Return to Council on Aging
Bylaws of the Greenfield Council on Aging Amended 3/9/93; Revised 4/13/93; Revised 4/1/96; Amended 5/14/96; Amended 3/9/99; Revised 10/23/08; Revised 06/26/2014; Revised 7/25/2019
Article 1. Name of Organization
The organization, as established by Town Meeting of the Town of Greenfield, Massachusetts on March 18, 1967, is named Greenfield Council on Aging and hereinafter referred to as the GCOA.
Article 2. Statement of Purpose
Seniors have the right to participate in determining matters which vitally affect their own well-being. Our community shares a collective responsibility for seniors. The wisdom, experience, creativity, skills, and abilities of the senior population are an essential community resource. The Senior Center is a gateway to productive aging. To that end, the GCOA is committed to the following:
A. Provide, through our Senior Center, an environment that supports personal dignity, encouragement of initiative and self-fulfillment, opportunities for sharing, creative expression, learning and fun.
B. Provide meaningful creative, educational, social, recreational, cultural, and volunteer opportunities to encourage independence, participation, and community involvement.
C. Provide healthy lifestyle support through health promotion, health education, physical activities, and other wellness programs.
D. Be responsive to the changing needs of seniors; working in cooperation with community organizations, agencies and individuals to offer assistance in coping with the challenges of aging by providing information, referrals, and counseling to seniors and their caregivers.
Article 3. Location
The location of the Senior Center will be determined by the GCOA. The COA will submit comments and recommendations regarding any options being considered by the city government or City Council.
Article 4. Membership
The duties of the GCOA members shall be to support the GCOA Director in implementing the Statement of Purpose.
The GCOA consists of a minimum of five (5) and maximum of eleven (11) members, including the Chair. All members must reside in the City of Greenfield.
Appointments to the GCOA are made by the Mayor and must be approved by City Council. Members must meet CORI requirements, and participate in trainings on Open Meeting Law, Conflict of Interest (sometimes referred to as the ethics training), and other trainings as requested. Members must log their meeting attendance and other GCOA volunteer hours using the MySeniorCenter™ data management system.
A. Terms of Service
The term of service for a GCOA member is a period of three (3) years and may be renewed by the Mayor. Member terms are staggered to ensure that some positions are up for reappointment each year. All GCOA members must be sworn-in by the City Clerk’s Office.
B. Attendance and Participation
Regular meeting attendance is expected of all GCOA members. Absences must be reported in advance to the Chair or the GCOA Director. It is understood that on occasion, personal matters may require a GCOA member to be absent from meetings. However, when a GCOA member is absent from three (3) consecutive regularly scheduled meetings without notification, they may be asked to submit their resignation. Ongoing absenteeism issues which adversely affect the function of the group will be referred by the Chair or GCOA Director to the Mayor.
C. Resignations
In the event that a member cannot serve or wishes to resign from the GCOA before their term of service is complete, s/he will provide written notification to the Mayor and the GCOA.
D. Vacancies In the case of a mid-year vacancy due to resignation, death, moving out of Greenfield, or other reason, the unexpired term may be filled at the time of vacancy through the regular appointment process. The new member serves out the remainder of that term.
Article 5. Voting Rights of Members
A GCOA member is entitled to vote at GCOA meetings after being sworn-in by the City Clerk’s Office. Members must be present to vote. A quorum is defined as a simple majority: more than half of the membership of the Council at any Council meeting. A quorum must be present to conduct business (vote) on any matter. The exception is for Bylaws changes, which require at least a two-thirds majority of the Council for approval.
Article 6. Officers, Elections, and Terms of Office
Officers of the GCOA: Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Officers may also include such number of Assistant Secretaries and Assistant Treasurers as the GCOA may deem advisable. Officers of the GCOA are elected annually by a simple majority vote at the June meeting and shall assume office July 1. Officers serve for one fiscal year, July 1 – June 30, and may be voted in again through the regular election process. Members of Greenfield Senior Foundation board of directors are not eligible to serve as an officer of the GCOA.
A. Chair
The Chair presides at GCOA meetings, appoints all Committees, and is an ex officio member of all Committees. The Chair works closely with the GCOA Director. The Chair’s signature is required on some documents, for example the Executive Office of Elder Affairs Formula Grant application.
B. Vice-Chair
During the temporary absence or disability of the Chair, the Vice-Chair serves as Chair and when so acting, shall have all the powers of the Chair. If the office of the Chair should become vacant, the Vice-Chair will assume such office for the rest of the fiscal year. In the case of vacancy, should the Vice Chair need to assume the office of the Chair before January 1, the GCOA Nominating Committee may choose to call for an election.
C. Secretary
The Secretary reads GCOA correspondence. The Secretary, or designated recording clerk, shall record proceedings of the GCOA meetings.
D. Treasurer
The Treasurer counts petty cash monthly as well as reviewing income, expenditures, and finance reports. The Treasurer reports to the GCOA on financial matters.
E. Relationship of GCOA to the Director
The GCOA reviews candidates for the Director of the Council on Aging position as recommended by the COA Personnel Committee. The candidate is then submitted to the Mayor. The Director is responsible for the administration of the Senior Center including supervision of employees, subject to the direction of the Mayor, and in accordance with GCOA Bylaws and the personnel policies, procedures, and practices of the City as administered by the Department of Human Resources.
Article 7. Committees
Each GCOA member is encouraged to serve on at least one committee. Members may serve on more than one committee. All committees report on their meetings at the next GCOA meeting. Additional committees may be established as deemed necessary by the GCOA through the Chair and the Executive Committee. Standing committees of the GCOA will include:
A. Executive Committee
The committee meets monthly with the Director to determine the upcoming GCOA meeting agenda, review long-range planning, annual budget, departmental financial records, and other matters. The Chair may call additional meetings of the Executive Committee whenever in her/his judgment the business of the GCOA so requires. In case of an emergency the Executive Committee may make decisions on behalf of the GCOA.
B. Personnel Committee
The committee reviews candidates to serve as Director under the direction of the City of Greenfield’s Human Resources Department and makes recommendations to the GCOA.
C. Nominating Committee
The committee recruits new members and refers them to the Mayor’s office on an ongoing basis, or as needed. The Committee selects a slate of officers to present to the GCOA at the June meeting.
D. Legislative Committee
The committee monitors the local, state and federal developments as they affect the senior population. The committee works with the Director to contact legislators and other officials to advocate for seniors on behalf of the GCOA.
E. By-Laws Committee
The committee reviews the GCOA by-laws upon request of any GCOA member, with a majority vote of the GCOA membership.
Article 8. Meetings
All GCOA meetings and committee meetings are posted in accordance with Massachusetts Open Meeting Law. All meetings are open to the public.
A. Regular Meetings
Regular meetings of the GCOA are held at the Senior Center. Meetings are generally held monthly. However the GCOA may decide from time to time to cancel their regular meeting, for example in the case of a holiday.
B. Special Meetings
Special meetings of the GCOA may be called at any time by the Chair or by the Secretary.
C. Rules of Order
Meetings will be conducted so as to facilitate productive discussion amongst members in a respectful, civil, and orderly manner. Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised is used as a general guideline for meetings. Members of the public may speak at the discretion of the Chair.
Article 9. Amendments and Revisions
These Bylaws, or any section thereof, may be amended, revised or repealed by a two-thirds majority vote of the GCOA membership at any scheduled meeting. Written notice of proposed changes will be presented to each voting member of the GCOA at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the meeting at which such proposed changes are submitted for a vote.
Article 10. Effective Date
Bylaws changes take effect immediately upon approval with affirmative vote of not less than a two-thirds majority of members.
The GCOA will make copies of these Bylaws available to each member of the GCOA, the Mayor’s office and the City Clerk’s office.
Posted: Wed, May 22, 2019 01:06 PM
Updated Thu, May 19, 2022 12:00 AM
