MANHATTAN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES COUNCIL
By Laws
ARTICLE I NAME
This organization shall be known as the Manhattan Developmental Disabilities Council.
ARTICLE II MISSION AND FUNCTION
The mission of the Manhattan Developmental Disabilities Council is to enhance the quality of life for people with developmental and their families. The Council shall act as the basic advocacy group in Manhattan for the needs of people with developmental disabilities as defined by New York State.
The functions of the Council shall include the following:
- Assess developmental disabilities services in Manhattan and identify service needs and priorities.
- Serve as an advisory body to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and its Bureau of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.
- Serve as an advisory body to the Manhattan Developmental Disabilities Services Office of the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
- Involve the community as individuals or organizations in identification, acceptance, and advocacy of services for people with developmental disabilities by dissemination of relevant information.
- Provide family members and self-advocates with a forum for sharing concerns and information.
- Provide providers with a forum for sharing concerns and information.
- Review proposals and make recommendations for funding to city and state funding sources.
In addition, two Council members shall serve on the Board of Directors of the InterAgency Council.
ARTICLE III MEMBERSHIP
Meetings are open to all family members, self-advocates, and providers. Membership is open to all family members and self-advocates who request to be on the mailing list. Membership is open to all providers who are current with their annual dues as set by the Council.
To promote member involvement, members are encouraged to participate in at least one committee of the Council.
Voting is limited to one vote for each provider agency and one vote for each family member and each self-advocate. Representatives of City and State governments are not eligible to vote.
To be eligible to vote for Council officers, a member must have attended at least three meetings in the nine months prior to the voting meeting or have attended the two meetings immediately before the voting meeting.
To be eligible to vote on Council motions, a member must have attended at least one meeting in the past twelve months.
There shall be no proxy votes except at the discretion of the Chairperson; the proxy votes will be accepted for votes on Council motions.
An annual fee, which will be determined at each June meeting of the Council, shall be charged to each agency participant in the Council to defray expenses for Council-sponsored events and incidental expenses. The annual fee shall be charged only to “Not-for-Profit” 501(c)3 voluntary agencies. Parents, guardians, self-advocates, and advocates shall be exempt from the fee. NYC and NYS government agencies will also be exempt. An agency having difficulty paying the annual fee may negotiate their fee with the Chair of the Council.
A report of funds received and expended will be presented annually at the June meeting of the Council.
ARTICLE IV OFFICERS
The officers of the Council shall consist of a Chairperson, one or more Vice Chairpersons, a Secretary, and a Treasurer, at least one of the officers being a family member or self-advocate. Officers are elected from the voting membership for a term of two years. Election of officers will be held in June of every other year when the term of the elected officers expires.
The duties of the officers are as follows:
1. The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings of the Council and shall create special ad hoc committees. The Chairperson shall serve as one of two Council representatives on the Board of Directors of the InterAgency Council, and shall appoint, with Council confirmation, a Council member to serve as the second representative. The Chairperson of the Council is an ex-officio member of each committee. The Chairperson or his/her designee shall represent the Council at meetings of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
2. The Vice Chairperson(s) shall, in the absence or disability of the Chairperson, render and perform the duties enumerated above.
3. The Secretary shall see that the minutes of the meetings are kept properly and that efforts are made to distribute the minutes to all members within two weeks following each meeting of the Council. In addition, the Secretary shall see that a copy of the minutes is sent to any nonmember who attended the previous meeting. The Secretary shall see that the attendance and voting eligibility records are kept. Names of members who have not attended a meeting for two years will be deleted from the mailing list.
4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the financial affairs of the Council, including but not limited to: maintaining an accurate accounting of all Council finances; maintaining the Council’s checking account; collecting annual dues (see under Article III Membership, above); maintaining an accurate account of agencies whose dues are paid and those in arrears; making appropriate disbursements. The Treasurer shall provide the Council with an annual report of funds received and expended.
A copy of these By-Laws shall be made available on the Council’s website.
ARTICLE V MEETINGS
The Council shall meet on a monthly basis (except for the months of July and August). Meetings will be publicized and members will be sent a copy of the minutes of the previous meeting with the announcement of the next meeting. Emergency meetings may be called by the Chairperson. Meetings will be conducted according to the content of the By-Laws and where differences of opinion occur they will be decided by a majority vote. A quorum of the Executive Committee is empowered to act during the summer months. The Executive Committee will consist of the elected officers, the past Chairpersons who have remained active members, and the co-chairpersons of each of the active committees.
A quorum of the Council shall consist of at least seven voting members, at least two of whom are officers, at least two of whom are providers who are not officers, at least two of whom are family members or self-advocates who are not officers.
Meetings are held in different geographic locations of the borough.
With the provisos defined above, the vote of the majority of the members eligible to vote, present at the time of the vote, shall be the act of the Council.
ARTICLE VI COMMITTEES
The Council will establish committees as the need arises. Committees shall be comprised of at least three members, at least one of whom is a family member or self- advocate. Committee chairs will be appointed by the Chairperson of the Council. A committee shall review matters submitted to it and submit recommendations to the Council. If a committee is split closely on a decision, each member will have equal time to present his/her views prior to the Council vote. A copy of any pertinent matter will be available, if requested, to any member of the Council.
A nominating committee shall be formed from the voting membership before the June meeting at which officers are to be elected. The nominating committee shall select a slate of candidates for office to be presented at the May meeting.
In addition to the executive and nominating committees, there shall be standing and ad hoc committees. The standing committees shall be:
- Proposal Review Committee
- Family Support Services Committee
- Legislative Committee
- Transition Committee
- Children’s Services Committee
- Service Coordination Conference Committee
- Manhattan Family Support Services Advisory Council
- Standing committees are expected to meet the following procedural criteria:
1. Committee attendance lists must be kept current.
2. The Council Chairperson must be notified of all committee meetings.
3. Committees shall maintain minutes.
4. Committees must report their activities at each monthly Council meeting.
Ad hoc committees shall be created by the chairperson as the need arises, and shall report their activities at each monthly Council meeting.
ARTICLE VII VOTING
The mode of voting for the Council membership will be left to the discretion of the Chairperson. A member may request a written ballot.
ARTICLE VIII AMENDMENTS
These By-Laws may be amended, supplemented, or repealed by vote of two-thirds of the eligible members of the Council attending the meeting. Notification of proposed alteration must be made at the previous meeting