Staff Council By-Laws

Preamble- Mission/ Vision Statement

Article I – Name and Authority
Article II – Purpose
Article III – Membership
Article IV – Officers
Article V – Operational Procedures
Article VI – Committees
Article VII – Parliamentary Authority
Article VIII – Amendments

Preamble: Mission/ Vision Statement

Mission Statement
The mission of the Staff Council is to serve, enhance and advocate for the needs and concerns of the staff of King’s College.

Vision Statement
The Council represents all full-time, part-time, exempt and non-exempt staff employees through a broad cross-section of elected representation. The Council will be transparent in its deliberations and enhance communication among staff, faculty, students and senior administration. Additionally, Staff Council will be an active participant in initiatives that influence the staff community, and members will be instrumental in helping to make decisions that impact all staff.

Article I: Name and Authority

The name of this organization shall be the Staff Council of King’s College. The Staff Council was established in 2013 with the approval of the President of King’s College and the Board of Directors.

Article II: Purpose

• To serve as the official representative body of all full and part-time non-faculty staff members (herein called STAFF) in the shared governance system of the College.
• To represent and promote the rights and responsibilities of all STAFF.
• To be a voice in conversations about and decision making processes regarding policies that would impact STAFF.
• To act as an avenue by which STAFF can communicate both with each other and with other College constituencies (i.e. Senior Staff, Faculty Council, Student Government).
• To coordinate STAFF efforts regarding new staff orientation, compensation and benefits, service projects on campus and in the local area, social events and general involvement on campus.

Article III: Membership

Section: 1. Number of Members

The Staff Council shall consist of Representatives, full and part- time non faculty STAFF from each division based on the following:

Representatives shall be elected for a two (2) year term and shall be eligible for re-election ordinarily serving no more than two consecutive terms. Representatives are eligible for re-nomination after the lapse of one year from the end of their last term. In the case that a representative from an area cannot be found, the current representative may remain in position beyond the two consecutive terms. Representatives shall begin their term at the last regularly scheduled Staff Council meeting of the academic year. The elected Chair-Elect of the Staff Council shall supervise the election of representatives.

A. Nominations

Each division will canvas nominations and conduct their own elections run by one of their Representatives. Any STAFF employee who has been at the College as of August 15 of the current academic year is eligible as a candidate for Staff Council. Any STAFF employee may submit written nominations. Nominations must be made no later than April 20 of each academic year (for vacant seats)

B. Elections

Elections of Representatives shall take place no later than May 1. All Representatives shall be elected by secret ballot. The persons receiving a majority of votes cast shall be declared elected. In case of a tie vote, a run-off election shall be held. Only STAFF employees may vote in the election. New Representatives shall assume their duties at the final Staff Council meeting of the academic year, which will be in May.

Section 3. Vacancies

Vacancies to Staff Council shall be filled in the same manner as regular elections (except that nominations will be accepted for ten (10) business days following the creation of a vacancy and elections shall be held no later than fifteen (15) business days after the creation of the vacancy.) Vacancies will be filed within a reasonable time frame.

Section 4. Duties of Representatives

Representatives shall:

• Seek input from and disseminate information to other STAFF employees in their area regarding all pending/current matters;
• Be required to transcend area concerns and consider all matters from an all-College purview;
• Attend all Staff Council meetings or coordinate with the Chair if unable to attend;
• Serve on all College and Staff Council standing committees as elected by the Staff Council or appointed by the Chair of the Staff Council;
• Serve on such Staff Council Ad Hoc Committees as appointed by the Chair of the Staff Council.

Article IV: Officers

Section 1. Designation

The officers of the Staff Council shall be the Chair and Chair-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Communication Specialist

Section 2. Transitional Leadership

For continuity in leadership, the Past-Chair will serve for an additional one year in an advisory, non-voting, exofficio role. The Chair-Elect will assume the role of Chair.

Section 3. Election

A. The officers shall be elected from and by the membership of the Council in the following order: Chair and Chair-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and Communication Specialist.

B. The officers of the Council shall be elected at the last regularly scheduled meeting, which will be in May. Nominations shall be made from the floor. The person who receives a simple majority of the votes cast by secret ballot shall be declared elected. If a simple majority is not obtained on the first two ballots, the person who receives a majority on the third ballot shall be declared elected.

Section 4. Vacancies

If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Chair, the Chair-Elect shall succeed to that office to serve the remainder of the term. If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chair-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, or Communication Specialist, these vacancies shall be filled as prescribed in Section 3 of this Article, at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the members or at a special meeting of the members called for the purpose of filling the vacancy.

Section 5. Duties of Officers

In addition to the Duties of Representatives as prescribed in Article III of Section 4;

A. The Chair of the Council shall:

• Issue the call for all meetings of the Council (both regular and special meetings);
• Communicate the prepared agenda for meetings to the Secretary of Staff Council;
• Bring to the Council written suggestions from any College department, committee or Staff Council member;
• Preside at Staff Council meetings;
• Have the power to appoint/recommend members to and serve on College, Staff Council standing and ad hoc committees;
• Have the power to vote only to break a tie and will vote last;
• Transmit recommendations to the appropriate constituencies of the College;
• Act as the primary liaison with other College constituencies;
• Perform other duties incidental to the office;
• Chair the Compensation and Benefits Committee

B. The Chair-Elect shall:

• Perform the duties of the Chair in the absence of the latter;
• Provide advice on parliamentary procedure to the Council when requested;
• Preside over all Staff Council standing and ad hoc committee elections;
• Supervise and conduct the election of Staff Council representatives;
• Chair the Professional Development Committee

C. The Secretary shall:

•Distribute meeting agenda to all area representatives;
• Keep accurate minutes of all Staff Council meetings;
• Disseminate meeting minutes to all representatives and College constituencies in a timely fashion;
• Keep accurate attendance records;
• Keep accurate files of all Staff Council meeting minutes and committee reports;
• Maintain the Staff Council presence on the King’s College website, in conjunction with appropriate College constituencies;
• Chair the Social Committee.

D. The Treasurer shall:

• Be responsible for all monies acquired by Staff Council;
• Oversee any fundraising activities or other financial operations of the Council;
• Perform other duties as necessary and assigned by Staff Council;
• Submit a budget according to institutionally prescribed deadlines including a Financial Report at the last regularly scheduled Council meeting of the (academic year) Spring Semester;
• Chair the Service Committee to help track fundraising money.

E. The Communication Specialist shall:

• Be responsible for all communication acquired and distributed by Staff Council;
• Oversee any updates, adjustments to the Staff Council Webpage;
• Create and distributed all communication for Town Hall meetings and Committees involvement with entire employee population;
• Perform other duties as necessary and assigned by Staff Council;

Article V: Operational Procedures

Section 1. Meetings

The Staff Council shall meet monthly at a prescheduled regular meeting time as agreed upon by membership. Additional meetings of the Council may be called by the Chair, or President of the College, or by petition of at least one-third (1/3) of the Representatives. The Staff Council shall meet at least one time during the fall and spring semesters with all STAFF employees of the College.

Section 2. Attendance

It is the responsibility of Representatives to actively represent their constituency and attend all meetings of the Staff Council. If the Representative has three (3) consecutive unexcused absences from scheduled meetings of the Staff Council, the post shall be declared vacant by the Chair and an election will be held by the Chair-Elect to
fill the vacancy as prescribed in Article III Section 3. Representatives must notify the Chair in advance to be excused from a Staff Council meeting.

Section 3. Quorum and Voting

A quorum of the Staff Council shall consist of two-thirds (2/3) of the voting members. Motions shall require a majority vote of those present and voting under the quorum rule. Voting members unable to attend may submit a written proxy vote to Chair of Staff Council for any planned votes. Any member absent from a meeting may
not submit a proxy vote for any impromptu votes during Staff Council meetings. The Chair will have the power to vote only to break a tie and will vote last.

Article VI: Committees

Section 1. Standing Committees and Membership

Each standing committee will have a minimum of three (3) members from Staff Council as well as any STAFF member who wishes to serve.

A. Executive

The Executive Committee shall be composed of the officers of the Staff Council.

The Executive Committee shall:

• Meet prior to Staff Council Meetings as necessary;
• Prepare the agenda for meetings;
• Make decisions requiring immediate action when a quorum of Representatives cannot be assembled, subject to the requirement for prompt notification thereafter to all Representatives of such action as may have been taken;
• Resolve conflicts of jurisdiction between committees;

B. Compensation and Benefits

The Compensation and Benefits Committee shall:

• Be chaired by the Chair of the Staff Council;
• Present and discuss proposals with the Staff Council concerning salary, benefits, and other conditions of employment.

C. Professional Development

The Professional Development Committee shall:

• Be chaired by the Chair-Elect of the Staff Council;
• Plan and execute STAFF development opportunities;
• Coordinate the nomination and election for the Staff Council Leadership Award.

D. Social

The Social Committee shall:

• Be chaired by the Secretary of the Staff Council;
• Unite with other campus constituencies to promote service and mission to the King’s and Wilkes-Barre area communities;
• Provide opportunities for spiritual, physical, recreational, social and cultural activities for the College community.

E. Service

The Service Committee shall:

• Be chaired by the Treasurer of the Staff Council;
• Consider fundraising options to be used for student scholarships, staff awards, and professional development;
• Ensure any expenditure from the Staff Council Budget, from internal or external sources, is pre-approved by the Executive Committee of the Staff Council.

Section 2. Ad Hoc Committees

Ad Hoc Committees shall be appointed, as needed, by the Chair of the Staff Council.

Section 4. Attendance

It is the responsibility of Staff Council Committee members to actively represent their constituency and attend all meetings of their Staff Council Committee. If a committee member has three (3) consecutive unexcused absences from Staff Council Committee meetings, the committee chair will notify the Chair-Elect of the Staff
Council for appropriate action. Committee members must notify the Committee Chair in advance to be excused from a committee meeting.

Section 5. Committee Guidelines

A. Staff Council Committees shall meet twice each semester. The first meeting shall occur no later than one month after the semester begins. Additional meetings of Staff Council Committees may be called by the Chair of Staff Council, the committee chair or by petition of at least one-third (1/3) of the committee members. A
quorum of Staff Council committee members shall consist of two-thirds (2/3) of the committee members. Motions shall require a majority vote of those present and voting under the quorum rule.

B. All committee proposals/recommendations must be submitted to the Staff Council in writing and in advance of the meeting.

C. Committee chairs shall:

• Establish committee meeting times and places;
• Set committee meeting agendas; conduct meetings;
• Serve as a conduit for communication between the committee and other Staff Council Committees as well as between the committee and Staff Council;
• Present committee activity reports at Staff Council meetings, either verbal or written;
• Appoint a committee member to take minutes at committee meetings;
• Distribute copies of minutes to members in a timely fashion;
• Provide smooth transition of records to the next committee chair.

D. Committee members shall:

• Seek input from and disseminate information to their area members;
• Attend all committee meetings.

Article VII: Parliamentary Authority

Parliamentary authority and procedure for the Staff Council shall be Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

Article VIII: Amendments

These By-Laws may be amended by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members of the Staff Council (in secret ballot) provided that written notice, along with the proposed revisions, be given to the Representatives at least ten (10) working days before the vote takes place.