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CHARTER

COMMUNITY SERVICES CONSORTIUM

BENTON, LINCOLN AND LINN COUNTIES, OREGON

PREAMBLE

WHEREAS, Benton, Lincoln and Linn Counties desire to cooperate in the planning and delivery of human service programs, and

WHEREAS, Benton, Lincoln and Linn Counties are eligible and have elected to serve as the governing body for a community action program under regulations issued by the Community Services Program and Community Services Consortium, and

WHEREAS, Benton, Lincoln and Linn Counties, independently eligible program agents, desire to continue acting as a consortium to act as a program agent pursuant to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and

WHEREAS, ORS Chapter 190 permits units of local government to enter into agreements for such purposes,

NOW, THEREFORE, Benton, Lincoln and Linn Counties, Oregon, hereby jointly establish the Community Services Consortium, hereinafter referred to as CSC, to be governed by the following articles:

ARTICLE 1

NAME, AREAS SERVED, MEMBERSHIP

The organization shall consist of the following parties:

1. BENTON COUNTY - A home rule county with a 2000 population of 78,153.

2. LINCOLN COUNTY - A county with a 2000 population of 44,479.

3. LINN COUNTY - A county with a 2000 population of 103,069.

ARTICLE 2

PURPOSE

CSC shall operate as a community action agency to coordinate the planning and delivery of social services to residents of Benton, Lincoln and Linn Counties. CSC shall address the needs of low income and at-risk persons and shall work toward the goal of alleviating the conditions and causes of poverty. 

ARTICLE 3

GOVERNING STRUCTURE

1. Consortium Governing Board.

a. Membership: CSC shall be governed by the Consortium Governing Board consisting of the nine elected commissioners from the three counties.

b. Meetings: The Governing Board shall hold one regular meeting every other month. The time and place of the regular meeting shall be set by the Board at its first meeting in January. Governing Board members shall be sent an agenda for a regular meeting at least ten days prior to the date of the meeting. The Chair may call special meetings from time to time as needed. The Chair shall mail notice of any special meeting at least five days in advance of the meeting date. In case of an actual emergency, a special meeting may be held upon such notice as is appropriate to the circumstances. The minutes of an emergency meeting shall describe the emergency and the notice given.

A majority of the Governing Board members or the governing body of any member county may, by petition to the Governing Board Chair, direct the call of a special meeting subject to the notice provisions contained in this subsection.

All action taken by the Board shall be done by a majority vote, providing that a quorum of five members is present.

c. Powers and Duties: The Governing Board, as a full Board or through its Executive Committee, shall have authority to: Adopt the annual budget and audit; approve concept papers, contracts, and grants pursuant to current approved signature levels; select service providers; approve the compensation and classification plan and any collective bargaining agreement; complete the annual evaluation of the Executive Director; select and appoint the Executive Director; give final approval for all policies; review close-out and monitoring reports; and take such other action as necessary as the Governing Board of CSC.

d. Officers: The Governing Board shall select a chair and a vice chair at its January meeting. The chair and vice-chair shall be from different counties and shall also serve as chair and vice-chair of the Executive Committee.

e. Voting: Each Governing Board member shall have one vote.

2. Executive Committee.

a. Membership: The Governing Board chair and vice-chair, along with the third county's representative, serve as the CSC Executive Committee.

b. Meetings: The Executive Committee shall hold one regular meeting every other month and also shall meet whenever the Governing Board fails to achieve a quorum. The time and place of the regular meeting shall be set by the Governing Board at its first meeting in January. Executive Committee members shall be sent an agenda for a regular Executive Committee meeting at least one week prior to the date of the meeting.

c. Powers and Duties: The Executive Committee shall have authority to make decisions, and the Governing Board may ratify those decisions through approval of the consent calendar. The consent calendar shall be provided to the Governing Board with each regular meeting agenda.

d. Voting: All action taken by the Executive Committee shall be done by a majority vote, providing that a quorum of two members is present.

3. Governing Board Chair.

a. Powers and Duties: The Governing Board Chair shall preside at all Governing Board and Executive Committee meetings. The Chair shall serve as the liaison between the Executive Director and the Governing Board. In this capacity, the Chair shall have chief responsibility to provide leadership to the agency and to ensure that the Governing Board is kept apprised of agency issues.

The Chair shall execute all CSC grants, contracts, and similar documents as approved by the Governing Board or the Executive Committee.

4. Governing Board Vice-Chair.

The Governing Board Vice-Chair shall discharge the duties of the Governing Board Chair during the absence or incapacity of the Chair.

5. Advisory Councils.

Each county participating in the Consortium shall appoint members to the Community Action Advisory Council (CAAC) and the Workforce Investment Board (WIB) from citizens of that member county. Lincoln County shall appoint community representatives to the Head Start Policy Council.

a. Membership: Members of the advisory councils shall be appointed for terms in accordance with each council's bylaws.

b. Powers and Duties: The advisory councils shall advise the Governing Board regarding service needs, CSC policy and procedures, and other matters. Advisory council bylaws shall be adopted by the Governing Board. The Head Start Policy Council shall make recommendations to the Governing Board pursuant to that Council's bylaws and the Governing Board shall have the authority to make decisions based on those recommendations.

6. 501(c)(3) Organizations:

CSC has four 501(c)(3) designations: Linn Benton Food Share, Community Housing Services, Direct Client Services and Head Start in Lincoln County. All four designations are governed by the CSC Governing Board. The business of each of the four 501(c)(3)'s shall be conducted pursuant to its bylaws as overseen by the CSC Governing Board.

7. Budget Committee.

The Governing Board shall appoint a CSC Budget Committee pursuant to ORS 294.900 to 294.930.

The Budget Committee shall discharge the powers and duties relating to the CSC budget as provided in ORS 294.905 to 294.930. Bylaws shall be approved by the Governing Board.

8. Other Committees.

The Governing Board may establish additional committees or subcommittees as necessary to accomplish its purpose or as required pursuant to federal or state directives.

ARTICLE 4

ALLOCATION OF BENEFITS AND LIABILITIES

1. Benefits.

Resources administered by the CSC shall be equitably allocated to the participating counties based on community need, population, funding availability, or as established by federal or state directives.

2. Liabilities.

If liability for misuse of federal and/or state funds which is not covered by the Community Services Consortium can be identified to a specific county, that county shall be held responsible for such liability within the limits of the Oregon Constitution. If such liability can be identified to a specific county or counties, they shall be held responsible for their proportionate share of that liability within the limits of the Oregon Constitution. If liability cannot be identified to a specific county or counties, liability shall be shared, within the limits of the Oregon Constitution, on the basis of population ratios between the counties as defined in Article 1 of this Charter.

ARTICLE 5

AMENDMENT, PARTIAL PARTICIPATION AND DISSOLUTION

This Charter shall take effect at such time as the governing bodies of Benton, Linn and Lincoln Counties have all adopted and executed this Charter and shall be in continuous effect from that date until dissolution of the CSC as herein provided. This Charter supersedes the previous CSC Charter of March, 1994. This Charter may be amended upon the affirmative vote of each county. Any party to this agreement shall have the right to withdraw from a program or programs administered by the CSC upon notification in writing to the Executive Committee and (other) member counties' Boards of County Commissioners sixty (60) days prior to the proposed effective date of such withdrawal.

The withdrawal of any one party hereto shall not have the action of dissolving the CSC. Withdrawal of two or more members will have the effect of dissolution of the CSC.

.

ARTICLE 6

COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LAWS

CSC will operate in compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws or ordinances.

Dated this ____ day of ___________, 200___. Dated this ____day of __________, 200___.

BENTON COUNTY LINN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

______________________________ ______________________________ Chair Chair

_____________________________ ______________________________ Commissioner Commissioner

______________________________ ______________________________ Commissioner Commissioner

Approved as to Form: Approved as to Form:

_______________________________ ______________________________ Office of County Counsel Office of County Counsel

Dated this ____ day of ______________, 200___.

LINCOLN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

______________________________ Chair

______________________________ Commissioner

______________________________ Commissioner

Approved as to Form:

______________________________ Office of County Counsel

 

APPROVED 3/17/03