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ARTICLE I -- Name of Organization
1. The Name of this Organization shall be "The Columbia Council of Neighborhoods," hereafter abbreviated as CCN.
ARTICLE II -- Statement of Purpose
1. The Columbia Council of Neighborhoods is committed to preserving and promoting the integrity of Columbia's neighborhoods. It serves as an umbrella group whose members are the various recognized neighborhood organizations of the city. It provides a forum for the discussion of issues which are of concern to the citizens of all of Columbia's neighborhoods. It furnishes a connecting link between the neighborhoods and the elected and appointed officials and units of local government, which it advises on issues of neighborhood concern.
ARTICLE III -- Policy I . The Columbia Council of Neighborhoods is a non-partisan, non-profit organization.
ARTICLE IV -- Membership
1. CCN Membership categories will include "Full Membership," "Associate Membership," and "Honorary Membership."
2. Full Membership in CCN shall be open to any Columbia "Recognized Neighborhood Organization" whose Constitution, Bylaws, or operating principles establish among its goals the preservation and improvement of the residential areas in the City of Columbia. Full membership be eligible for rights including, but not limited to, voting at CCN meetings and making use of CCN personnel and resources.
A "Recognized Neighborhood Organization" is defined as one which meets the following requirements:
a. An identifiable constituency, representing at least one-tenth of the households located within fixed geographical boundaries, at least part of which are within the Columbia city limits;
b. At least one public neighborhood meeting annually;
c. An elected body of officers;
d. A non-partisan nature;
e. A Constitution and/or Bylaws and/or Statement of Principles of Operation.
3. Associate Membership in CCN shall be open to "Umbrella Organizations" whose members include Columbia Neighborhood Organizations. Associate Members shall be entitled to all the rights of Full Members except that they are not allowed to vote in their own right. In order to be eligible for Associate Membership, an "Umbrella Organization" must include at least two CCN Full members as defined by the CCN Bylaws.
4. Honorary Membership in CCN will be open to Neighborhood Organizations which do not fall within the Columbia city limits. Honorary members are encouraged to attend and express their views at CCN meetings, but do not receive any other rights of CCN membership. Eligibility for Honorary Membership shall be determined by the CCN Membership on a case-by-case basis.
5. Evidence that the membership requirements have been met must be presented to CCN before a membership application can be voted upon.
6. Acceptance of any organization into CCN shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of the members present at a regularly scheduled CCN meeting.
7. Every Full Member Organization shall annually recharter by July 1st of each year. In order to recharter, each Member Organization shall provide the name, mailing address and telephone number of their organization's officers, voting representative to CCN and any alternate voting representatives to CCN. Recharter forms will be promulgated, distributed and collected by the Vice President.
ARTICLE V -- Meetings
I . Regular meetings of CCN shall be scheduled for the fourth Thursday of each month, except for the month of December and shall begin at 5:30 PM. The time and date of the meeting may be altered as deemed necessary by the organization membership.
2. The first Regular Meeting in each fiscal year, beginning with the month of July, 199 1, shall be called the Annual Meeting.
3. Special Meetings of CCN may be called by the President or by one-fourth of the Full Membership provided that a five-day notice is provided by mail to CCN members.
4. A quorum at CCN meetings shall consist of the Voting Representatives of twelve Full CCN Member Organizations, and shall govern CCN business except as specifically designated otherwise in the CCN Bylaws.
5. All CCN Regular and Special Meetings, as well as meetings of CCN Committees, including the Executive Committee, shall be open to the public.
ARTICLE VI -- Voting and Voting Representative
1. Each "Full Member" Organization shall have one vote at all CCN meetings. The Voting Representative shall be selected by the Member Organization and the names of the voting representative and any alternates shall be provided by the President of the Member Organization to the Second Vice President of CCN upon rechartering.
ARTICLE VII -- Officers and Executive Committee
1 . The officers of CCN shall consist of the President, President-Elect, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
2. The Executive Committee shall consist of the officers plus the immediate Past President. No more than one officer may be elected from any one member organization, unless approved by voting quorum of the members of CCN.
3. Responsibilities of the Executive Committee shall include, but not be limited to: 1) Reviewing and authorizing all expenditures of CCN in coordination with the Treasurer, and 2) Establishing such committees as shall be deemed necessary for the operation of CCN.
4. Any member of the Executive Committee, at his or her pleasure, may serve as a non-voting member of any CCN committee. Only persons appointed, as set forth in the bylaws, to the various CCN committees may vote on items of business before the committees.
ARTICLE VIII -- Elections of Officers
1. Elections of the officers shall be held at the June Meeting each year, with the Nominating Committee having made those names selected as proposed officers available to the CCN membership at the May meeting.
2. Officers shall be installed at the end of the June meeting.
3. A Nominating Committee, excluding current elected officers of CCN, shall consist of five (5) representatives of CCN's Full-Member Organizations, as appointed by the President. The Nominating Committee will solicit nominations in writing for all CCN offices on an annual basis, except the office of President, at least one month prior to the May meeting. The Nominating Committee will ascertain (1) the eligibility of the individuals nominated and (2) their willingness to serve. A complete list of willing nominees then will be mailed to the CCN Membership at least one week before the May Meeting. Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the time of the election.
4. To qualify for nomination, an individual must be a resident of the City of Columbia.
5. Voting for CCN Officers shall be by secret, written ballot by those voting representatives in attendance. The election for each office will be carried out separately on a separate ballot, except when there is only a single nominee for an office, in which case the President may request a unanimous vote. Votes will be tallied and reported by the Nominating Committee. Proxy votes are not allowed for the election of officers.
6. The CCN President shall serve a two (2) year term of office once duly elected. All other officers shall serve a one (1) year term of office once elected.
7. The President-Elect shall become President of the CCN organization at the completion of the current President's two year term, by automatically assuming the office. If the office of President becomes vacant between elections the President-Elect shall become President. The Vice President shall become President-Elect in the event the office of President-Elect becomes vacant. Other offices will be filled by the Executive Committee, by the next regularly scheduled CCN monthly meeting.
8. Once elected, CCN officers may complete their terms of office so long as they continue to reside within the city of Columbia.
ARTICLE IX -- Duties of the Officers
1. The duties of the President shall include (1) Presiding over all meetings of CCN and the Executive Committee, (2) Co-signing all checks with the Treasurer, (3) Calling Special Meetings of CCN or the Executive Committee as may be deemed necessary, (4) Speaking for and representing CCN to other bodies and the news media, or appointing a spokesperson to do so, (5) Appointing Committee members with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee, and (6) Preparing and issuing any public statements and letters of CCN at the direction of the Executive Committee, by vote of members of CCN, or as needed by normal operating practices of CCN.
2. The duties of the President-Elect shall include (1) Assisting the President in the carrying out of the President's duties, (2) Acting in the position of the President in the President's absence, (3) Coordination of all committees established by CCN, and (4) Acting as Chair of CCN's CD Week Coordinating Committee.
3. The duties of the Vice President shall include (1) Notifying all members by mail of all Regular Meetings of CCN at least one week prior to the meeting with all business announced on the agenda, including business required by majority votes at the previous meeting, and (2) Certifying that all voting representatives are authorized to vote, as per paragraph 7 in Article 4, and working in conjunction with Secretary who has and maintains CCN records in the CCN office at 1225 Laurel Street, Columbia, SC.
4. The duties of the Secretary shall include (1) Acting on behalf of the Vice Presidents in their absence, (2) Keeping the minutes of all CCN meetings, (3) Maintaining membership records and minutes for CCN at 1225 Laurel Street, Columbia, SC.
5. The duties of the Treasurer shall include (1) Acting on behalf of the Secretary in the Secretary's absence, (2) Receiving and co-disbursing, with the President, all funds of CCN, (3) Maintaining accurate financial records of CCN, (4) providing to CCN Members a Quarterly Financial Report of receipts and expenditures, and (5) Preparing a Consolidated Annual Financial Statement of CCN transactions and balances.
ARTICLE X -- Committees 1. Standing and ad hoc Committees may be established or abolished as deemed necessary for the operation of CCN by the Executive Committee or by the majority vote of the CCN membership.
ARTICLE XI -- Circulation of Bylaws
1. On an annual basis, one dated copy of the CCN Bylaws will be provided to each CCN Member 0rganization.
ARTICLE XII -- Other Operating Procedures
1 . All procedural items not covered in the Bylaws shall be governed by the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order.
2. Any documents, minutes, or other records generated by or received by Columbia Council of Neighborhoods or any committee of the organization shall become the property of CCN and shall upon request be made available in uncensored and unaltered form to any member. These records shall be retained for a minimum of five years. After that, they should be reviewed and any that are deemed important should be retained further. An archive committee shall be established for the purpose of reviewing the records.
ARTICLE XIII -- Amendments
1. Any proposed amendment to the Bylaws must be submitted to the membership, in writing, at least two weeks in advance of the meeting at which it is to be considered.
2. Amendments to the Bylaws must be approved by the affirmative vote of two thirds of the CCN Full Member Organizations in attendance.
ARTICLE XIV -- Dissolution
1. In the event this organization is dissolved, any assets remaining in the organization will be donated to a tax-exempt eleemosynary or governmental entity of similar nature as may be designated by the Executive Committee at the time of dissolution.
Adopted by Presidents of Neighborhoods at the August 22,1996 meeting of CCN | 
