Committee Procedures

How Committees Are Formed

As per club Bylaws 5.3

The Board of Directors (BOD) may appoint committees to advance the work of the Club in such matters as rescue efforts, herding trials, dog shows, obedience trials, trophies, annual prizes, membership and other fields which may well be served by committees.

Such committees shall always be subject to the final authority of the Board and can be dissolved with a majority vote of the Board.

Any committee appointment may be terminated, by a majority vote of the Board, upon written notice to the appointee; and the Board may appoint successors to those persons whose services have been terminated.

The Board will announce to the members via the electronic newsletter, yahoo group or at membership meetings that a committee needs to be formed. The Board will provide any requirements that are needed to serve on a specific committee and will ask the membership to submit a request to join.

The Board will appoint a Board member as the liaison to the committee who will act as the committee chair until one is elected by the committee members. The Board Liaison is not a member of the committee but is responsible to explain to the committee what the Board's position is and to see to it that committee procedures, Board policy and Robert's Rules of Order are followed.

Who Can Be on a Committee

Any member interested in serving on a committee shall submit a formal request to the Board and will be considered for appointment. The request form shall be furnished by the Board.

Committees shall normally be made up of between three (3) and seven (7) MASCUSA members, including the Chairperson. All committee members must have a minimum of 6 consecutive months In Good Standing (IGS) prior to appointment.

All committee members must have email and phone capabilities as all committees are electronic and will require conference call meetings.

Procedures the Committee Needs to Follow

These Committee Procedures are to be utilized by all MASCUSA Committees.

All members, including the Chair, will have one vote on all issues brought before them.

A committee member or Chair must recuse him or herself if at any point an issue becomes of personal interest. Personal interest being defined as, involving them personally, a dog they own or co-own or a family member. The recused committee member will not be a party to discussion or have a vote in the matter.

All committee business should be tracked for historical purposes. The committee list (Yahoo Groups) should be used for all written communication and the MASCUSA conference line set up for your committee for verbal communication. This will ensure that all members of the committee are current on discussions and/or motions currently being reviewed by the committee.

When a committee schedules a meeting the Chairperson must provide the Board liaison with an agenda for the meeting. The agenda for meetings must be submitted to the entire committee and the Board liaison prior to any scheduled meeting.

Scheduled committee meetings may not be conducted without a quorum. A quorum is established when more than 50% of total committee members are present. When there is a quorum of committee members present, business may be conducted and motions can be passed. Informal working meetings may be held without a quorum, however no votes may be taken.

Issues brought before the Committee should be considered within a reasonable time period. If they cannot be considered within a reasonable time frame, the Board liaison should be notified and informed as to when the issue will be addressed.

Committees are encouraged to discuss ideas presented before making a motion. Motions may be brought before the committee by any member of the committee. For a motion to pass, a majority vote of the committee members must be obtained.

All votes are to go directly to the Chair who at the end of the voting period will tabulate the votes. The Chairperson will present the recommendations along with supporting documentation, to include the motion, voting results and committee member comments to the Board liaison.

When notifying the committee and the Board liaison of voting results for the committee, committee member's names and how they voted must be listed unless it is deemed by the liaison and MASCUSA President that the issue is of such a sensitive nature the vote should remain confidential.

The Board liaison will then supply the BOD with all information received from the Chairperson. Comments/questions will be sent back to the Board liaison for answers, input, action or clarification by the committee. Once the BOD has reviewed and considered the recommendations of the committee, it may be added to the agenda for the next scheduled Board or membership meeting. The recommendations made by the committee will be taken into consideration by the Board, but the board may vote to disregard the recommendations of the committee.

Committees may schedule conference calls using MASCUSA's conference line which will include all Committee members and the Board Liaison.

The purpose of a conference call is to allow the entire committee to communicate and enable them to discuss issues of a complex nature.

Board members may be added to any or all committees email groups of their choosing. Board members may participate in and be a voting member of any committee for which they are not the designated board liaison.

What Are the Duties of the Liaison?

The liaison shall be a current Board member. The Board appointed liaison will act as the committee Chair until one is selected.

The liaison is not considered a member of the committee and has no voting rights.

The liaison will keep the committee aligned with the priorities set forth by the Board.

The liaison is allowed to participate in the deliberations but is not allowed to change or alter any of the recommendations made by the committee prior to presenting it to the Board.

The liaison presents the committee findings to the Board therefore they must fully understand the committee's recommendations.

The liaison will forward the recommendation from the committee to the MASCUSA Board for discussion, comment, questions and voting.

If an issue arises that falls outside the outlined procedures herein, the Board liaison should be contacted.

What Are the Duties of the Chair of the Committee?

The Chairperson is responsible for making sure that each meeting is planned effectively, conducted according to Roberts Rules of Order and that all matters are dealt with in an orderly, efficient manner.

The Chairperson of a committee formally opens the meeting for the group.

The Chairperson will take or assign someone to take minutes at all committee meetings and conference calls and will distribute these minutes to the committee members and Board liaison within ten days of the meeting/call.

The Chairperson is responsible for the administration of the voting procedures.

The Chairperson may raise a question, state their opinion and place a vote but must always remain unbiased while carrying out the will of the majority.

The Chairperson will present a report of all recommendations of the committee, supporting documentation and the motion and vote results to the Board liaison.

This report will include all issues under consideration by the committee.

If the Chair is unable to carry out his/her duties as listed in these procedures, the Chair may resign his/her position as Chair and remain on the committee until his/her position is up for appointment.

The Board appointed liaison will assume the Chairman's position until the committee selects a new Chair.

All membership correspondence concerning the committee is to be directed to the committee Chairperson and they will immediately forward it to all committee members and the Board liaison. In the event that the committee is unable to answer correspondence, the committee will refer the correspondence to the Board.

All correspondence coming into the committee must have the identification of the writer(s) who sent it.

Any and all correspondence coming to the committee without the identification of the writer(s) will not be distributed. The committee will not consider anonymous correspondence.

Reimbursable expenses incurred by the Committee Chairperson are: Postage and cost of copies. All reimbursable expenses, with receipts, must be submitted to the MASCUSA Treasurer within sixty days of the expense.

Cause for Removal and Procedure

These procedures are to be utilized by all committees wishing to replace a committee member.

In the event that a committee member is not participating in assigned duties, or is being disruptive to the committee as a whole, the committee may vote to remove that member.

A majority vote of the committee must be established for removal of a committee member. Once the majority has been established, the Chairperson shall advise the Board liaison, in writing, as to the reason the committee as a whole wishes to remove a committee member. A majority vote of the committee must be established before the BOD will consider removal of the committee member. The BOD has the final authority of removal of a committee member.

If at any time a committee member believes the Chair is not carrying out his/her duties, the Committee member may contact the liaison for resolution.

The MASCUSA Board of Directors may remove any committee member, including the Chairperson, from the committee at any time.

Board Approved December 19, 2013.