Board including vacancies.
a. Such vote shall be taken at the second meeting assigned for discussion of such policy or bylaw. A member of the Board of Trustees must be present at the meeting in order to vote. A vote may not be cast by proxy.
b. Upon passage, the revisions or new policies or new bylaws shall be duly recorded in the Policy Manual of the Board of Trustees and/or in the Bylaws of the Board of Trustees, whichever is more appropriate.
V. MEETINGS AND MEETING PLACES
The Board of Trustees of the Mount Pleasant Public Library shall meet a minimum of ten times per year in the Board Room of the main library in Pleasantville or at such place as may be designated by a majority vote of the Board.
A. Regular Meetings
1. The dates of the regular meetings shall be determined by a majority vote of the full membership of the Board at its organizational meeting.
2. Meeting dates may be changed by majority vote of the full membership of the Board.
3. Conduct of meetings shall be held in coordination with the Board’s meeting policy.
B. Special Meetings
1. Special meetings may be called by the Chair or at least two trustees acting together. Trustees will be notified of the time and place of the meeting by either telephone or written notice. In the event a special meeting is called, all attempts will be made to inform the public through the news media as soon as practicable after calling for the special meeting.
2. The business to be conducted will be specified in the announcement of the special meeting and no other matters may be voted on.
C. Executive Sessions
1. Executive sessions may be called at an open meeting by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees.
2. The agenda for the executive session shall be subject to the limitations of the “Open Meetings Law of the State of New York.”
D. Organizational Meeting
1. The organizational meeting shall be held during the first month of the fiscal year.
2. At the organizational meeting, officers shall be elected and standing committee chairmen shall be appointed.
3. At the organizational meeting, an official newspaper shall be chosen for publication of such notices as are legally required.
4. At the organizational meeting, an attorney will be retained as Library Attorney.
E. Quorum
A majority of the whole number shall be a quorum, i.e., five members constitute a quorum.
F. “Open Meetings Law”
All regular and special meetings shall be open to the public and conform to the requirements of the “Open Meetings Law”.
G. Parliamentary Procedure
Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall be the parliamentary authority for all matters of procedure not specifically covered by the Bylaws.
H. Agenda
Preceding each regular Board meeting, an itemized agenda and the minutes of the previous meeting shall be delivered by first class mail or e-mail to each Trustee.
I. Publicity
1. The regular meetings of the Board shall be announced at least 72 hours in advance of the meetings by posting notice on a Library bulletin Board and on the Library Website.
2. Special meetings shall be announced as soon as practicable.
Revised & Approved at the October 2018 Meeting