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Executive Board and Advisory Committee By-Laws

1. ORGANIZATIONAL DEMOGRAPHICS

• Name of the organization shall be Knox Regional Communications Center.
• Authorized by the Statutes of the State of Maine.
• Organized in the County of Knox.
• Fiscal year shall be January 1 through December 31

• A cooperative venture voluntarily established to provide equipment, people, facilities, and any other items needed to establish and maintain the agency, as determined by the governing bodies.
• Provide opportunity for member communities to express their views and develop consensus.
• Consolidate existing discrete functions and take advantage of economies of scale or potential technologies identified by participants in the implementations process.
• Minimize current and future costs to member communities & agencies.
• In matters of policy within a given jurisdiction, the role of the Communications Center shall be to act in accordance with policies set forth by the public safety authority of that jurisdiction. This paragraph is intended to exclude the Executive Board or any other body of this Communications Agency from having policy-making authority over any jurisdiction.

• Shall act as a funding authority and host agency.
• Shall delegate policy-making authority to the Executive Board, reserving veto authority to maintain compliance with policy and state and federal statutes.
• Commissioners' meetings to address needs of the Knox Regional Communications Center shall be determined by need and by mutual consent. Meetings may not be regularly scheduled Commissioners' meetings except to provide periodic updates as requested.

• Must have the ability to exercise complete command and control of any emergency response until appropriate personnel are on scene.
• Must be the originator of all emergency responses.
• Must have the expertise and authority to provide the appropriate multi-jurisdictional response.
• Must be the allocator for all emergency response resources.
• Must be the home facility of all agreements and plans for emergency services and responses dispatched by Knox Regional Communications Center.
• Must be the tracking entity for all emergency responses.
• Must be the emergency operations center for all emergency responses.
• Must be viewed by the citizens as the contact point for public safety services for all emergency responses.
• Must provide an efficient means for providing services to the member agencies, primary and secondary, while preserving, to the greatest extent possible, taxpayer resources.
• Must provide an efficient and expedient means for the dissemination of emergency information to all agencies and ultimately citizens when necessary, thereby fulfilling any and all statutory requirement functions of EMA.

• Shall consist of 7 representatives of the Advisory Committee who are recommended to the County Commissioners, and the County Clerk or designee, who shall be an ex officio member and who shall serve as Secretary.
• Executive Board representation shall be as follows:
  • Two fire personnel
  • Two law enforcement personnel
  • Two emergency medical services personnel
  • One representative of an Emergency Management Agency
• Terms of office shall be on a rotational basis. The first elected fire, law enforcement and EMS representatives shall serve a one-year term. The second elected fire, law enforcement and EMS representatives and the EMA representative shall serve a two-year term. All terms shall be for two years duration, after the initial elections
• Appointments to the Executive Board shall be confirmed by the County Commissioners.
• A Chairperson and Vice Chairperson shall be elected at the first Executive Board meeting of each year.
• The Board shall meet a minimum of 4 times per year.
• All representatives shall be notified in writing at least three days prior to meetings.
• Board meetings will be conducted under Robert's Rules of Order.
• The Board shall act as a policy-making body.
• Proposals submitted to the Executive Board which are vetoed, will be returned to the Advisory Committee, with a detailed explanation of the rejection, for further study.
• The board shall approve or disapprove the operating and capital budgets in their entirety.
• Shall report activities to the Board of County Commissioners quarterly and as requested.
• A quorum shall be a simple majority.

6. ADVISORY COMMITTEE

• Shall consist of representatives of each public safety agency within Knox County. The Town, City or independent public safety agencies' governing bodies shall appoint their respective Advisory Committee representatives.
• All Advisory Committee members shall be notified thirty days in advance of the annual meeting.
• A Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Secretary shall be elected at the first Advisory Committee meeting of the year.
• Terms of office shall be one year.
• Shall meet no less than six times per year.
• Meetings shall be conducted under Robert's Rules of Order.
• Shall act in advisory capacity to the Director of Communications and the Executive Board in operational matters.
• Shall review and recommend operational procedures and delegate authority to the Director of Communications, as deemed appropriate.
• The Chairman, or his designee, shall act as a liaison to other bodies and boards.
• A quorum shall be seven representatives for conducting business.
• All regular business votes require a simple majority of representatives present to pass.
• Advisory Committee representatives shall receive no compensation directly related to the Advisory Committee.

• The Executive Board and the Advisory Committee fiscal year shall run from 1, January to 31, December.
• The annual meeting shall occur within the month of January.
• All elections shall take place at the annual meeting unless designated otherwise within the By-laws.
• Newly elected officers shall take office immediately.
• Elected representatives may serve consecutive terms.

• Shall consist of the Chief Law Enforcement Officer of each of the associated Law Enforcement agencies:
• This council shall have the responsibility for ensuring compliance of the Knox Regional Communications Center with the rules and regulations governing access to the Maine Telecommunicator's and Radio Operations (METRO) system. In the event that the Executive Board takes action that would result in the loss of access by the Communications Center to the METRO system, the METRO Council shall have the authority to take such action binding on the Executive Board as is necessary to preserve the Communication Center's continued access to the METRO system.

• The Knox Regional Communications Center shall be governed in accordance with Title 30A MRSA § 453 regarding establishment of a regional communications center, and Title 30A MRSA §107 regarding contracts with municipalities.

• By-laws may be amended.
• Amendments to these by-laws and other agreements may be proposed by any representative of the Executive Board, Advisory Committee, or the County Commissioners.
• Advisory Committee representatives must be notified thirty days in advance of a vote on a proposed amendment.
• Amendments require a two-thirds vote of acceptance of the representatives present.
• All members and representatives must be notified by mail of an accepted amendment within ten days.
• Amendments may be voted on at any regular meeting of the Advisory Committee after the outlined pre-conditions have been met.

• Final authority for the interpretation of the by-laws shall reside with the Executive Board.
• The Executive Board shall solicit input from and discussion with the originating agencies to ensure intent is clearly understood.

• All towns, cities and other government agencies in Knox County, or agencies having signed agreements with this Knox County government agency are eligible to participate.
• Members should have or will be limited to government or quasi-governmental agencies, which have public safety responsibility.
• Membership shall be accomplished by execution of an appropriate agreement.
• All members new and existing shall be subject to all debts and liabilities of the organization according to their proportion.

• The power to enter contracts or execute any instrument shall reside with the Board of Knox County Commissioners.

Designed By