By Laws
Article 1 Organization Name
The organization shall be known as the Pasadena Sister Cities Committee (PSCC).
Article 2 Objective
The objective of PSCC shall be to promote the goals of Sister Cities International (SCI) and programs of PSCC.
Article 3 Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of PSCC shall be from October l to September 30, annually.
Article 4 Meetings
The general membership shall approve the dates, times and locations of meetings. Notice of these meetings shall be by regular US mails and/or by email. A quorum at a general membership meeting shall be one-third plus one of the active members.
Article 5 Membership
Membership is open to anyone that lives or works in the Pasadena area and is interested in supporting the goals and programs of PSCC.
Active Active regular members have full voting rights and are eligible to hold office as well as receive all PSCC communications. To maintain active status, regular members shall attend three (3) general meetings or two (2) General Meetings and two (2) Subcommittee Meetings within a year Subcommittee chairs will forward to the membership chair minutes of meetings or other lists of attendees.. Initial applicants for active membership shall present an application to the membership committee of PSCC for that committee’s review, approved by the Board, and submitted to the General Membership for approval.
Upon qualifying, the membership committee shall introduce and announce that the applicant has become a member at a general membership meeting and concurrently they shall be given a current copy of PSCC bylaws.
Associate Associate members are members who may not be able attend general meetings. They are, however, encouraged to take part in PSCC activities and t o upgrade to regular membership. To become a regular member, they shall attend a combination of three (3) general meetings a consecutive six month span of time within PSCC’s fiscal year. They may also elect to participate in PSCC activities if they so wish, such as hosting exchange students, providing their home for PSCC activities, and attending special PSCC functions. However, associate members have no voting rights and are not eligible to hold office in PSCC. They may receive PSCC’s customary communications sent to regular members if they so request or it is deemed appropriate for a particular event.
Honorary Honorary members are those, which the general membership wishes to recognize their value to PSCC. After being voted in as honorary members, such members shall not be entitled to vote or hold office. They have none of the obligations of membership.
Article 6 Board of Directors
Section 6.1 Members
The voting members of the board of directors (BoD) shall consist of:
President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Chairs of each sister city affiliation, and Student Exchange chair
SoCal Board member (non-elective) (may be unfilled if no PSCC member is on the SoCal Board)
The vice chair of subcommittees may act and report to the BoD or the general membership. In the absence of the chair and vice-chair, the chair may designate a subcommittee member to act on behalf of the chair at a PSCC meeting or event.
A quorum is a simple majority of the BoD.
Section 6.2. Duties
The BoD shall conduct regular monthly Board Meetings, review and update Board policies and bylaws, conduct strategic planning, recruit new members, hold regular General Meetings, review and present for approval the annual budget, and conduct fundraising.
Section 6.3 Term of Office
Terms of office shall be for one year for all positions on the BoD. No member may serve more than three consecutive terms in one office. No member may serve more than six (6) consecutive teams on the board and then after a one-year interval, may be eligible to serve again.
Section 6.4 Vacancies and Absences
Should a vacancy occur in an office between elections, the remaining members of the BoD by a majority vote may appoint an active member to complete that term. If the appointee serves greater than six (6) calendar months that shall constitute one year (please see Section 2 Terms of Office)
Two unexcused absences from scheduled BoD meetings are grounds to remove a member from the BoD by the general membership. “Excused” absences are defined as notifying the BoD’s president prior to a scheduled meeting.
Section 6.5 Compensation and Expenses
Members serve without monetary compensation for their services; however, upon pre-authorization from the membership, members will be reimbursed for expenses.
Article 7 Books and Records
The financial records and secretarial minutes shall be made available to any regular member on request at any general membership meeting or BoD meeting.
Article 8 Elections
Annually, in July, an ad hoc nominating committee (NC) of three (3) or more members shall be named by the president and approved by the general membership at the July general meeting. One member from the BoD shall be a member of the NC and the other members of the NC should not be present BoD members. The president cannot be a member of the NC. In August the NC will report back with the names of nominees to the general membership. Nominations from the floor are in order. The election will be held in September. A simple majority of the total present voting members at a meeting shall constitute election to the BoD. The newly elected BoD members take office immediately.
Article 9 Committees:
All committees of any kind shall report monthly to the Board of Directors and to the General Meeting on major actions and activities.
Standing committees shall be: ● Each sister city affiliation ● Bylaws ● Fundraising ● Hospitality
● Membership ● Publicity ● Student Exchange
All committees of any kind shall report monthly to the BoD and general membership to obtain approval for major actions/activities.
Bylaws: Shall be responsible for reviewing suggested changes to the bylaws and submit them as appropriate but not later than August of any fiscal year to effect as stated. Written notice of any changes shall be made 10 days before the general meeting on which they are to be voted upon; changes require two-thirds approval of those active members in attendance at a general meeting.
Fundraising: Shall be responsible for obtaining funds outside of the PSCC membership.
Hospitality: Shall be responsible for, but not limited to, arranging the annual year-end gathering, controlling the issuance of Rose Parade tickets, assisting city affiliation subcommittee dinners for incoming delegations, and like activities.
Membership: Shall be responsible for processing, approving and introducing applicants for membership to other members.
Publicity: Shall be responsible for news items related to activities of PSCC.
Student Exchange: Shall be responsible for the summer exchange student program and for coordinating with the sister city affiliations committees for intern matters and other student related matters.
All ad hoc committees, whenever created, will terminate annually at September 30, whether or not they have made a report back to the BD or general membership during PSCC’s fiscal year. Ad hoc committees may be renewed on October 1 of the following year in which they were created if the newly elected BD or the general membership decides to do so.
Article 10 New Sister City Affiliations
An ad hoc committee may be established by the general membership to explore the possibility of a new affiliation. Before a new affiliation can be formed, a support group of at least ten (10) new active members pledged to the success of the new affiliation. The ad hoc committee will be responsible for all efforts to attract a new affiliation provided the BD or the general membership first approves their actions. Such an ad hoc committee should demonstrate over a year’s time that the additional sister city is sustainable with ongoing interest. The general membership can then vote to send the matter to the Pasadena City Council with a recommendation to approve the new sister city affiliation.
Article 11 Parliamentary Authority
The latest edition of Roberts Rules of Order shall be the governing authority of PSCC unless overridden by the articles of these bylaws.
Article 12 Dissolution
In the event PSCC ceases to exist, all assets shall be given to the City of Pasadena.
(bylaws committee); respectfully submitted by Fred Alcantar, Bob Aronoff (chair), Jane Hallinger and Alan Lamson - May 20, 2004
Revision voted General Business Meeting - May 21, 2009