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Regulations
CITY OF WINSTON-SALEM
Human Relations Commission Regulations and Rules
Pursuant to Division 8, Section 2-211 et. seq. of the Winston-Salem Code and specifically authorized by Section 2-221, the Human Relations Commission adopts the following rules and regulations for the discharge of its duties:
I. Officers
A.The Commission shall have a chairperson, a vice chairperson and a secretary.
B.The chairperson and the vice chairperson of the Commission shall be selected by the Commission upon a majority vote, a quorum being present and voting, for a term of one year. The secretary may be either a member of the Commission or employee of the City. (Sec. 2-215)
C.Officers shall be selected according to the procedures set forth below.
1.At its regular October monthly meeting, the Commission shall elect a three member Nominating Committee. This committee shall select is own chairman and report a slate of nominees to the full Commission in November.
2.The Commission shall consider this slate and any nominations from the floor and shall select its new officers at the November monthly meeting. The new officers shall be installed, effective January 1st of the following year.
II. Chairperson
A.The Chairperson shall be the presiding officer of the Commission.
B.Powers and Duties of Presiding Officer
At all meetings of the Commission, it shall be the duty of the presiding officer to preserve order and decorum. He/she shall decide all questions of parliamentary law and any member shall have the right to appeal the decision of the chair. On such appeal, the presiding officer may assign reasons for his/her decision and the member appealing may state his/her grounds of appeal.
III. Vice Chairperson
The vice chairperson shall preside in the absence of the chairperson.
IV. Meetings
A.The Commission shall meet regularly on the fourth Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall or at other locations as determined by the Commission, provided each meeting is in compliance with Section 2-219 of the Code of the City of Winston-Salem.
B.Special meetings may be called at any time at the discretion of the chairperson. A majority of the members of the Commission may petition the chairperson for a special meeting indicating the date and time of such meeting in compliance with these rules and regulations, and the chairperson shall call a special meeting in accordance with Sec. I(2) herein.
C.If no members of the Commission attend or if a quorum is not present at a regular or special meeting, all business (vote) shall be continued to the next regular or special meeting of the Commission. However, agenda items may be discussed.
D.Roll Call, Order of Business
At the hour appointed for the meeting of the Commission, the presiding officer shall call the Commission to order and direct the calling of the roll by the secretary, who shall record in the minutes the names of those present and of those absent.
E.Absences
Commission members are expected to notify the chairman or the Human Relations Department staff if they are unable to attend a regular or special meeting of the Commission. The Commission shall determine if the cause of a member's absence shall be excused. If a member shall miss all regular or special meetings held during any period of sixty days (60) without excuse granted by the Commission, the Commission shall determine by a majority vote if the Mayor's Office should be notified that the Commission considers the position vacant.
F.Quorum
A majority of the members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting official business, and this matter shall not be affected by vacancies. (Sec. 2-220)
G. Rules of Order
1.The deliberations of the Commission shall be governed by "Roberts Rules of Order, Revised," but the decision of the presiding officer, unless reversed upon appeal to the full Commission, shall be final.
2.Time limitations for presentations before the Commission are at the discretion of the chairperson.
H.Voting
The chairperson, or the vice chairperson presiding in his/her place, shall be permitted to vote. The affirmative vote of a majority, a quorum being present, shall be required before any action is taken or recommendation is made on any matter considered.
I.Notice of Meetings
1.Notice and schedule of meetings of the Commission shall comply with Section 263 of the Winston-Salem Code relating to open meetings.
2.Notice of Special Meetings
There shall be delivered personally or left at the usual dwelling place of each member of the Commission, at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to any special meeting, a written notice setting forth the time and place of such special meeting. It shall be necessary to state in the notice of special meeting the nature of the business to be transacted at such meeting and no business shall be transacted at any special meeting other than that set forth in the notice. (Sec. 2-218)
3.If it is impossible to deliver notice of a special meeting to any member, copy of such notice shall be left with some adult member of his/her household or close to the front entrance of his/her residence. Notice so given shall be deemed actual notice for all purposes.
J.Closed Sessions
A closed session is a meeting of the HRC that includes only members of the HRC. Any member of the HRC may make a motion to go into an executive session. A closed session may be held during regular or special meeting sessions of the HRC. The motion is adopted with a majority of the HRC. If the motion is adopted, all nonmembers of the HRC shall be requested to leave the meeting, until the members of the HRC vote to end the executive session.
All business and information discussed in the closed session is confidential. Such information shall not be divulged to outside individuals or entities. Minutes of a session are read and approved only in an session. HRC conduct and discipline issues, as well as recommendations regarding personnel matters relating to the Human Relations Department (also referred to as "HRD") Director, shall be held in session and are considered confidential.
V. HRC Conduct
A.The HRC shall strongly discourage its members from engaging in conduct that is unbecoming to the Commission. Behavior that is unbecoming to the Commission shall be defined, as follows:
1.Conduct that is in direct conflict with the HRC Oath and Pledge;
2.Conduct that detrimentally affects the HRC's ability to carry out its functions;
3.Conduct that violates expectations and requirements for confidentiality, as set forth in the North Carolina General Statutes, the City Code, and otherwise herein;
4.Conduct that is an abuse of a Commissioner's public office;
5.Conduct that utilizes the HRC or HRD inappropriately, such as in furtherance of individual or political gains;
6.Conduct that includes excessive absenteeism, as defined herein;
7.Conduct that includes disclosing verbal or written information proposed or submitted by staff that is not finalized or voted upon by the HRC to anyone other than supervisors of the HRD, specifically the City Manager's Office;
8.Conduct that is contrary to the required confidentiality requirements mandated by law;
9.Conduct that, in the view of the HRC, severely undermines the mission and goals of the HRC; or
10.Conduct that is in violation of any civil or criminal law.
B.Allegations of conduct unbecoming of a Commissioner shall be presented to either the HRC Chairperson or whole Commission by another Commissioner or any member of the public for consideration and review as provided below.
VI. HRC Discipline
It shall be within the discretion of the HRC to enforce self-governing, non-binding conduct requirements of its members.
A.Professional Respect
For purposes of these rules and regulations, professional respect is mutual respect given by Commissioners to other Commissioners and departmental staff. Professional respect does not preclude honest differences of opinion ; however, it does preclude personal attacks of someone's integrity. For the purposes of these rules and regulations, a censure shall be a non-binding resolution officially condemning a Commissioner for specified conduct that violates professional respect. The purpose of a censure is to officially condemn the behavior of a Commissioner to discourage him or her from repeating the conduct in question. Any member of the HRC may bring forth a recommendation for a censure of another Commissioner, including officers. A censure shall be voted upon by a quorum of the HRC and reduced to writing by the HRC Chairperson or Vice Chairperson.
B.Suggested Re-Directive Measures
For the purposes of these rules and regulations, the following suggestive re-directive measures may be considered by the Commission whenever there are violations of conduct requirements or professional respect:
1.A motion that a Commissioner apologize for misconduct;
2.A motion that the Commissioner leave the meeting when the conduct in question occurs during a meeting;
3.A motion removing the subject Commissioner from a position of leadership on the Commission, such as an office of Chairperson, Vice Chairperson, Committee Chairperson, or Committee Co-Chairperson.
It shall be within the discretion, by a quorum vote, of the HRC as to whether a violation may include a recommendation from the full Commission to the City Council to remove the subject Commissioner from the HRC, depending on the severity of the conduct in question.
VII. HRD Staff Discipline
A.As per City Code, disciplinary matters pertaining to the HRD staff, with the exception of the Director, shall be handled by the HRD Director and other relevant city staff. As per City Code, the HRD Director has final authority over the hiring, discipline and termination of an HRD staff member.
B.Recommendations for performance-related concerns pertaining to the HRD Director shall be voted and decided upon by a vote of the Commission. No Commissioner should independently and unilaterally communicate a personnel (i.e., performance-based) concern to city management without the matter first being brought to the HRC Chairperson and presented to the HRC by the Chairperson for discussion. If a motion is made and carried, with the subsequent majority vote of the HRC, the HRC Chairperson may present the HRC's concerns to the City Manager. As per City Code, the City Manager has final authority over the hiring, discipline and termination of the HRD Director.
VIII.Confidentiality and Protocol for Information Sharing outside the HRC
Given the nature of the duties of the HRC in examining sensitive, potentially controversial, and political matters, appropriate confidentiality is held in high regard by the HRC. Therefore, in order to assure the free flow of creative thought and opinions by the members of the HRC and HRD, it is highly important for a majority of the members of the HRC to be in full agreement regarding the release of Commission and Departmental ideas, proposals, and suggestions within the requirements of N.C.G.S. 132-1 et. seq.
A.Written and Verbal Communications
Written or verbal communications with or among the HRC and HRD that are not a matter of public record as per North Carolina General Statute Chapter 132 shall not be disclosed with individuals who are not Commissioners or members of the department's staff.
To minimize confusion over potentially changing Commission program ideas, the following modes of communication should not be disclosed outside of the Commission or department until approved or voted upon by the HRC.
1.Written draft proposals, identified as such, that are not yet approved and voted upon by the HRC without the approval of both the HRC Chairperson (or in his or her absence, the HRC Vice Chairperson) and the HRD Director;
2.E-mail communications discussing proposed or suggested ideas and plans of the HRD and/or HRC;
3.E-mails shared on the HRC electronic group e-mail that are for the information and benefit of members of the HRC and HRD only.
Verbal discussions of proposed or suggested ideas and plans of the HRC and/or HRD held during open general HRC or HRC committee meetings shall be regarded as unofficial and are subject to change once they are approved by a voting quorum of the HRC; therefore, Commissioners are expected to use discretion when sharing such information with non-HRC members within the requirements of N.C.G.S. 132-1 et. seq.
IX. Media
A.All communications to the media on behalf of the HRC shall be approved by a vote of the HRC whenever possible. If the matter does not allow time for an HRC meeting, all Commissioners and staff shall first confer with the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson prior to discussing HRC or HRD business or plans with the media.
B.When time permits, matters relating directly to the HRD shall be approved by the HRC, the HRD Director and the supervising Assistant City Manager. If time does not permit such approval, such matters shall be approved by the HRD Director and supervising Assistant City Manager.
X. Vacancies
Should a vacancy occur on the Commission, by resignation or removal, as spelled out in Sec. 2-213 and Sec. 2-214 of the Winston-Salem Code, the chairperson shall inform the Mayor of the need for an appointment to fill the unexpired term.
XI. Committees
The Commission shall have committees and subcommittees as deemed appropriate and mandated by law.
XII. Annual Report
The Commission shall submit, from time to time, but not less than once annually, a report of its activities and recommendations to the City Council, which shall be filed with the City Secretary and made a part of the official minutes of the City Council. (Sec. 2-222)
XIII.Filing of Rules and Regulations
These rules and regulations shall be filed with the City Secretary. These rules and regulations are amended as necessary by majority vote to the Commission and copies of any amendments shall be filed with the City Secretary.
Adopted this 21st day of November 1996.
Amended this 27th day of January 2005.
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