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TYAC Bylaws
Home > TYAC Bylaws

Vision: The youth of Tigard will be equal partners empowered and involved in the community helping the youth in Tigard.
Mission: To empower, improve and connect the lives of Tigard’s youth.
Guiding Principles:
  • Through empowerment young people know they are valued by the adults in their community.
  • Through involvement, young people serve useful roles in their school, family and community.
  • Through volunteering, young people provide service to others in the community.
  • Through respect, young people feel safe in their community.

Bylaws:

The Youth Advisory Council shall consist of 30 members. Any youth who is in grade 6-12 and a Tigard resident is eligible for membership. Any vacancies left after the normal application process should be filled as soon as possible through the announcement of openings. The Youth Advisory Council will maintain relations with local businesses and organizations with a common interest in the Youth Advisory Council. Council members may attend meetings of these groups to serve as a resource to the community. Any member of the Youth Advisory Council may propose an amendment to the Bylaws at any regular meeting of the Youth Advisory Council. The amendment shall be voted on by the members present but requires a vote of ¾ of the total membership to pass.

Structure and responsibilities of the Tigard Youth Advisory Council:
  1. Officers:
    There shall be four (4) elected officers, the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. Terms are for one year. No officer shall serve more than 2 consecutive terms. Candidates for elected office must be members of the Youth Advisory Council and are elected by majority vote of the membership. Members may only hold one elected office at a time. All officers must also serve as meeting coordinators. Each candidate for elected office must make a brief speech to the full membership prior to the election of officers even if running unopposed. Speeches shall run less than 5 minutes each and shall include information about the candidates’ background, interests, and how their goals for the Tigard Youth Advisory Council relate to the Tigard Youth Advisory Council’s vision, mission, and goals. Elections shall be held at the first Youth Advisory Council meeting in September of each year.

    Duties of Elected Officers:
    President – The President shall be responsible for facilitating meetings and ensure the Council is working together toward its goals, mission, and vision. He/she is responsible for creating agendas based on current issues of the Council and topics from previous meetings.

    Vice President – The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President, Secretary, and Treasurer in his/her absence. He/She is responsible for ensuring that Youth Advisory Council projects and programs are assigned to the appropriate subcommittee.

    Secretary – The Secretary’s duty is to take notes of the meetings and assist the President in setting the agenda. He/she is also responsible for distributing meeting agendas to members. He/she must have good note-taking and organizational skills.

    Treasurer – The Treasurer’s duty is to keep track of the Council’s monetary assets. He/she reports on the Council’s finances at each meeting and is in charge of fundraising.

    Mid-Term Resignations
    In the event of the resignation of the President during his/her term, the Vice President shall assume the office of President. A special election shall be held at the next regular Youth Forum meeting to elect a new Vice President. In the event of the resignation of any other elected officers, a special election shall be held at the next regular meeting of the Youth Advisory Council following the effective date of the resignation. In the event of a resignation of any regular Youth Advisory member who is not an officer or committee chair, the Youth Advisory Council shall wait until the next annual recruitment of members to fill the vacancy.
  2. Committees:
    Committees are organized based on the collective interests and talents of the members of the Youth Advisory Council and reflect the Council’s vision, mission and goals. Committee appointments are for one year. Each committee consists of three subcommittees. Subcommittees are focused on a specific area of interest and are in charge of the Council’s effort in that area. All committees and subcommittees are to serve as resources for the adults of the community whenever possible.

    Selection of Committee Members
    When applying for membership to the Youth Advisory Council, applicants must select (at least) one committee to serve on. Committee members are selected by the Committee Chairs who will review the applicants and select members based on interests and talents.

    Committee Chairs – Committee Chairs are responsible for the organization of their respective committees. They report to the Council about their committee’s efforts. They also serve as meeting coordinators.

    Subcommittee Chairs – Subcommittee chairs organize their respective subcommittees. They report to the Committee Chairs and Council about the projects of their respective committees. They also serve as meeting coordinators.

    Meeting Coordinators – The Committee Chairs, Subcommittee Chairs and Elected Officers form the Meeting Coordinators Board. The role of the Meeting Coordinators is to ensure that meeting agendas accommodate the needs of each committee and subcommittee for speaking and presentation time. The Coordinators are responsible for ensuring that committees and subcommittees coordinate their activities when projects and programs overlap. The meeting Coordinators are responsible for setting annual goals for the Youth Advisory Council and developing and maintaining a Strategic Plan based on input from the general Youth Advisory Council membership and outreach to the youth of the community.

    Outreach Committee – The Outreach Committee is responsible for community relations. It consists of the Education, Service, and Community Connection subcommittees.

    Education Subcommittee – The Education Subcommittee is responsible for the Council’s involvement in the schools. It serves as a resource to the school boards of both public and private schools. The Education Subcommittee works with the Community Connection Subcommittee to inform students about the Council.

    Community Connection Subcommittee – The Community Connection Subcommittee is in charge of the Council’s communication with the community. It is responsible for maintaining the Council’s web page, newsletter column, flyers, and posters. The Community Connection Subcommittee is responsible for getting information about the events the Council is hosting out to the community.

    Service Subcommittee – The Service Subcommittee organizes service projects for other subcommittees and the general Council. Areas of service for the Youth Advisory Council may include but are not limited to schools, the arts, athletics, the environment and parks. The Service Subcommittee may also organize its own projects as it deems fit.

    Recreation Committee – The Recreation Committee’s duty is to provide the youth of Tigard with extracurricular activities and try to ensure the survival of existing programs in the community.

    Arts Subcommittee – The Arts Subcommittee oversees the Council’s involvement in the area’s arts programs. It organizes outreach events in the community and schools with local arts organizations.

    Athletics Subcommittee – The Athletics Subcommittee oversees the Council’s involvement in the area’s athletics programs. It organizes community events and inter-school sporting events.

    Events Subcommittee – The Events Subcommittee is in charge of coordinating the Youth Advisory Council events. It plans the events and works with the Community Connection Subcommittee to get information about the event out to the community. It also plans fundraisers and works with the treasurer to make sure the necessary amount of funds for an event are available.

    Membership on Community Boards and Committees
    Mayor’s Youth Forum – The President and up to two Youth Advisory Council members shall serve as liaisons to the Mayor’s Youth Forum. Members interested in serving as liaisons to the Youth Forum shall file interest applications with the Youth Advisory Executive Committee by the deadline set by the committee. The Executive Committee shall select the representatives based on criteria set by the Executive Committee in advance.

    Community Based Boards and Committees – Youth Advisory Council members interested in serving on Community Boards and Committees (School Board, Tigard-Tualatin based non-profits) shall file interest applications with the Outreach Committee by the deadline set by the committee. The Outreach Committee shall select representatives based on criteria set by the specific Board or Committee.

Election of Members:

The term of membership to the Youth Advisory Council runs from initial election to membership through graduation from the 12th grade. Election for membership is held in September of each year.

Youth interested in membership shall file an application with the Youth Advisory Council. Applications shall be reviewed and admission voted on by the general membership of the Tigard Youth Council.

Member Duties and Responsibilities:
  1. Attendance:
    Members are expected to attend all meetings of the Youth Advisory Council and the meetings of any committees or subcommittees which they are a member. If a member needs to miss a meeting due to illness or another important event, the member is responsible to notify the President, Committee or Subcommittee Chair in advance whenever possible. Prior notice of an illness, important event, and family emergency shall constitute an excused absence. Members who have 3 absences will be removed from the Youth Advisory Council. Members are responsible to obtain notes and/or assignments from any general or committee meetings they miss.

  2. Duties:
    • Each member of the Youth Advisory Council shall serve on a minimum of one committee or subcommittee.
    • Each member of the Youth Advisory Council is expected to conduct himself/herself in accordance with the following ground rules:
      1. This Youth Advisory Council belongs to YOU and its success rests largely on YOU.
      2. Enter into the discussion ENTHUSIASTICALLY.
      3. GIVE FREELY of your experience.
      4. CONFINE your comments to the issue under discussion.
      5. Say what you THINK.
      6. Only ONE PERSON should talk at a time (Avoid private conversations while someone else is speaking.)
      7. LISTEN ALERTLY to the discussion.
      8. BE PATIENT with other members.
      9. APPRECIATE the other person’s point of view.
      10. BE PROMPT and REGULAR in attendance.
      11. ASK A QUESTION when you have one.
      12. Think of how you can apply and/or pass along the information.
    • Each member of the Youth Advisory Council must reaffirm the Council’s Bylaws by signing a copy at the meeting in which election of Officers is held each year. New members whose membership begins mid-year must sign a copy of the Bylaws at the meeting at which they become members.


  3. Meetings:
    Regular meetings of the Tigard Youth Advisory Council shall be held at least monthly and more often as agreed to by a majority of the members. The meeting time and place shall be determined by consensus of the membership. One meeting each month shall be open to all youth in the community.

    Committee and subcommittee meetings shall be held at least monthly, at a time and place agreed to by a consensus of the committee members.

Training:

The Youth Advisory Council shall identify training needs and the Meeting Coordinators shall determine how and when specific training will be provided based on the recommendations of the full membership.

Service to the Community:

Volunteer service shall be encouraged for Youth Advisory Council members.


Tigard Youth Advisory Council Bylaws Amendments

Amendment I:
The President of the Tigard Youth Advisory Council officer shall be an ex-officio member of the Tigard City Council. When the President is unable to attend meetings he/she may appoint another officer to attend in his/her place.

Amendment II:
Any Tigard Youth Advisory Council members interested in positions on boards and committees of the City of Tigard shall complete an application stating why he/she thinks he/she should represent the Council on a certain board or committee and deliver a brief statement to the Council. The Council shall then vote on whom to send to be a representative. Candidates must be approved with a two/thirds margin. If only one person is interested in being a representative on a certain board he/she must still be approved by a two/thirds margin.

Amendment III:
In instances where the Council has less than 18 members, the Recreation Committee and its subcommittees shall not have active members. The Outreach Committee and its subcommittees will function as stated in the bylaws.