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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTriangle J Council of Governments Charter ResolutionTriangle J Council of Governments Charter Resolution WHEREAS, together with the other county and municipal governmental units adopting concurrent Resolutions identical hereto, recognize that there is a need for such governmental units to consult among themselves and to act in concert with reference to regional matters affecting health, safety, welfare, education, recreation, economic conditions, regional planning or planning development; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that pursuant to the General Statutes of North Carolina, Chapter 160A, Article 20, Part 2, the following Resolution is adopted for the establishment of a regional council of governments. ARTICLE I Short Title - Binding Effect. ffect. This Resolution is the "Charter" of this Regional Council; and said Charter, together with all amendments thereto, is binding upon and shall ensure the benefit of all governmental units adopting it. ARTICLE II Name. The name of the regional council of governments hereby established is the Triangle J Council of Governments. ARTICLE III Purpose. The purposes of the Council are: 1) To serve as a forum for discussion of governmental problems of mutual interest and concern; 2) To develop and formalize policy recommendations concerning specific matters having an areawide significance which may include but are not limited to the following: a) human resource development and human relations. b) housing, public and private. c) health care and hospital services. d) recreation. e) sanitation and refuse disposal. f) communications. g) transportation. h) water, sanitary sewer, electric power and other utility services. i) air, water and other environmental development. j) commercial and industrial development. k) law enforcement. 1) welfare. m) fire protection and prevention. n) regional land use planning. o) workforce development and training, and p) conservation and development of natural resources. 3) To promote inter - governmental cooperation; 4) To provide organizational machinery to insure effective communication and coordination among the participating governmental units and other governmental units. 5) To serve as a vehicle for the collection and distribution of information concerning matters of areawide interest; 6) To review, upon request of any governmental unit within the Triangle J Region, applications of that unit for any grant in aid, federal, state or private; and 7) To provide services to local governments and residents in the area known as the Triangle J Region where appropriate and authorized. The Council shall strive to promote harmony and cooperation among its members. It shall seek to deal with regional problems in a manner that is mutually satisfactory and shall respect the autonomy of all local governments within the Triangle J Region. ARTICLE IV Membership 1) The initial membership of the Council of Governments shall consist of the general purpose governmental units of and in the counties of Chatham, Durham, Johnston, 0 Lee, Orange, and Wake, known as the Triangle J Region, which adopted a resolution pursuant to N.C.G.S. 160A -470 on or before June 30, 1972. 2) Any municipality or county in the Triangle J Region that is not an initial member of the Council may join this Council by ratifying or adopting this Charter and upon a majority vote of approval by the Board of Delegates. Notice of such application for admission shall be given to existing members of the Council at least ten (10) days prior to the date of the meeting at which the vote is to be taken. 3) All rights and privileges of membership in the Council shall be exercised on behalf of the member governments by their delegates to the Council. 4) Any special purpose governmental agency in the Triangle J region involved in matters affecting the health, safety, natural resources, welfare or education of the citizens of North Carolina, such as school boards, sanitary districts, and soil and water conservation districts, is eligible to apply for an affiliate membership in the Council. The application may be approved and an affiliate membership granted to such special purpose governmental unit upon the affirmative vote of the Board of Delegates. The affiliate member shall pay no assessment, but the Council may charge each affiliate member a reasonable sum to cover its proportionate share of the direct costs of providing services to the affiliate members, provided such payments are authorized by law. The affiliate member shall have no vote in the Council, but its designated representative may serve on any technical or advisory committee and may otherwise participate in the deliberations of the Council. ARTICLE V Withdrawal. Any member may withdraw from the Council at the end of any fiscal year, provided written notice of intent to withdraw is given to each of the other members at least sixty (60) days prior to the end of the fiscal year. ARTICLE VI Governing Board. 1) The governing board of the Council of Governments shall be known as the Board of Delegates, which shall be constituted as described below. 2) The Board of Delegates shall consist of one delegate from each member governmental unit. Each governmental unit may designate any number of alternate 3 delegates. All delegates and alternates shall be elected members of the governing bodies of the member governmental units they represent. The delegates and alternates, as well as their successors, shall be selected by the member governing bodies in any manner consistent with law and the regulations governing such body, and their names shall be certified to the Council in the manner described by the Bylaws of the Council. 3) The term of office of each delegate shall commence upon the date of his /her appointment and certification to the Council by the governing body of the member governmental unit he or she represents; and such terms shall expire when the appointing body has appointed his or her successor and certified such successor to the Council, unless he or she shall sooner resign, or cease to be an elected member of said governing body, in which case his or her term shall expire on the effective date of such event. Each member shall certify to the Council the name of its delegate and any alternate(s) prior to the first Board of Delegates meeting of the calendar year. Only an individual who has been duly appointed and certified to the Council as a delegate or alternate may serve as a voting member of the Board of Delegates. 4) The delegates shall be compensated, upon submittal of proper receipts, for direct expenses incurred in connection with discharging their duties as delegates to the Triangle J Council of Governments. 5) It is the intent of this Charter that all delegates to the Council shall have demonstrated an interest in the sound development of Region J. ARTICLE VII Meeting. Regular meetings of the Board of Delegates shall be held, as provided in the Bylaws to receive reports from its standing committees and to conduct necessary business. The Chair may cancel the regular meeting if he or she determines that there is no need for the meeting. Special meetings of the Board of Delegates may be called by the Chair, or by any three members thereof. All meetings shall be open to the public. At least 48 hours written notice of any meeting shall be given to all delegates of the Board of Delegates. It shall state the time, place, and purpose of the meeting, and may be sent by electronic means. At least twenty -four (24) hours written notice shall be given of any committee meeting to all committee members. Any member may waive notice of this requirement for himself /herself. 4 ARTICLE VIII Quorum and Voting Requirements. 1) Except as provided in Paragraph 4 of this Article, each member governmental unit shall be entitled to one vote on all matters coming before the Board of Delegates or before any committee to which such member unit is duly appointed. All votes shall be cast by the delegate, or in his or her absence, by an alternate delegate of the member government. 2) The quorum shall be established in the Bylaws. The affirmative vote of a simple majority of members present at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall be required for any action or recommendation of the Board or any Committee, unless this Charter or the Bylaws of the Council require a larger affirmative vote on particular matters. 3) Voting shall be by voice, by show of hands, or, upon the request of any three delegates, by a poll of the delegates. 4) At the request of any delegate present, any questions shall be determined by weighted voting. Weighted voting shall mean that each participating member local government shall have one vote for each 5,000 units of population, as determined by the most recent decennial census, and for any remaining fraction of 5,000 units within the geographical boundaries of the participating government, except that any participating government whose jurisdiction has a population of less than 5,000 shall have one vote. In the case of any weighted voting question delegates representing local governments with at least two thirds of the aggregate votes of member local governments shall be present and participating. An affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the votes cast shall be required to decide any weighted voting question. 5) Proxy voting is not allowed. 6) The provisions in this Article VIII apply to all committees and boards of the Council except to the extent such committee or board has adopted different measures. ARTICLE IX Board of Delegates I 1) At the first regular meeting of the Board of Delegates, and annually thereafter as provided by the Bylaws, the Board of Delegates shall elect a Chair, a First Vice Chair, a Second Vice Chair and a Secretary- Treasurer to serve as officers for one year or until their successors have been duly elected. The Board of Delegates may also elect such additional officers as the Board of Delegates finds to be necessary in the proper performance of its duties. 2) The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Board of Delegates and shall conduct said meeting in an orderly and impartial manner so as to permit a free and full discussion by the membership of such matters as may be brought to the Board of Delegates. The Chair shall have the same voting rights as other members. 3) The Chair may appoint such advisory committees as he or she finds necessary or desirable. 4) The First Vice Chair shall perform all of the duties of the Chair in the absence of the Chair, or in the event of the inability of the Chair to act, and shall perform such other duties as the Board of Delegates may delegate to him or her. The Second Vice Chair shall perform all of the duties of the First Vice Chair in the absence of the First Vice Chair or in the event of the inability of the First Vice Chair to act. 5) All other officers elected by the Board of Delegates shall perform such duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Delegates. ARTICLE X Finance Matters: 1) On or before the 15th day of April each year, the Council shall prepare and submit to each participating governmental unit its proposed general budget for the next fiscal year. 2) The general budget shall set out the proportionate share of the budget to be borne by each member governmental unit by a method established in the By -laws and reviewed periodically by the Board of Delegates. 3) A special budget providing for cooperative arrangements or coordinated action for two or more members may be adopted at the request of members participating in special functions. The share of the special budget to be borne by each participating member shall be determined by the participating members. 6 4) Upon approval of its share of each budget by a member local government, such member shall appropriate its share of the budget, and after adoption of its own budget, shall forward to the budget officer its share of the budget. 5) All local appropriations to the Council shall be made in accordance with the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act, as may be appropriate. 6) The finance officer shall have authority to collect, deposit, and disburse funds made available to the Council from any source whatsoever, and also perform other duties as prescribed by G.S. 159 -25. Finance officers shall be bonded as required by G.S. 159.29. All monies received for the Council shall be deposited into an official depository of the Council for the exclusive use of the Council, and shall be paid out only by check signed by the finance officer and countersigned by the Executive Director or another official designated by the Council. Funds shall be disbursed only when they are within the amount of appropriations made according to the budget of the Council. 7) The Board of Delegates may designate a Council employee or, with the agreement of the governing body involved, designate one of the city or county accountants as the finance officer to perform the duties as described in the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act insofar as post- budget approval of expenditures is concerned. 8) It shall be the duty of the Board of Delegates to require that all financial records and accounts of the Council be audited annually by a certified public accountant or by an accountant certified by the Local Government Commission as qualified to audit local governmental accounts. A copy of the annual audit shall be forwarded to each member county and municipality and to the secretary of the Local Government Commission. ARTICLE XI Committee Structure. 1) The Board of Delegates may establish an Executive Committee, other committees of the Board itself, and technical and advisory committees. 2) Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall consist of two delegates from each county in the Region. The officers of the Council and the immediate past Chair shall automatically be members, and will thereby occupy that number of the two seats allotted to their county. Each county government will occupy one seat on the committee. The other seat from each county will be occupied by a municipal 7 delegate from that county. The municipal delegate will be chosen by a vote of all the municipal delegates from that county unless that seat is automatically assigned as provided above. If there are more eligible delegates than available seats for those delegates to serve on the Executive Committee due to the automatic assignments provided above, then the number of Executive Committee members shall be temporarily increased to allow all eligible delegates to serve on the Executive Committee.. 3) Technical and Advisory Committees. The Chair may appoint technical or advisory committees with broadly representative membership for any of the planning studies and work elements in the Program of Work. These Committees should work directly with the Council staff and its consultants and make periodic reports to the Council. In addition to reviewing periodic progress reports, these advisory committees should directly participate in the planning process. ARTICLE XII Annual Report. The Council shall prepare and submit an annual written report of its activities, including a financial statement, to the participating governmental units. ARTICLE XIII Powers, Duties and Functions of the Council. Within the limits of funds and personnel available, the Council: 1) Shall have and may exercise, in accordance with its Charter and Bylaws, all of the powers which the General Assembly of North Carolina has authorized, and may hereafter from time to time authorize, this Charter to confer upon the Council, including, but not limited to, all of the specific powers enumerated in Section 160A- 475 (any amendments thereto) of the General Statues of North Carolina, which powers are incorporated herein by reference. 2) Shall have, and may exercise, in addition to and not in limitation of the foregoing, the following powers: (a) To create such committees as it deems necessary to exercise the powers granted to the Council herein in dealing with problems or problem areas that do not involve all the members of the Council. At least one delegate from each member governmental unit affected by the problem or problem area to be dealt with by the committee is entitled to be a member of that committee. 8 Any two or more member governmental units shall have the right to have a Council committee formed to exercise the powers of the Council with reference to any problem which affects the petitioning governmental units, unless the Council shall reasonably determine that the problem or problem area in question should be assigned to an existing committee, in which case the petitioning member shall be entitled to be represented on said committee. The subject matter over which any committee has jurisdiction to exercise the powers of the Council shall be specifically defined, but may be enlarged or restricted by the Council from time to time. Unless the right of a member of representation on any particular committee granted herein above is asserted, the Chair of the Council shall designate the membership of all committees. (b) To accept, receive and disburse in furtherance of the duties, purposes, powers, and functions specified in the Charter all member assessments, funds, grants, and services made available by the State of North Carolina, any other municipality or county or other governmental or quasi - governmental unit or agency, (whether or not a member of such Council) and private and civic sources. The Council may provide matching funds, grants or services, received from any source, to or from any governmental or quasi - governmental agencies established by the Council or any two or more member governmental units in furtherance of the duties, purposes, powers, and functions herein contained. None of the powers contained in this subparagraph may be exercised by any committee except with respect to funds budgeted or appropriated for their use by the Council. (c) To meet with, consult with, and act in concert with any county or municipality, any agency of the State or Federal government, any civic organization, or any private organization in the furtherance of the purposes and objects within its jurisdiction. (d) To participate, as a unit of local government, in any undertaking with any other unit of local government, whether or not a member of the Council, for the joint exercise of governmental powers in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 160A, Article 20, Part 1 of the General Statutes of North Carolina (and any amendments thereto). (e) To contract with any person, firm or corporation for goods and /or services when same have been authorized by budget appropriations or by special resolution of the Council appropriating available funds. I (f7 To adopt Bylaws containing such rules and regulations for the conduct of its business as it may deem necessary for the proper discharge of its duties and the performance of its functions, not inconsistent with the Charter of the laws of North Carolina. (g) To create agencies of the Council to act for and on behalf of the Council in the planning and development of particular programs which affect the health, safety, welfare, housing, education, economic conditions or regional development of two or more member governmental units. Such agencies shall have such membership, staff, powers, duties and responsibilities as may be specified in the Council Resolutions establishing such agencies, consistent with powers herein granted to the Council. Provided, however, such agency shall at all times be acting for and on behalf of, and shall be responsible to the Council. The Council may appropriate funds for the use of agency programs which it has received from any source, including member assessments, provided such appropriation is made in accordance with the Charter. (h) To contract with and provide services to local governmental units within Region J. (i) To serve as an informational clearinghouse and, as a reviewing agency with respect to Federal, State and local services or resources available to assist in the solution of problems. (j) To request and receive contributions of research assistance from its own agencies, private research organizations, civil foundations, institutions of higher learning, and other organizations. (k) To purchase, lease, rent or otherwise acquire real and personal property to the extent necessary to discharge the other powers, duties and functions set forth herein and to the extent such purchases are authorized by general or special budgets and are within the limits of funds appropriated for or provided to the Council by the participating governmental units and others for such purposes. (1) To act as the official reviewing agency of the participating governmental units for all programs, Federal, State, or private, requiring regional review. It is the desire of the membership of this Council to avoid duplication of governmental functions, particularly in the planning and development of future programs in areas of governmental responsibility, and to that end this Council is created, should function, and these powers are given. H ARTICLE XIV Amendments. Amendments to this Charter shall become effective when adopted by resolution of two - thirds (2 /3rds) of the participating governmental units in the Council of Governments. ARTICLE XV Dissolution. The Council may be dissolved at the end of any fiscal year only (1) upon the adoption of a dissolution resolution by the governing bodies of all member governmental units, or (2) the withdrawal from the Council of all but one (1) of the member governmental units. If such dissolution is affected by resolution of all member governments, such resolutions shall specify the method of liquidating the Council's assets and liabilities. If such dissolution is occasioned by withdrawal of all but one member, the remaining governmental unit shall have the power to liquidate all assets and liabilities and it shall then distribute the net proceeds, if any, to those members who paid the latest annual assessment and in the same proportion. Any deficit shall be the responsibility of those member governments who would have received the net proceeds, and in the same proportions. Amended: July 1, 1975 February 18,1976 April 28, 1982 February 14, 1985 March 27, 1996 April 25, 2018 Adopted By Orange County Board of Commissioners on June 5, 2018 PA0111�_�� Donna S. Baker, Clerk to the Board Mark Dorosin, Chair Orange County Board of Commissioners