SAN MIGUEL ADVISORY COUNCIL BYLAWS

ARTICLE I NAME OF ORGANIZATION

The name of this organization shall be the San Miguel Advisory Council.

ARTICLE II FORM OF ORGANIZATION

This is a group formulated to: 1) advise the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors and the San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission of community opinion on issues described in ART III, Sec. 3 below and, 2) facilitate communication between County departments service organizations (i.e., Department of Public Works, Code Enforcement, Fire Department, Sheriff’s Department, etc.), community service organizations, Community Services District, and the citizens of the community relating to the planning, development, and maintenance of San Miguel area.

ARTICLE III PURPOSES OF THE ADVISORY COUNCIL

Section 1: To foster a comprehensive program of development aimed at providing the maximum benefit to the public by encouraging public input and consensus on planning issues in San Miguel and it’s surrounding area of influence (hereinafter referred to as the San Miguel area) as outlined on the attached map.
Section 2: To hear and represent community views in land use, design review, public services, circulation, public improvements and other aspects of orderly community growth, consistent with the San Miguel Community Design Plan.
Section 3: To hold public hearings, conduct studies and make recommendations to the County Board of Supervisors and the County Planning Commission and also to report to the Board of Supervisors on matters, issues, projects, programs, and County General Plan policies and ordinances in the San Miguel area.

ARTICLE IV MEMBERS AND ELECTIONS

Section 1: Membership on the Advisory Council shall consist of seven (7) members and two (2) alternates who reside in the boundaries as defined by ART. III, Sec. 1., and who are registered to vote at their address within the San Miguel Area as described in Section 1. A reasonable effort shall be made to obtain membership on the Council from residents as geographically representative of the entire San Miguel area as possible.
Section 2: No member of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors may be eligible for nomination.
Section 3: An Annual Public Meeting shall be held in June of each year for the purpose of electing Advisory Council members and alternates whose term has expired.
Section 4: Nominations for members shall be made only at the May regular meeting preceding the Annual Public Meeting and may be written or oral. Oral nominations shall be made only at the May regular meeting, and written nominations will be accepted during or prior to the May regular meeting. All nominees must give their consent to the nomination prior to or during the nomination meeting and be present at the nomination meeting Candidates for election shall be current registered voters in the San Miguel area, nominated by the residents of the San Miguel area as described in Section 1. Nominations will be closed at the end of the May meeting.
Section 5: Voters shall be comprised of those persons residing in the San Miguel area who are present at the Annual Meeting and are currently registered San Luis Obispo County voters within their San Miguel area address. Write-in candidates whose eligibility has been verified are acceptable. In the initial June 2006, election (4) candidates with the highest number of votes were elected to a two (2) year term, the three (3) candidates with the next highest number of votes to a one (1) year term and the next two (2) candidates with the next most number of votes as alternate one (1) and alternate two (2) for a one (1) year term. The resulting schedule for all subsequent yearly elections is three (3) members and up to two (2) alternates in the odd-numbered years and four (4) members and up to two (2) alternates in the even-numbered years. Appointed and elected alternates shall be elected annually. Council members are elected for two year terms. As a service to the community, the Advisory Council will invite all candidates who are running for membership to speak on an equal time basis at the May nominating meeting.
Section 6: Elections shall be certified by an independent third party i.e. the League of Women Voters.
Section 7: When a member vacates his/her membership before their term ends, the alternate with the highest number of votes when elected shall be elevated to the position of the vacancy except for a vacancy of the Chair. If the Chair resigns, a vote of the entire Council is required to select a new Chair. If there are no more alternates, the Advisory Council shall appoint the member by a two-thirds majority vote. The member’s term shall end when the vacated member’s term has expired. If a Council member misses 3 unexcused consecutive meetings, the vacancy may be filled by a vote of the Council.

ARTICLE V OFFICERS

Section 1: All officers shall be elected by majority vote of the members of the Council at the conclusion of the annual election meeting.
Section 2: Officers of the Advisory Council shall consist of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian and Public Relations Officer. One person may hold more than one office.
Section 3: When an officer resigns from his/her office, the Advisory Council shall
elect a replacement at the next regular meeting.

ARTICLE VI DUTIES OF OFFICERS / ALTERNATES

Section 1: The Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer, Public
Relations Officer and Historian, in succession, shall preside over the meeting.
Section 2: a) The Chairperson shall preside over the meetings, represent the Advisory Council at other public meetings, appoint sub-committees and sign documents related to the business of the Advisory Council. The Chairperson shall ensure the activities of the Advisory Council are conducted according to the bylaws.
b) The Vice-Chairperson shall assume the duties of the Chairperson in his/her absence.
c) The Secretary shall take, transcribe and record minutes of all meetings
and prepare correspondence relating to the business of the Advisory
Council. The Secretary shall, with the Chairperson, compose each meeting’s agenda and present it to the Public Relations Officer in a timely manner for dissemination (see “e” below).
d) The Treasurer shall keep a record of all monies raised and spent by the
Advisory Council and maintain such in a special bank account in the name
of the San Miguel Advisory Council. The Treasurer shall alert the Advisory
Council when a bill is due and compose correspondence to the Board of
Supervisors when funding is necessary.
e) The Public Relations Officer shall provide notice of all public meetings of the Advisory Council by contacting the news media and providing all pertinent information regarding the meetings, etc., for publications and/or airing. The Public Relations Officer shall post the time, date, place and proposed agenda at the San Miguel Post Office and other public notice sites no later than five (5) days before public meetings (see Art VIII Sec.2).
f) The Historian shall keep a permanent record of activities of the Advisory Council. All maps, renderings and copies of application materials pertaining to projects presented to he Advisory Council shall be maintained on file until final approval/disapproval by he Subdivision Review Committee, Hearing Officer, Planning Commission and/or the County Board of Supervisors.

g) The Alternate positions are expected to attend meetings of the Council. Alternates shall replace regular Council member positions during times of absence or vacancy. Alternates do not vote on items of Council business unless serving in absence or vacancy.

ARTICLE VII COMMITTEES

Section 1: The Chairperson shall appoint sub-committees as needed.

Section 2: The sub-committees shall make recommendations and submit them to the Council for action.

ARTICLE VIII MEETINGS AND RULES OF ORDER

Section 1: Public meetings of the full San Miguel Advisory Council shall be held on a regular monthly basis and will be identified at the second meeting after Council elections.
Amendment to Section 1 on March 24, 2010. After announcing to the public x three meetings and the quorem in agreement the meetings have been amended to 1) The November meeting date may be changed as necessary due to the Thanksgiving holiday. 2) The December meeting may be omitted due to the Christmas holiday. In the event of an urgent matter instead of an omission, the meeting will be deferred to a different date. Gary Davis, Chairperson and Sharon Brower, Secretary.
Section 2: Public meetings shall abide by the following standard rules of order and procedure:
A. Chair announces the agenda item.
B. Staff and/or applicant make presentation.
C. Chair will ask Council members if they have clarifying questions of staff or applicant.
D. Chair opens the public hearing. Public is allowed to speak. All questions from the public should be addressed to the Chair rather than to the applicant or to other public members.
E. Chair closes public hearing.
F. Council discusses why they are making their decision. Any Council member should make a motion of the action to be taken.
G. Motion requires a second by another Council member. Further clarifying discussion on the motion may occur amongst Council members.
H. The Chair then calls the roll for a vote.
Section 3: Notice shall be posted at the San Miguel Post Office and other public locations stating the time and place of each public meeting and the agenda to be considered no less than five (5) days before the meeting.
Section 4: A quorum shall consist of a majority of the Advisory Council members.
Section 5: The Chairperson may call a special meeting after proper notification of Advisory Council members. The Chairperson shall call a special meeting at the request of three (3) or more Advisory Council members.

Section 6: The Advisory Council shall report major findings, decisions and progress of any programs at monthly meetings.

Section 7: All meetings are open to the public except those meetings held among the members for the purpose of Council procedural matters. Accurate minutes must be kept, adopted and made publicly available at the next public meeting.

ARTICLE IX FINANCES

Section 1: Any disbursements of funds over a sum of $100.00 shall be approved by the majority of the Advisory Council members.
Section 2: Funds for the Advisory Council’s functioning will be provided by the public through fund-raising activities, donations and grants by the Board of Supervisors upon written request.
ARTICLE X CONFLICT OF INTEREST
(Based on Regulations of the Fair Political Practices Commission, Title 2, Division 6, California Code of Regulations)
No Advisory Council member may make, participate in making or in any way use or attempt to use his/her Council position to influence a council decision in which he/or she knows or has reason to know he/she has a disqualifying conflict of interest. A Council member has a conflict of interest if the Council decision will have a reasonably foreseeable material financial effect on one or more of his/her economic interests. The following six kinds of economic interests from which conflicts of interest arise shall apply to each Council member:
Business Investment. An economic interest in a business entity in which you, your immediate family, or anyone acting on your behalf has invested $2,000 or more.
Business Employment or Management. An economic interest in a business entity for which you are a director, officer, partner, trustee, employee, or hold any position of management.
Real Property. An economic interest in real property in which you, your immediate family, or anyone acting on your behalf has invested $2,000 or more, and also in certain leasehold interests.
• Sources of Income. An economic interest in anyone, whether an individual or an organization, from whom you have received (or from whom you have been promised) $500 or more in income within 12 months prior to the decision about which you are concerned. When thinking about sources of income, keep in mind that you have a community property interest in your immediate family’s income
— a person from whom your immediate family receives income may also be a source of a conflict of interest to you. Also keep in mind that if you or your immediate family owns 10 percent or more of a business, you are considered to be receiving “pass-through” income from the business’s clients. In other words, the business’s clients may be considered sources of income to you.
Gifts. An economic interest in anyone, whether an individual or an organization, who has given you gifts which total $390 or more within 12 months prior to the decision about which you are concerned.
Personal Financial Effect. An economic interest in your personal expenses, income, assets, or liabilities, as well as those of your immediate family. This is known as the “personal financial effects” rule. If these expenses, income, assets or liabilities are likely to go up or down by $250 or more in a 12-month period as a result of the governmental decision, then the decision has a “personal financial effect” on you.
Immediate Family. Your immediate family is defined as your spouse, your registered domestic partner, your children, or your parents.

ARTICLE XI AMENDMENTS

Amendments to these bylaws may be made only at a regular meeting of the Advisory Council by a favorable two-thirds majority of the Advisory Council members present, providing that the proposed amendment has been previously presented to the Advisory Council for report, read in full at a previous regular meeting and announced publicly prior to the vote.
The Bylaws of the San Miguel Advisory Council were amended at the regular meeting held on by unanimous vote of the Council.

DENIS DEGHER

Chair

BETTY CAZALY
Secretary