CABLE TELEVISION ADVISORY COUNCIL OF SOUTHEASTERN CONNECTICUT BYLAWS

Article I:            Name

Section 1:          The name of this organization shall be The Cable Television Advisory Council of Southeastern Connecticut, hereinafter referred to as the Council.

Article II:            Purpose and Scope

Section 1:          Pursuant to the State of Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control Docket No. 11407, Sections 16-333 25 thru 30 and State of Connecticut File No: 697, An Act Concerning Cable Advisory Councils and Programming on Community Antenna Television Systems, this Council is established for the purpose of:

A.     Advising the Franchise Area Cable Television Operators, hereinafter referred to as the Operators, the general public, and the Department of Public Utility Control or its successor on matters related to the administration of CATV statutes and regulations;

B.     Assisting public educational systems within the franchise area in the utilization of CATV services;

C.     Assisting libraries within the franchise area in utilization of CATV services;

D.     Relaying information pertinent to, but not limited by, items A, B and C above to the Operators;

E.      Acting on any other matters not specifically excluded by the above-mentioned Docket as a majority of the Council members present at any meeting shall deem appropriate and which relate to the provision of CATV services to the public and/or private sectors of the towns within the franchise area;

F.      Advocating cost containment;

G.     Continuing to advocate for the needs of franchise members;

H.     To continually review the cable channel lineups and advocate for customer requests;

I.        Raise the public awareness of the Advisory Council, inform the community of the Advisory Council’s role, and solicit public opinion and needs.

Article III:            Membership

Section 1:          Membership of the Council shall be as set forth in Docket No. 11407, sections 16-333-25 through 16-333-28, inclusive, and shall include voting members representing the general public and the boards of education of the towns within the franchise area, one voting member representing all libraries of public use within the franchise area, and one non-voting member representing each Operator.

Article IV:            Functions

Section 1:          The council shall, as set forth in Docket No. 11407, Section 16-333-30, give advice to the Operators upon such matters affecting the public as it deems necessary.

Section 2:          The Council may, insofar as such actions are not specifically prohibited by any provision of the above mentioned Docket, request information from and provide information to the Operators, the public and or private sectors of the franchise area towns, and the boards of education and libraries of the towns.

Section 3:          As set forth in Section 16-333-30, The Council shall annually on a date not later than the first day of August, file a written report with the Department of Public Utility Control concerning its activities for the preceding twelve month period ending June 30.

Article V:          Officers and Elections

Section 1:          The Council shall elect from its membership a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. At its option the council may, by majority vote, elect a Recording Secretary, not a member of the Council, in addition to the Secretary elected from the membership. Such a Recording Secretary shall serve for a term determined by the Council.

Section 2:          Officers shall be elected at the regularly scheduled May meeting and shall serve for a period of one year or until their successors are elected. The term of office shall commence from the time of the election.

Section 3:          Names may be placed in nomination by any Council member at or after the March meeting and up to the time of balloting.

Section 4:          In the absence of a motion for election by acclamation, voting shall be by secret ballot. Proxies and absentee ballots shall not be recognized.

Article VI:        Nominating Committee

Section 1:          If by the time for adjournment of the March meeting, names have not been placed in nomination for all offices, a Nominating Committee of not fewer than one (1) Council member shall be appointed by the Chairperson. Such appointments shall be the last order of business for the March meeting and shall take precedence over any motion to table or adjourn.

Section 2:          Said Nominating Committee shall present a slate of candidates to the Chairperson at least 15 days prior to the date of the May meeting; the names of the nominees shall be included with the agenda of the May meeting and shall be mailed to all Council members.

Article VII:       Duties of Officers

Section 1:          All officers shall perform the duties prescribed by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Council and by other action of the Council itself, except that the following Sections of this Article shall take precedence in any case of conflict.

Section 2:          The Chairperson shall preside at all regular and special meetings, shall be a voting member ex officio of all committees of the Council, shall prepare an agenda for inclusion with the notice of all regular and special meetings, and shall insure that notice of all meetings are sent to all Council members.

Section 3:          The Vice-Chairperson shall perform the duties of the Chairperson in the absence of that Officer and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Chairperson of the Council.

Section 4:          The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings and shall send copies of such minutes to all Council members, the Operators, and any other individual or agency named by the Council.      

Section 5:          The Treasurer shall maintain the books of the Council, shall disburse funds in accordance with these Bylaws as directed by the Council or the Chairperson, and shall prepare a monthly financial report.

Article VIII:      Meetings

Section 1:          The Council shall meet on the second Thursday of every other month from September to May, inclusive; the times and locations of such meetings shall be made known to all Council members not less than one week prior to each meeting.

Section 2:          Special meetings may be called by the Chairperson or by a written request of three members; at least 24 hours notice shall be given of such meetings. The purpose or agenda of any special meeting shall be included in such notification.

Section 3:          Meeting dates and locations may be changed at the discretion of the Chairperson or by majority vote of the members present at any meeting; due notice of any such change shall be given to all members and posted publicly.

Section 4:          For all regular and special meetings, a quorum shall by defined as not fewer than five members, representing at least three-fifths of the member towns, including at least one elected officer.

Article IX:         Committees

section 1:          Council committees shall be established at the discretion of the Chairperson.

Section 2:          Subject to the approval of the members of the Council, non-members may serve on committees, but shall have no voting privileges at meetings of the Council. The non-members may fill offices at the discretion of the Council.

Section 3:          The chairperson of each committee shall be elected by the committee from among its Council members.

Article X:          Rules

Section 1:          The latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern the proceedings of all meetings of the Council, and its constituent parts insofar as they do not conflict with these Bylaws or with any provision of Docket 11407.

Article XI:         Funding, Budgeting, and Disbursements

Section 1:          Council expenses are primarily met by the Operators per existing State Statutes. Additional Council expenses shall be shared by the towns in the franchise area.     

Section 2:          Disbursement of funds for any reason shall be made through the checking account of the Council. All receipts and requests for reimbursement shall be made directed to the Treasurer.

Section 3:          Amounts up to two hundred and fifty dollars, for Council expenses only,  may be expended at the discretion of the Chairperson; expenditures of over two hundred and fifty dollars shall require prior approval of a majority of members present and voting at any meeting.

Section 4:          Council records shall be available to the appointing agencies of member towns in a timely fashion upon receipt of a written request.

Article XII:       Attendance

Section 1:          Members are expected to attend all regular meetings of the Council.

Section 2:          Should any member be absent from three consecutive meetings the Chairperson shall contact that individual in writing and may send a copy to the appropriate appointing agency.

Section 3:          Should any member be absent from four consecutive meetings, the Council may, by a majority vote of members present and voting at any meeting, direct the Chairperson to request the resignation of said member and to request that the appropriate appointing agency name a replacement.

Article XIII:      Consultants

Section 1:          The Council may seek and employ consultants when deemed necessary to provide advice or perform specific tasks as directed.

Article XIV:      Guest Policy

Section 1:          Members of the public shall be welcome as guests at any regular meeting of the Council.

Section 2:          Members of the public may present written requests for information to any Council member at any time; a period of time at the beginning of each regular meeting shall be reserved for questions or comments from guests.

Section 3:          Guests may neither vote nor participate during the body of the meeting.

Section 4:          Guest policies at special meetings shall be at the discretion of the Chairperson.

Article XV:       Amendments