BYLAWS

BYLAWS

of the

MUTUAL AID BOX ALARM SYSTEM DIVISION #32

ARTICLE I

Name

1-1. Name- The name of this inter-governmental association shall be the “Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) Division #32” hereinafter referred to as the Division.

1-2. Address- The official mailing address shall be: 626 Lincoln Highway, Fairview Heights, IL 62208.

1-3. Legal Establishment- The Division is an Intergovernmental Association organized under the Intergovernmental Cooperation Act (5 ILCS 220/1).

ARTICLE II

Purpose

2-1. Local Mutual Aid- The Division shall promote and coordinate fire service mutual aid activities within St. Clair and Monroe Counties, and the surrounding pertinent region.

2-2. Regional and Statewide Mutual Aid- The Division shall promote and coordinate mutual aid activities involving the allocation of Division fire service resources outside the local area and the request of outside fire service resources into the Division.

ARTICLE III

Membership

3-1. Chiefs Association Membership- All members of the Division shall be active members of the St. Clair/Monroe County Fire Chiefs Association.

3-2. Local Government Authorization- Any active member of the St. Clair/Monroe County Fire Chiefs Association shall become a member in the Division upon filing with the Division Secretary/Treasurer an authentic copy of the official Authorizing Ordinance to join the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System and its accompanying Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Agreement. Each document copy shall demonstrate that joining the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System is duly approved by the governmental entity through which the member is chartered.

3-3. Member Representation- The Chief of each member department shall be the official department representative to the Division. Members may designate an alternative representative to the Division to serve in the absence or incapacitation of the Department Chief.

3-4. Resignation of Membership- Any member may resign membership by petitioning the Division President. The petition shall demonstrate that resignation from the Division is authorized by the government entity through which the member is chartered.

3-5. Membership Reinstatement- Any member wishing to be reinstated to the Division shall petition the Division President by re-filing the documents described in paragraph 3-2. Each document copy shall demonstrate that joining the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System is duly approved by the governmental entity through which the member is chartered.

3-6. Dues- The Division shall collect annual dues from the membership. The amount of annual dues shall be determined and set by the membership at the Annual Meeting. Annual dues are payable on January 1^st of each year. Dues in arrears may be forgiven on a case-by-case basis by a vote of the membership at any regular or special meeting.

3-7. Special Assessments- The Division may collect special assessments from the membership. Necessity, amounts, and due dates of special assessments from the membership shall be determined and set by the membership at any regular or special meeting. Assessments in arrears may be forgiven on a case-by-case basis by a vote of the membership at any regular or special meeting.

ARTICLE IV

Officers

4-1. Elected Officers- The elected officers of the Division shall be a President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, and four Directors.

4-2. Duties of the Elected Officers- These officers shall perform the duties prescribed by these Bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Division. The president shall serve as the titular representative of the Division to the public, units of government, and other organizations. The Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for a financial report at the annual meeting, each regular meeting and whenever deemed necessary by a majority of the Executive Board of Directors.

4-3. Election of Officers- The elected officers of the St. Clair/Monroe County Fire Chiefs Association shall serve as the ex officio officers of the Division. The conditions and terms of office shall run concurrent with those of the St. Clair/Monroe County Fire Chiefs Association.

ARTICLE V

Meetings

5-1. Regular Meetings- Regular meetings shall be held on the fourth Thursday of January, March, May, July, and September. The President shall designate the time and place of regular meetings.

5-2. Annual Meeting- There shall be an annual meeting held in December of each year. The Executive Board of Directors shall designate the time and place of the annual meeting. The annual meeting shall be for the purpose of receiving reports of officers and committees, and for any other business that may arise.

5-3. Special Meetings- Special meetings may be called by the President, by vote of the Executive Board, or shall be called upon the written request of 25% of the Division’s members in good standing. The President shall designate the time and place of any special meeting.

5-4. Meeting Notification- All members shall receive written notification of all Division meetings. Written notification of the annual meeting and all regular meetings shall be not less than five days or more than forty days prior to the meeting date. Written notification of a special meeting shall be not less than forty-eight hours prior to the meeting. All notifications shall state the place, day, and hour of the meeting. Such notice shall be deemed delivered when deposited in the United States Mail sent to the address of record as provided by the Division members. It shall be the responsibility of the Division members to provide the Secretary/Treasurer with any change in addressee or address.

5-5. Quorum- A quorum of members must be present at any meeting for any action on business matters to occur. A quorum shall consist of at least ten percent of the members. If a quorum does not exist, information on topics of interest to the Division may be discussed but no official action on those topics may occur.

5-6. Closed Meetings- Meetings are open to all member department Chief officers and/or their official representatives. Only member representatives of the Division shall address the Division except by invitation of the President, the Executive Board of Directors, or by vote of the Division.

5-7. Voting- Each Division member is entitled to one vote on a Division issue. In the event of a contested issue, the President shall allow sufficient time prior to the call for the vote for the member representatives present to caucus and discuss their vote on the issue. When a contested issue is brought to vote, the Secretary/Treasurer shall, by roll call of the membership, note the single vote of each member. After the roll call is completed, the Secretary/Treasurer shall announce the outcome of the vote. In the event of a tie, the President acting as a Division officer and not as a member representative shall cast the deciding vote. There shall be no proxy or absentee voting.

ARTICLE VI

The Executive Board of Directors

6-1. Board Composition- The officers of the Division, including the Directors, shall constitute the Executive Board of Directors.

6-2. Board's Duties and Powers- The Executive Board of Directors shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Division between its business meetings, make recommendations to the Division, and perform such other duties as are specified in these Bylaws. The Board shall be subject to the orders of the Division, and none of its acts shall conflict with action taken by the Division.

6-3. Board Meetings- Meetings of the Executive Board of Directors shall be held with such frequency as the Board deems necessary. Meetings of the Executive Board of Directors shall be called by the President. The President shall designate the time and place of all Executive Board of Directors meetings. All Executive Board of Directors members shall be given reasonable prior notice of Board meetings commensurate with the circumstances of the meeting.

ARTICLE VII

Committees

7-1. Establishment of Committees- A committee may be formed by either the President or by vote of the Division. The President shall appoint the chairman of each committee.

7-2. Powers of Committees- Any committee appointed by the President or by vote of the Division shall have only those powers and only that authority which is expressly given to said committee by the President or by the vote of the Division.

7-3. Committee Meetings- A committee meeting may be called by the President, by vote of the Division, by the Chairman of the committee, or by two thirds of the membership of the committee. Members of the committee must be notified in advance of any meeting.

ARTICLE VIII

Affiliation with the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Executive Board

8-1 Member Unit- The Division is a Member Unit of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Executive Board. All bylaws, policies, and procedures of the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Executive Board shall be ex officio bylaws, policies, and procedures of the Division.

8-2 MABAS Executive Board Delegate- At the annual meeting the President shall appoint one member representative to represent the Division on the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System Executive Board according to the bylaws of that organization. The delegate shall be responsible for a report at the annual meeting, and each regular and special meeting. The term of the MABAS Executive Board delegate shall be one year.

ARTICLE IX

Regulation of Mutual Aid

9-1. Development & Consideration- The Executive Board of Directors shall develop and consider advocacy statements, policies, and procedures regarding mutual aid provision by Division members. Advocacy statements shall be considered recommended practices. Policies and procedures shall be considered mandatory practices.

9-2. Approval- Advocacy statements, policies, and procedures may be presented to the Division membership for consideration by the Executive Board of Directors at the annual meeting, or any regular or special meeting. Advocacy statements may be approved by a simple majority vote. Policies and procedures may be approved by a two thirds majority vote.

ARTICLE X

Special Operations Teams

10-1. The Division may establish Special Operations Teams, as deemed necessary, for the purpose for providing regionalized special response to incidents requiring resources that are not commonly held by Division members.

10-2. Division Special Operations Teams shall only respond to incidents as a result of a request by a stricken Division member. Command and control of any incident receiving a response from a Division Special Operations Team shall remain the responsibility of the stricken jurisdiction.

10-3. The Executive Board of Directors shall appoint member representatives to serve on the Division Special Operations Teams.

ARTICLE XI

Parliamentary Authority

11-1. Robert’s Rules of Order- The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Division in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the Division may adopt.

ARTICLE XII

Financial Asset Management

12-1. Disbursements- No disbursements over $100.00, other than ordinary operating expenses, shall be made unless approved by the Division. Necessary disbursements under $100.00 which are not approved in advance shall be ordered paid at the next business meeting. All disbursements shall be issued by the Secretary/Treasurer.

12-2. Capital Assets- Property over $1000.00 may be sold and/or indebtedness may be incurred by a two-thirds vote of the members in attendance at any regular or special meeting. Prior written notification of the vote shall be made to the members by the Secretary/Treasurer. The President and the Secretary shall countersign all mortgages.

12-3. Disillusion of Assets- Before the Division can be disbanded; the assets must be distributed to a successive organization or a separate charitable organization(s) per a simple majority vote of the members present. Thirty days prior written notification of the vote shall be made to the members by the Secretary/Treasurer. The assets must be liquidated and all debts must be cleared before a vote to disband is taken.

ARTICLE XIII

Bylaw Amendment

13-1. Amendment Proposal- Any member in good standing may propose an amendment or revision to the Division Bylaws by submitting such a proposal to the Secretary/Treasurer in writing at least 45 days prior to any regular or special meeting. The proposal shall be brought under consideration by the membership at the next regular or special meeting.

13-2. Adoption of Amendments- The Division Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any regular or special meeting. Thirty days prior written notification of the vote shall be made to the members by the Secretary/Treasurer.

13-3. Amendment Commencement- All alterations, amendments, or revisions shall take effect immediately upon adoption by the members in good standing unless otherwise provided. The President will direct the Secretary/Treasurer to make the necessary changes in the Bylaws and provide each member with an updated copy.

ARTICLE XIV

General

14-1. Bylaws Commencement- All previous Bylaws, constitutions, or statements of policy in conflict with this constitution are hereby declared to be null, void, and of no consequence. These Association Bylaws become effective on January 26, 2006.

14-2. Terms of Elected Officers for Calendar Year 2006- The Association officers for calendar year 2006 shall be nominated and elected at the January meeting and shall serve until the close the 2006 annual meeting.