PROPOSED BYLAWS
Visually Impaired Computer Users'
Group of New York City

Article I.  Name

Article II.  Purpose

The purpose of VICUG is to:

A) Encourage, educate, and support new users of computer and access technology.

B) Facilitate advanced users in keeping abreast of developments in access and information technology

C) Advocate, on behalf of our community, for technologies which are fully accessible to, and usable by all members of society, including people who are blind or visually impaired.

Article III.  Officers

Section 1.

Section 2.  Duties

A) The President shall preside at all meetings and ensure that meetings are conducted in an organized and orderly fashion. The President shall appoint all committees with the approval of the Executive Committee. If an officer fails to attend three consecutive regular meetings without good cause, or resigns, the President may declare the office vacant an appoint a replacement, subject to ratification by the membership.

B) The Vice-President shall take the place of the President during any absence, or upon the President's resignation.

C) The Secretary shall take minutes at all meetings and make them available to members and to the Editor and WebMaster for publication. Additionally, the Secretary shall maintain a file of outgoing correspondence, as well as significant correspondence which may be received by VICUG.

D) The Treasurer shall receive all the moneys belonging to VICUG, and deposit them in some reputable bank or banks. The Treasurer shall pay all debts approved by the Executive Committee. Payments in excess of $25.00 shall be by check or money order signed by the Treasurer and one additional director. Payments of $25.00 or less may be made in cash and evidenced by a receipt. The Treasurer shall keep all financial and membership records.

Article IV.  Duties of Executive Committee

Section 1.

The Executive Committee shall consider and recommend to the membership such policies, plans, and issues which, in the judgement of the Committee, are in the best interest of the organization.

Section 2.

Members may attend any board meeting and may present ideas for discussion; however, only Executive Committee members have voting privileges.

Article V.  Membership

Section 1.

Affiliation with VICUG shall be recognized by the payment of membership dues, which shall be set from time to time as deemed necessary by the Executive Committee with the approval of the membership.

Section 2.

Membership dues shall be payable each calendar year. Payment of dues during the last quarter of each year shall entitle the individual to membership for that quarter and the entire following year.

Section 3.

Membership shall be open to all persons who have an interest in the use of computers and adaptive technologies which make computers accessible to the visually or physically impaired.

Section 4.

Membership shall not be denied because of a person's age, color, creed, disability, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or degree of visual acuity.

ARTICLE VI.  Meetings

Section 1.

General membership meetings shall be held once a month. Executive Committee meetings shall be held regularly, but no less frequently than once a quarter. The time and place of meetings shall be determined by the Executive Committee.

Section 2.

The site of each meeting shall be accessible to all.

Section 3.

Special Executive Committee meetings may be called by the President, or any three (3) members of the Executive Committee to discuss specific agenda items. Executive Committee members shall be notified in writing concerning the time, place, and specific agenda of any special Commiteee meetings. Only specified agenda items for which the special meeting was called shall be discussed.

Section 4.

The quorum at a General Membership Meeting shall be thirty percent of the membership. The quorum at a meeting of the Executive Committee shall be three (3) Executive Committee members, two (2) of which must be directors.

Section 5.

In the event of a tie vote, the item shall be tabled until the next meeting.

Section 6.

Voting privileges at General Membership meetings shall be limited to members in good standing.

Section 7.

All procedural aspects not explicitly covered in these bylaws shall be resolved in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

ARTICLE VII.  Elections

Section 1.

Nominations for officers will take place at the General Membership meeting. No member may nominate any other member without first obtaining that member's assurance that he or she will serve if elected. Persons nominated must be members in good standing. Immediately prior to the election, additional nominations shall be accepted from the floor.

Section 2.

Elections will occur annually in October.

Section 3.

The order of elections will be in the same order as the positions are listed in Article III Section 1. Nominations from the floor will be accepted immediately before the election for each office. Candidates who are defeated in the election for an office may be nominated for election to other offices at that time.

Section 4.

In the event of a tie vote, an immediate runoff election will be held between the candidates receiving the two highest vote totals.

ARTICLE VIII.  Committees

Section 1.

The Executive Committee shall establish standing committees as appropriate from time to time.

ARTICLE IX.  Property and Income

Section 1.

All property and income of VICUG shall be used to promote the organization's purpose as set forth in ARTICLE II.

Section 2.

No property or income may be use for the personal benefit of members or officers.

Section 3.

VICUG may pay normal or customary fees for services rendered.

ARTICLE X.  Code of Ethics

Section 1.

No member may represent VICUG without the written authorization of the Executive Committee.

ARTICLE XI.  Amendments

Section 1.

These Bylaws may be amended by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the membership.

Section 2.

Membership shall receive notice of proposed Bylaw amendments no later than the General Membership meeting prior to the meeting at which the Bylaws are to be voted upon.

ARTICLE XII.  Dissolution

Section 1.

Upon the dissolution of this organization, the Executive Committee shall, after paying or making provision for payment of all of the liabilities of the organization, dispose of all assets of the organization to such other local non-profit organizations that serve a similar purpose.

Please address any questions and comments about this page to Gregory J. Rosmaita, oedipus@hicom.net

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this page was created on June 4, 1997
last modified June 5, 1997