GOVERNMENT

2-1: District Board

Authority - The District Bylaws establish that the District Board shall govern the District activities. Members of the District Board are defined in the Bylaws. During the year, the Board should formally approve the following:

  1. The annual budget
  2. Amount of district dues
  3. Expenditures not approved in the annual budget
  4. Local Arrangements Committee meeting budgets and revenue/expense goals
  5. District Board meeting minutes

And, as the need arises, the District Board should also:

  1. Consider changes to the District Policy Manual and Meetings Manual
  2. Consider the establishment of awards
  3. Consider issuance of or amendments to Section Charters or Student Chapters

2-2: District Board Meetings

The District Board typically meets four times per year. Two of these meetings should be in conjunction with the winter and summer District meetings, usually on the Thursday afternoon and/or Friday morning of the District meeting. A spring (usually April) and fall (usually October) meeting may be held at the discretion of the President. The President should use the meeting time for items that need verbal discussion and cannot be resolved through written correspondence. Committee updates and section reports should be submitted in writing and only if necessary will the Board call upon Committee Chairs or Section Representatives to expand on relevant issues.

2-3: Action through Conference Call or E-mail (amended February 1, 2007)

In Accordance with Bylaws Sect 5.3

  1. Conference Call A quorum is required to conduct district business through a conference call. A quorum is not required to disseminate information to board members. Notice and supporting information will be distributed to board members in advance in conformance to the by-laws. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare a written record of the conference call for distribution to board members and the District’s files.
  2. E-mail Board action may be taken through email discussions only for voting on particular action, if initiated by either the President or Vice-President. Notice and supporting information will be distributed to board members in advance in conformance to the by-laws. Discussion, if needed, shall be conducted at any regular or special called meeting or conference call. The Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain a voting record to assess the majority vote. When a majority is achieved, the Secretary-Treasurer shall notify the President. The Secretary-Treasurer shall prepare a written record of the email action for distribution to board members and the District’s files.

2-4: District Meetings

The District normally holds two regularly scheduled meetings per year. Although the following list summarizes meeting requirements, all meeting policies and procedures are detailed in the Meetings Manual attached as Appendix A.

  1. Meeting Dates The "winter meeting" is normally held during the months of January or February. By custom, the summer meeting is considered the "annual meeting" and is held in June. In accordance with ITE policy, District meetings shall not conflict with the ITE Annual meeting. Typical agendas for the kick-off and business meeting luncheons are shown in the Meetings Manual.
  2. Meeting Schedule Meetings are typically three days long beginning Thursday around noon and ending Saturday around 3:00 PM. Sometimes technical workshops are scheduled prior to the District meeting.
  3. Meeting Location Meeting sites are determined 18 months in advance at the District business meetings. The Secretary-Treasurer is responsible for soliciting cities to host future meetings. The potential cities for consideration at each meeting are rotated among three general geographic areas in Texas.
  4. Luncheon Meeting Agendas There are typically two luncheons during the meeting with a kick-off luncheon on Friday and a business meeting luncheon on Saturday.
  5. Local Arrangement Committee A Local Arrangements Committee (LAC) manages the meeting site and functions. It is vital that the Local Arrangements Chair read the Meetings Manual prior to making any contact with local hotels or social venues.
  6. Budget District meetings generate a significant portion of the District budget revenues. The LAC must submit a budget in spreadsheet format for District Board approval. The District Board will review the budget and advise the committee of the revenue goal to incorporate. The LAC will adjust the budget to meet this net-profit goal and notify the District Board on the registration fees recommended to support the proposed budget.
  7. Contracts The Local Arrangements Chair shall forward all contracts related to hotels, transportation, or social functions to the President for review by the District Board. Only the President of the District is authorized to sign contracts. The LAC should seek the advice of the Board and carefully read the manual on how to negotiate contracts before revealing estimated rooms nights or catering requirements to hotels and other businesses.
  8. Meetings Report Following the meeting, the LAC shall submit a written report that includes at a minimum the statistics on total meeting costs, revenues, registration, luncheon meals, hotel rooms and vendor booths. The LAC shall attach copies of the hotel, transportation and social event contracts to this report. A standard report format is under development.

2-5: District Officer Elections

The process of officer elections is described in the Bylaws under Article III. A typical officer ballot is attached in Appendix E. The Secretary-Treasurer is responsible for administrating elections.

Each Section shall conduct its own elections to determine its Section Representative to serve on the District Board. Each Section President shall provide an official written notification of the election results to the District President prior to the summer business meeting.

On-line Voting District Officers, International Directors and the District Board Member At-Large may be elected using an electronic voting system over the TexITE Internet Website. The District shall continue to provide members the option to vote using a secret paper ballot and mail-in procedure.

2-6: Process to Amend Bylaws

The process to amend the bylaws is stated in the District Bylaws under Section 7.1.

2-7: Process to Establish, Amend, or Rescind Section Charters

  1. Establishment of a Section Upon the written request of five (5) or more voting members, the District Board may designate a geographical sub-area of the District as a Section.
  2. Boundaries Section boundaries should generally be comprised as one or more Texas counties and should generally encompass rather than split major population centers. The District Board should review on an annual basis the status of all Chapters and Sections previously created and may, of its own initiative, adjust sub-area boundaries.
  3. Issuing Section Charters A standard Charter will be issued to the sub-area for modification. Once modifications adopted by the existing Section or group of Sections, the Charter is forwarded for review and approval of the District Board.
  4. Amendments to Section Charters Section members, by majority approving vote at a Section meeting may petition the District Board for boundary changes or amendments to existing Section Charters.
  5. Rescinding Section Charters The District Board may rescind a Charter to disband a Section found to be inactive or no longer conducting its activities in conformance with the requirements of existing Charters. However, a Chapter may be created or disbanded by a Section.

2-8: Process to Establish, Amend, or Rescind Student Chapter Charters

To be written at a later date.

2-9: Interaction with ITE Headquarters

  1. The District President is the primary liaison between the International ITE Headquarters and the District related to District matters.
  2. The International Director represents District 9 on the International Board of Direction.
  3. The District President shall prepare and submit the annual District report due to ITE Headquarters 30 days prior to the Annual ITE meeting.
  4. The Secretary-Treasurer shall notify ITE Headquarters of the:
    1. Dates of future meetings
    2. Names and contact numbers for new district officers and committee chairs two weeks prior to the beginning of the January 1 term
  5. District dues as established by the District Board at the summer meeting (prior to the fall deadline for ITE Headquarters to print international dues invoices)
  6. The International Director shall coordinate with the District President to establish International Committee appointments for District 9.
  7. The Awards Committee shall forward the winning Section Activities Report for ITE competition.
  8. The Student Chapter Liaison should coordinate with ITE to forward fellowship applications to the District if the student applicant is from Texas and not selected for the fellowship.