Sugarmill Woods Crime Watch

 

By-Laws

 

Index

 

Article                           Title                             Page

Article I          Name                                            2

Article II          Purpose                                        2

Article Ill         Membership                                  2

Article IV        Officers                                         3     

Article V         Executive Board                                   4

Article Vl        Nominations and Elections            5

Article VII       Committees                                   5

Article VIII       Fiscal                                            5

Article IX        Meetings                                       6

Article X         Amendments                                 7

Article XI        Adoption                                        7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sugarmill Woods Crime Watch

 

By-Laws

 

Article I. NAME: The name of this volunteer organization shall be the Sugarmill Woods Crime Watch, Inc. and is referred to as SMWCW herein.

 

Article II. PURPOSE:  The SMWCW will patrol all the villages of Sugarmill Woods, and such other nearby areas of Citrus County as may be outlined by the Sheriff or his designee. Such patrolling is intended to make crime watch/surveillance vehicles as visible as possible to the residents of the County, to provide additional eyes and ears for the Sheriffs Office, and to increase citizen awareness and participation in crime prevention.

 

Article III. MEMBERSHIP:

 

Section A. Membership in the SMWCW will be open to any volunteer, regardless of age, sex, race, religion, ethnicity or economic status. Any resident of Citrus County with good moral character, no serious criminal record, and the capability of performing volunteer duties may become a member. Upon acceptance as a volunteer for the Citrus County Sheriffs Office, the volunteer agrees to abide by the By-Laws and guidelines set forth. The Sheriff or his designee may terminate volunteer membership with just cause. A volunteer driver must hold a valid Florida drivers license and must wear the uniform shirt provided by SMWCW at all times while on patrol. Members do not have to wear uniforms when taking the vehicle for service or maintenance, or when changing drivers at the end of a tour day.

 

Section B. All new members must work a minimum of two (2) two hour tours a month and attend a minimum of six monthly meetings annually unless they are excused by the Board.

 

Section C. Your uniform shirt and Operation Manual are the property of SMWCW. Your ID and Volunteer Handbook are the property of the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office. All aforementioned property is to be returned if you leave the organization for any reason.

 

 

 

Article IV. OFFICERS:

 

Section A.  The elected officers of the SMWCW shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Captain. Only the Captain may hold two (2) elected offices concurrently.

 

Section B.  Other officers shall consist of Lieutenants to serve as squad leaders (one for each operational day of the week) and Sergeants to serve as Assistant Squad Leaders (one for each operational day of the week). These officers shall be appointed by the Captain. The Captain will inform the Board of any Line Officer changes.

 

Section C.  The duties of the officers shall be those customarily performed by              such officers and as briefly outlined herein:

 

I.    The President shall preside at all meetings, execute the decisions and recommendations of the membership and Executive Board, appoint all committees and oversee all activities of the SMWCW and fulfill all duties as defined by the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office. The President or his appointee shall be the “Director”, a term used by the CCSO, to function as the liaison between SMWCW and the CCSO. The President shall also be responsible for recruiting, membership, fund raising and control of any property owned by SMWCW.

 

2.  The Vice President shall perform all duties of President during the absence or temporary disability of the President. The Vice President shall also carry out all special assignments by the President or the Executive Board.

 

3.  The Secretary shall maintain an accurate list of all members, record the minutes of all meetings, handle correspondence and maintain proper files for the same.

 

4.  The Treasurer shall establish accounts as necessary, maintain all accounts in accordance with accepted bookkeeping practices, require two (2) signatures on all checks, make a current financial report at each membership meeting, and submit account books for an annual audit. The Treasurer shall also pay any Federal or State fees required to maintain our organization in good standing with those entities without Board approval.

 

5.  The Captain shall: be responsible for training and assignment of new members; and be responsible for proper maintenance of all required patrol logs, schedules and delivery of all required paperwork to the Citrus

 

 

County Sheriff’s Office.

 

6.  The Lieutenants shall be responsible for relaying policies and procedures to all personnel of his/her squad, be responsible to the Captain for the conduct and performance of his/her squad, shall assist in recruitment and training of new members, and shall advise the Captain or his designee of shift assignments.

 

7.  The Sergeant shall assume the duties of the Lieutenant in his/her absence and shall perform such additional duties as assigned by the Lieutenant or Captain.

 

 

Article V.      EXECUTIVE BOARD

 

Section A.  The Executive Board shall be the governing body and shall have full power to conduct, manage, and direct the affairs of SMWCW in strict accordance with these By-Laws and all governing guidelines of the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.

 

Section B.  The Executive Board shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Captain and the Lieutenants. In the absence of a Lieutenant, the Sergeant may serve as a member of the Executive Board. The Executive Board shall also serve as the Board of Trustees.

 

Section C. The Executive Board shall have the authorization to expend the assets of SMWCW according to the following schedule: Expenditures of up to fifty dollars ($50.00) must be authorized by an elected officer with notification to the Treasurer; expenditures over fifty dollars ($50.00) and up to five hundred dollars ($500.00) must be approved by a simple majority of the Executive Board; expenditures over five hundred dollars ($500.00) must be approved by two thirds of the Executive Board. Sufficient funds should be maintained in reserve to cover expenses. This reserve amount shall be set annually by the Executive Board after review of the fiscal position of SMWCW.

 

      Section D.  It is the duty of all Executive Board Officers to attend meetings and it is recommended the all Executive Officers be in uniform. Any Officer that does not attend a minimum of six (6) monthly meetings annually shall be subject to dismissal by three (3) members of the Executive Board.

 

Section E.  Any vacancy occurring during the term of any elected position shall be filled by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

 

 

Article VI.     NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

 

Section  A. The president shall appoint a nominating committee in November to seek potential officers to present to the membership in February.

 

Section B. At the February membership meeting of each even numbered year, nominations for elected office shall be accepted from the floor provided the nominee is present or has signified in writing their willingness to run. Nominations will be closed at the conclusion of this February meeting.

 

Section C.The election of officers will be conducted at the regular membership meeting in March and will take office in April. For any office having a single nominee the Secretary shall cast a single vote electing such nominee. A secret ballot vote shall be taken for any office having more than a single nominee. The nominee receiving the most votes shall be declared elected to that office.

 

    Section D. The term of office for all elected officers shall be two (2) years.

 

Section E. As do all members, the officers serve at the pleasure of the Executive Board and may be removed by a majority vote of the Executive Board for just cause. Any member, including officers, removed or resigning must return any property issued by SMWCW and the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.

 

 

 

Article VlI.   COMMITTEES

 

Section A.  All committees shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the Executive Board.

 

Section B.  The following standing committees shall be appointed:

Audit Committee

By-Laws Committee

Fundraising Committee

                    Membership Committee

                    Nominating Committee

 

Article Vlll. FISCAL: The fiscal year shall be from April 1st to March 31st which shall coincide with the term of office for the elected officers.

 

 

Article IX. MEETINGS

 

Section A.  Regular Membership meetings shall be held on the second Monday of each month except for June, July and August at the Sugarmill Woods Country Club at 3:00 p.m. unless a change is deemed necessary by the Executive Board.

 

Section B.  A quorum shall consist of a minimum of three (3) officers and the members present at any meeting.

 

    Section C.  Regular membership meetings may include special presentations related          to training, safety or other subjects to better the performance of the SMWCW

 

Section D. Special membership meetings may be called by the presiding officer. Only the business for which the meeting was called shall be transacted.

 

 

    Section E. ORDER OF BUSINESS

 

1.                  Call to Order

2.                  Pledge of Allegiance

3.                Introduction of guests

4.                Special presentations, if any

5.                Sheriff’s Office representative, if any

6.                  Reading of minutes of previous meeting

7.                  Correspondence, if any

8.                  Treasurer’s Report

9.                  Statistical Report

    10.               Maintenance Report

       11.                 Committee Reports

       12.                 Old business

       13.                 New business/Members

       14.                 Good and Welfare

    15.               Captain’s Report

    16.               Adjournment

 

Section F. The Executive Board shall meet at the call of the President or at the request of three (3) Executive Board members. A simple majority of the Executive Board shall constitute a quorum, provided there are at least three (3) elected officers present.

 

Section G. The parliamentary authority for the conducting of all meetings shall be Roberts Rules of Order.

 

 

Article X. AMENDMENTS

 

Any member of the SMWCW may propose an amendment or change in these By-Laws either to the Executive Board or at a regular meeting.

                 If the Executive Board approves by a majority vote, the proposed amendment shall then be presented for discussion at the next regular meeting, posted on the SMWCW web site and voted on at the following membership meeting. A quorum shall be required to adopt any proposed amendment.

 

 

 

Article XI.    ADOPTION

 

These By-Laws were adopted by a unanimous vote of the members attending a regular meeting of the SMWCW on February 4, 1999.

 

Articles I, Ill, V and IX were amended by a unanimous vote of the members attending a regular meeting on October 5, 2000.

 

  Article V section D and Article IX section B was adopted by a unanimous vote of the            members that attended a regular meeting on April 11, 2005.

 

Articles II, Ill, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII and X were amended by a unanimous vote of the members attending a regular meeting on May 10, 2010.