LTWC is proposing some adjustments to the Council’s bylaws, the governing document of our organization. These changes have been reviewed and approved by our Board of Directors to go up for adoption by a vote from the Council membership at the Annual Meeting.
Please follow this link to view our existing bylaws in their entirety.
Amendment 1: Simplification of Board Composition Guidelines
This proposed update would simplify board composition guidelines. With the Council’s expanded service area to the Willamette River and the entire Eugene-Springfield metro area, the current bylaws (see below) no longer reflect the best alignment of the Council’s geographical reach, nor do they allow board composition to reflect non-geographic dimensions of watershed diversity. The proposed amendment would retain the spirit and intent of recruiting diverse interests to serve on the board, while building the specific recruitment and composition needs into the strategic plan.
Current Language
Article 3, Section 2: Board Membership
2.2 “The Board of Directors shall include a diverse range of geographic areas and community interests in order to engage a balance of interested and affected persons within the watershed and surrounding area.”
2.3 “The geographic diversity of the Board membership shall be as follows: one-fourth (1/4) from each of the main sub-basins of the watershed – Upper Long Tom, Lower Long Tom, and Amazon – with the remaining one-fourth (1/4) serving at large. Up to two (2) additional directors may be elected to the “at large” sector to serve the needs of the Long Tom Watershed Council.
Article 3, Section 3: Selection of Directors
3.3.2 “If the number of candidates for any one geographic area defined in Article III, 2.2 above exceeds the number of open director seats for that region, each member will have the opportunity to vote for as many of those competing candidates as there are seats open for that geographic area. The successful candidates for those seats will be those who receive the most votes.”
Proposed New Language (will vote upon at 10/22 Annual Meeting & Celebration)
2.2 “The Board of Directors shall include a diverse range of geographic areas, land use, community and cultural interests in order to engage a balance of interested and affected persons within the watershed and surrounding area.”
2.3 “Board recruitment objectives and desired board composition shall be articulated in the strategic plan.”
3.3.2 – The proposed amendment to 2.2 and 2.3 render this clause irrelevant, and upon approval of the amendment by the Council membership, will be removed from the bylaws.
Amendment 2: Clarification of the Term “Vacancy”
This proposed update would lend clarity to the term “vacancy” such that it’s broadened to include any unfilled seat on the Board of Directors.
Current Language
4.1 “The Board may appoint pro-tem [temporary] directors to fill vacancies occurring prior to the end of full terms.”
4.2 “Any director appointed to fill a vacancy will serve only until the next Annual Meeting, at which time s/he must be elected in accordance with the procedure outlined in [the corresponding articles of the bylaws].
Proposed New Language (will vote upon at 10/22 Annual Meeting & Celebration)
4.1 “The Board may appoint pro-tem directors to fill vacancies.”
4.2 “Any director appointed to fill a vacancy will serve only until the next Annual Meeting, at which time s/he must be elected in accordance with the procedure outlined in [the corresponding articles of the bylaws].
The proposed amendment simply ends the clause after the word “vacancies” in Article 4.1. Article 4.2 will remain unchanged.
A complete copy of our current bylaws are available here. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Clinton at 541-654-8965.