BYLAWS​

Preamble

The Broward Housing Council is established pursuant to Section 11.07, Article XI of the Charter of Broward County, Florida and has as its general purpose to serve in an advisory capacity to the County Commission and to facilitate coordination between the County, Municipalities, the business community and not-for-profit groups to address housing issues including, but not limited to, affordable housing, workforce housing and homelessness.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​


  • The Council shall submit an annual report to the County Commission and other organizations represented by the Council.
  • Charter of Broward County, Florida, Section 11.07, approved by the electorate at a special referendum election held in conjunction with the General Election on November 4, 2008.

Membership and Term of Office

At least seventeen (17) and no more than nineteen (19) members, comprised of sixteen (16) voting members.  The County Administrator or designee shall serve as a non-voting member.
The Broward County Commission, at its discretion, may appoint additional members, provided that the Council shall be comprised of no more than nineteen (19) members with an odd number of voting members.

Voting Members

The Broward County Commission shall appoint seven (7) to nine (9) members as follows:  

  1. One member shall be a member of the Broward County Commission:
  2. One member shall be the owner of a business that employs at least fifty (50) employees;
  3. One member shall be the owner of a business that employs fewer than fifty (50) employees;
  4. One member shall be a recipient of Section 8 housing assistance or another housing assistance program;
  5. One member shall be the Chief Executive of a recognized, not-for-profit homeless organization;
  6. One member shall be the Chief Executive of a not-for-profit housing organization; and
  7. One member shall be a banker.
  8. One optional voting member without a category.
  9. One optional non-voting member without a category.
The Broward League of Cities shall appoint three (3) members as follows:

  1. One member shall be an officer of the Broward League of Cities;
  2. One member shall be the City Manager of a city in Broward County with more than 50,000 residents; and
  3. One member shall be the City Manager of a city in Broward County with less than 50,000 residents.
The following organizations shall appoint seven (7) members as follows:

  1. One members shall be a licensed real estate professional appointed by the Florida Association of Realtors;
  2. One member shall be appointed by the Builders Association of South Florida;
  3. One member shall be the Director or designee from the Florida Atlantic University Center for Urban Redevelopment and Education;
  4. One member shall be a member of the Broward County School Board chosen by a majority vote of the School Board;
  5. One member shall be appointed by the Broward County Housing Authority; and
  6. One member shall be a mortgage broker appointed by the Florida Association of Mortgage Brokers.
  7. The Broward County Administrator, or his/her designee, shall serve as a permanent, non-voting member.

Vacancy of members

Vacancies of council members shall be filled as soon as is practicable by the appropriate appointing authority, in accordance with the Charter and these bylaws.


Organization of the Council

Two (2) years from the date of appointment.

  • If a member of the Housing Council is an elected official and ceases to be an elected official, the individual’s membership on the Council shall terminate, and the position shall be declared vacant. Members of the Council who no longer satisfy the residency or employment/membership requirements of their position shall cease to be members of the Council, and their positions shall be declared vacant. Other circumstances creating a vacancy may be defined by ordinance, and those vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.​

Election of Officers

At the first meeting of the Broward County Housing Council, and at each March or April meeting thereafter, the members shall appoint a Chair and Vice-Chair.  The Chair and Vice-Chair shall serve for a one (1) year term. 

Vacancy of Officers

If a vacancy should occur in one of these offices, the Council shall proceed to elect a council member to fill such vacancy at the next regular or special meeting as determined by the Council.

Duties of Officers

​The Chair shall:

(a) Preside at all meetings of the Council.

(b) Be an ex-officio member of all committees of the Council.

(c) Perform all the duties usually pertaining to the office of Chair.

The Vice Chair shall: 

(a) Preside at all meetings of the Council in the absence of the Chair.

(b) Perform all such duties usually pertaining to the office of Vice Chair.

(c) Assume the office and duties of the Chair, in the event that office becomes  vacant, until the Council fills such vacancy through an election as set forth in Article II hereof.


Meetings

African-American Research Library & Cultural Center, 2650 Sistrunk Boulevard, Seminar Room 2, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311
The Council shall hold no less than six (6) meetings per year.​

Regular Meetings

The Council shall hold no less than six (6) meetings per year. Meetings may only be cancelled or rescheduled by the Chair or by a majority vote of the Council members present at a regularly scheduled meeting. All Council members shall be notified of such cancellation or rescheduling with as much notice as possible.

Place of Meetings

Upon provision of due public notice, regular or special meetings of the Council may be held at any appropriate public place in the county. For the purpose of this section, due public notice shall consist of (a) publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, or (b) such notice as is generally provided to the public by the Council for its regular meetings, or (c) both.

Order of Business

The order of business for meetings shall be as determined by the Council.

Minutes

Minutes of each meeting of the Council shall be accurately taken, preserved and provided to members at or before the next regular meeting.

Recorded  

Minutes​ shall be recorded and transcribed for each meeting and after review by the Council, corrected if necessary, and approved at the next regular meeting. The minutes are not required to be a verbatim transcription. However, all motions shall be a verbatim transcription.

Contents

The minutes shall show the vote of each member present on all matters on which the Council takes action. It shall be the duty of each member to see to it that both the matter and his vote thereon are properly recorded in the minutes. Unless otherwise shown by the minutes, it shall be presumed that the voice of each member present supported any action taken by the Council.

Notices

All meeting notices shall be provided in accordance with the Sunshine Law and shall set forth the time, date, and place of any meeting. The notice, if mailed, shall be deemed to have been delivered when deposited in the United States mail, postage prepaid, addressed to the member as his or her address appears in the records of the Council. A notice may also be delivered in person, by facsimile or by electronic mail.


Voting and Quorum

  1.  ​Each member shall have one (1) vote which may only be exercised by the member, not by proxy or by designee.

  2.  A quorum must be physically present at any meeting of the Council in order for the Council to take any formal action or transact business.  A quorum shall consist of a majority of the voting Council members currently seated on the Council.

  3. Action on any proposal shall require an affirmative vote of a majority of the voting members present except for the following items: Action on matters relating to amendment of these Bylaws will require a majority vote of all members then seated on the Council, as set forth in Article IX hereof.

  4. Once a quorum is established, the Broward County Housing Council meeting may start without regard to the absence of any other Council members.


Board Attendance

A member of the Broward County Housing Council shall be automatically removed as a member if he or she has three (3) consecutive unexcused absences or misses four (4) properly noticed meetings in one (1) calendar year because of unexcused absences in accordance with Chapter 1, Article XXXVII, Section 1-618(a-c) of the Broward County Code of Ordinance.   For Broward County Commission appointments, the automatic removal of a member is deemed effective when written notice of the reason for the removal has been sent to the member by the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Professional Standards.  For appointments made by other appointing authorities, the automatic removal of a member is deemed effective when written notice of the reason for the removal has been sent to the member by the Council Coordinator.

Attendance Ordinance 2013-17 (PDF)​


Residency Requirements

Members appointed to positions on the Council shall be residents of Broward County or the primary place of business representing an appointed category must be located in Broward County.


Legal Councel

The Office of the County Attorney shall provide legal counsel to the Council.​

Attorney

Office of the County Attorney
954-357-7600​


Rules

All procedural matters not addressed by these Bylaws shall be governed by the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order.


Amendments

Amendments of these Bylaws may be proposed by any member, and shall become effective upon affirmative vote of a majority of all members then serving on the Council.

ADOPTED:  August 26, 2011​​


Coordinator 

Jo Sesodia, Director

Urban Planning Division
954-357-6602


Assistant 

Susanne Carrano, Senior Planner
Urban Planning Division​
954-357-6737

Notes

Financial Disclosure not required​ 

​The Broward Housing Council's Charter Review Commission Resolution No. 2008-005


​​​​​​Intergovernmental Affairs

Please visit Broward County Boards and Committees for additional information, search for "housing council".  Click the "Vacancies" tab and scroll down to "Housing Council" to view vacancies.  Coordinator Information links to administrative policies, handbooks, and ordinances.​​​​​​​​​​​