TAMIO Constitution

TAMIO Constitution


Prepared July 6, 1990. Last revised on October 12, 2022. 

ARTICLE I. NAME & AFFILIATION
Section 1.01. Name. The organization shall be known at the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers.

Section 1.02. Affiliation. The Association shall be affiliated with, and a department of, the Texas Municipal League.

Section 1.03. Location. Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers shall be located at the business address of the Texas Municipal League.

ARTICLE II. PURPOSE
Section 2.01. Purpose. The purpose of the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers is to advance and promote the active cooperation and exchange of information and ideas among Texas cities; to promote the proficiency of public information and communication managers; to render whatever public relations assistance possible to any municipality or organization; and to promote recognition outside the organization for achievement in the area of communicating with the public.

Section 2.02. Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers, in all of its activities, shall be a non-partisan and non-sectarian body.

ARTICLE III. OFFICERS
Section 3.01. Executive Board. The affairs of the Association shall be conducted by an Executive Board.

A. The Board shall include the following officers: a President, a President Elect, Vice-President for Development and Education, Vice President for Awards, Vice President for Communications, the Immediate Past President, the 2nd Past President of the Association, and the 3rd Past President who shall represent the Association on the Texas Municipal League Board of Directors.

B. The Board will include 8 Regional Directors representing one each of the 8 regions as described in Article IV. In the event that Association membership drops below 50 members, then no replacements shall be elected for Regional Directors as their terms in office expire.

Section 3.02. Election of Officers. Officers of the Association shall be elected as follows:

A. The President Elect, Vice-President for Development and Education, Vice President for Awards, Vice President for Communications of the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers shall be elected by a majority of the members voting electronically in accordance with Section 3.02 G.

B. The office of President, being automatically assigned to the person most recently holding the office President Elect, shall not require election by the membership.

C. The office of Immediate Past President, being automatically assigned to the person most recently holding the office of President, shall not require election by the membership.

D. The office of 2nd Past President, being automatically assigned to the person most recently holding the office of Immediate Past President, shall not require election by the membership.

E. The person most recently holding the office of 3rd  Past President shall hold the office of the Director to the Texas Municipal League Board of Directors, subject to a confirmation election by the Executive Board.  If the 3rd Past President, the 2nd Past President, or Immediate Past President cannot serve, the President will appoint a member who meets the TML Board criteria, subject to a confirmation election by the Executive Board.

F. Regional Directors shall be elected by a majority of the members in their respective districts voting electronically in accordance with Section 3.02.

G. Electronic voting for board members shall include polling of the full membership. Polling shall commence no more than 60 calendar days prior to the first day of the Annual Conference and shall be conducted for a period of not less than 10 calendar days nor more than 30 calendars days. Voting shall be completed at least 10 days prior to the start of the Annual Conference.

H. Should any office of the TAMIO board be uncontested, electronic voting by the general membership prior to the annual conference will be cancelled for that office and the candidate will be automatically inducted into the position at the adjournment of the Annual Conference of the Association for that term.

Furthermore, should there be any reason electronic voting cannot occur prior to the conference, elections can be decided by the majority of the membership in attendance at the business meeting held at the annual conference in June.  This shall only occur upon approval of the president or other presiding board officer.

I. Should the vote on any board position result in a tie, then the Nomination Committee will conduct a coin toss between the two tied candidates to determine the winner. The winner will be announced in accordance with Section 3.06 D.

Section 3.03. Terms of Office. Terms of officers shall be as follows:

A. The President, President Elect, Vice-President for Development and Education, Vice President for Awards, Vice President for Communications, Immediate Past President and 2nd Past President shall serve concurrent terms of two years each, said terms to commence immediately upon adjournment of the Annual Conference of the Association in even-numbered years.

B. The Director to the Texas Municipal League Board of Directors (3rd Past President) shall serve for a term of two years, said term to commence immediately upon adjournment, during odd-numbered years, of the Annual Conference of the Texas Municipal League.

C. The EIGHT (8) Regional Directors shall serve terms of two years each, said terms to commence immediately upon adjournment of the Annual Conference of the Association in odd-numbered years.

D. An Officer or Director who shall have been absent from a total of two (2) meetings without just cause as determined by the Board of Directors shall automatically vacate the seat on the Board and the President may appoint a replacement who will serve until the members elect a replacement through an electronic vote held in accordance with Section 3.02.

Section 3.04. Vacancies.

A. In the event of a vacancy in the office of President of the Association, the President Elect shall become President and shall serve in this capacity until the next election where the person will begin the full two-year term initially elected to hold, and the office of President Elect shall remain vacant until that same election. In the event of vacancies in both offices of President and President Elect of the Association, the Vice President for Development & Education of the Association shall serve in the capacity of President until the next election, at which time an election shall be held for all offices in accordance with Section 3.02.

B. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Director to the Texas Municipal League Board (3rd Past President), the 2nd Past President of the Association shall fill the same until adjournment of the next Texas Municipal League Annual Conference. In the event the 2nd Past President of the Association is not able to fill the office of Director to the Texas Municipal League Board, then the Immediate Past President shall fill the same until adjournment of the next Texas Municipal League Annual Conference.  New officers will be elected at the Annual Conference at which time they begin to serve.

C. In the event of a vacancy in the office of Immediate Past President or 2nd Past President, the President may appoint a replacement from previous Association Presidents. If a former President cannot be found to fill the vacancy, the position will remain vacant until the current President’s term is fulfilled and they become the Immediate Past President.

D. In the event of a vacancy in the office of one of the Vice President positions, the President may appoint a replacement who will serve until the next election in accordance with Section 3.02.

E. In the event of a vacancy in a regional Directorship, the President may appoint a replacement from within the region that is vacant, who will serve until the members from said region elect a replacement through an electronic vote held in accordance with Section 3.02.

Section 3.05. Qualifications of Officers. All members of the Executive Board shall be General Members of the Association. Nominees for President and President Elect must be current members of the Board of Directors.  Nominees for Vice Presidents must have served on the Board of Directors at least one full year during the previous four years. When the Board fills a vacancy in accordance with Section 3.04, the appointee need not be a current member of the Board of Directors.  All officers must perform as their primary duty public information-related work.

Section 3.06. Nominations & Elections.

A. At the Annual Conference, the candidates receiving the majority number of votes in the electronic voting as enumerated in Section 3.02 shall be declared elected. The officers enumerated in Section 3.02 and the regional directors enumerated in Section 3.02 shall be announced and will officially take office.

B. Board elections shall be coordinated by a Nominating Committee comprised of no fewer than three (3) voting members appointed by the President with the approval of the Executive Board. The committee shall be chaired by the 2nd Past President.

C. Prior to the electronic voting, the Nominating Committee will solicit candidates comprised of voting members of the Association. Should the nomination deadline pass with no candidates identified for election, the Nominating Committee shall recruit candidates for the board. The Nominating Committee shall also ensure that all nominees meet eligibility requirements.

D. The Nominating Committee shall compile the ballot for electronic voting by the general membership. The Nominating Committee shall conduct the election, certify the results, and the nominating committee chair shall report the results to the general membership at the annual meeting.

E. Should any office of the TAMIO board be uncontested, electronic voting by the general membership prior to the annual conference will be cancelled for that office.

Furthermore, should there be any reason electronic voting cannot occur prior to the conference, elections can be decided by the majority of the membership in attendance at the business meeting held at the annual conference in June.  This shall only occur upon approval of the president or other presiding board officer.

ARTICLE IV. REGIONAL ORGANIZATION
Section 4.01. Regions. The Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers shall be divided on a geographical basis into 8 regions that divide the fifteen (15) Texas Municipal League Regions. The 8 regions of the Association shall be numbered and named as follows, or until such time as permanent name(s) be selected by a majority of Active Members from each region.

Region 1 Panhandle (TML Regions 2, 3, 5)
Region 2 West Texas (TML Regions4, 6)
Region 3 North Texas – West (TML Region 8)
Region 4 North Texas – East (TML Region 13)
Region 5 Central Texas (TML Regions 9, 10)
Region 6 East Texas (TML Regions 15, 16)
Region 7 South Texas (TML Regions 7, 12)
Region 8 Gulf Coast (TML Regions 11, 14)

Section 4.02. Official Map. The Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers “Regional Map of the State of Texas” is hereby made an official part of the Constitution of the Association.

ARTICLE V. MEMBERSHIPS
Section 5.01. Membership Classifications. The organization shall have six (6) classes of members. The designation of such classes and qualifications and rights of the member of such classes shall be as follows:

A. General Membership: Any person employed by a municipal or county government engaged in activities directed toward Public Information, who resides within the State boundary of Texas.

B. Affiliate Membership: Any person employed by a governmental or quasi-governmental agency other than municipal and acting as an information specialist. This person shall enjoy all privileges of the Association except to vote or hold office.

C. Associate Membership: Any person associated with a private or commercial entity that regularly conducts business with local government agencies within Texas in the area of communications. This person shall enjoy all privileges of the Association except to vote or hold office.

D. Student Membership: Any student who has completed 12 or more hours at a junior college or university toward a Communications Degree. This person shall enjoy all privileges of the Association except to vote or hold office

E. Legacy Membership: Any past member of the organization who has left the municipal communications field and does not reasonably fall under the Affiliate or Association membership categories. This person shall enjoy all privileges of the Association except to vote or hold office.

F. Agency Membership: Any municipal or county governing body or agency thereof, or any non-local governmental or quasi-governmental agency as described in Affiliate Membership. The member agency is able to name as many as five (5) current employees as active members of the Association, with all privileges of the Association as listed under General or Affiliate membership as described above.

Section 5.02. Application for Memberships. Applicants for membership shall be endorsed by one current member of the Association.

ARTICLE VI. MEMBERSHIP DUES
Section 6.01. Dues. Except as otherwise provided, annual dues for membership shall be assessed as established in the By-Laws of the Association.

Section 6.02. Payment of Dues. Payment of dues shall be paid annually to the Texas Association of Municipal Information Officers by July 1 or any other date established by the Texas Municipal League. Any new membership submitted less than 60 days prior to the end of the fiscal year (i.e. May 1 or later) shall be payable at the regular dues rate and shall be considered valid through the end of the subsequent fiscal year.

Section 6.03. Suspension for Nonpayment of Dues. Any member of the League whose dues are in arrears for a period of six months shall be automatically suspended from membership in the Association and shall be so notified.

Section 6.04. Amendment of Annual Dues. The annual dues may be amended upon recommendation of the Executive Board. A change in membership dues requires an amendment to Article VI of the TAMIO By-Laws and must be approved by the membership in accordance with Article VII of the TAMIO By-Laws.

Section 6.05. Prorating of Annual Dues: Any new membership submitted after the midpoint of the fiscal year (i.e. January 1), and not less than 60 days prior to the start of the new fiscal year (i.e. May 1 or later), shall be payable at half of the regular dues rate and shall be valid through the end of the current fiscal year.

ARTICLE VII. STANDING COMMITTEES
Section 7.01. The President shall appoint such standing committees as may be deemed advisable except that the creation of paid committees shall be subject to the approval of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VIII. MEETINGS OF THE ASSOCIATION
Section 8.01. The Association shall hold at least one general membership meeting per year.

ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENT of CONSTITUTION
Section 9.01 The Constitution of the Association may be amended by majority vote through electronic voting of the full membership.  Voting shall be conducted for a period of not less than 10 calendar days and not more than 30 calendar days.  Board-approved amendments will be first submitted to the Texas Municipal League Board of Directors for review and approval, and then will be presented to the membership for approval.  Changes will take effect immediately upon receiving said approval.