The State Constitution of 1963 provides the basis for community and junior colleges throughout Michigan.

The Legislature shall provide by law for the establishment and financial support of public community and junior colleges which shall be supervised and controlled by locally elected boards (Article VIII, Section 7).

The Legislature, in fulfilling its constitutional mandate, passed the Community College Act of 1966. This legislation outlines the powers and duties of boards of trustees.

The Board, consisting of 7 members, is elected at large in the Community College District during the general elections of the state. Members are elected for 6-year terms of office, which are staggered so that two and sometimes three expire each two years. Regular terms of office commence on January 1, following the date of the general state election. The general election laws of the State govern all elections.

Any qualified elector residing within the Community College District is eligible to be chosen as a Board member.

An elector of a Community College District must possess the following qualifications:

• United States citizenship
• Eighteen years of age
• Resident of Michigan for six months
• Resident of the College district for thirty days

Candidates for membership are nominated by petition as specified in the appropriate election laws. The nominating petitions of those seeking election to the Board of a community college shall be filed not later than 4:00 p.m. on the 60th day prior to the date of the general election. The county clerk will provide the necessary information to candidates.

The candidate for each term of office receiving the highest number of votes cast is elected. A certificate of election will be delivered to the candidates by the Board of Canvassers.

Within 15 days after appointment or after the final canvass of the election, each person elected or appointed as a trustee must file with President’s Office the following:

1. Oath of Office
2. Acceptance of Office
3. Affidavit of Eligibility for Office

The office of a member of the Board becomes vacant immediately without declaration of any officer or the Board or its members upon: the death of the incumbent; a court adjudicating insanity or mental incompetence; resignation; removal from office; conviction of a felony; the election or appointment being declared void by a competent tribunal; refusal or neglect to file the acceptance of office, or refusal or neglect to take and subscribe to the constitutional oath of office and deposit the same in the manner and within the time prescribed by law; and/or ceasing to possess the legal qualifications for holding office, including the residence qualification.

Whenever a vacancy in the Board occurs, the remaining members of the Board by majority vote are empowered to fill the vacancy with a qualified elector of the Community College District. Any person so appointed holds office until the next regular College election, at which time the electors of the Community College District fill the office for the unexpired portion of the term.

The Board officers are: Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. No person can be elected to two consecutive terms. If a Vice-Chair assumes the role of Chair during the Chair’s term, the Vice-Chair is still eligible to be elected to the Chair role for the next term.

The Chair

• The Chair of the Board of Trustees is elected by the members of the Board from among their number and serves for two years.
• The duties of the Chair are to preside at all meetings of the Board, to perform all duties prescribed by law and as directed by the Board, and to preserve order and to enforce rules. The Chair appoints all Board committees unless otherwise ordered by the Board.
• In addition to the duties prescribed by law or by rules of the Board, the Chair exercises such other powers as properly pertain to the office or as may be delegated by the Board.

The Vice-Chair

The Vice-Chair of the Board is elected by the members from among their number and serves for two years.

• The Vice-Chair performs the duties of the Chair in the absence of the Chair, or in case of refusal to perform duties.
• The Vice-Chair performs other functions as designated by the Board.

Secretary

• The Secretary of the Board is elected by the Board and is to be a member who serves for two years.
• If the Secretary is temporarily incapacitated or refuses to perform their duties; a Secretary pro tempore, who is a member of the Board, may be appointed by the presiding officer, subject to the approval of the Board.
• The Secretary performs the duties usually pertaining to their office and as are imposed by action of the Board.
• The Senior Executive Assistant to the President is responsible for posting legal notices; maintaining all records of the Board for public inspection; sending each member of the Board prior to the meetings a copy of the minutes of the preceding Board meeting and notifying the Board of all meetings.

Treasurer

• The Treasurer of the Board is elected by the Board and is to be a member who will serve for two years.
• The Treasurer is charged generally with overseeing the management and reporting of the College’s finances and will serve as the Chair of the College’s Finance Committee. In addition, the Treasurer is to work with the President and the Chief Financial Officer to ensure that appropriate financial reports are made available to the Board on a timely basis and that the annual budget and audit reports are presented to the Board for approval.

No member of the Board will receive compensation for services as a member or as an officer. The members of the Board may be reimbursed for expenses incurred in performance of Board functions approved by the Board in accordance with the College’s Board Member Expense Reimbursement policy.

The Board will transact all business at public legal meetings of the Board. No member of the Board will have power to act in the name of the Board outside of Board meetings.

A Board member cannot be interested directly or indirectly in any contract with the College and may not perform any labor or furnish equipment and supplies for compensation, unless there is public disclosure and approval by the Board of Trustees, as mandated in the Conflict of Interest policy.

1. Standing Committees – The Board oversees the Finance Committee which is a standing committee of the Board. The Finance Committee will consist of three members of the Board. The Board will appoint Finance Committee members annually. Each Finance Committee member will be financially literate. The Chair of the Finance Committee will be the Treasurer of the Board.  
2. Special Committees of the Board – The Board of Trustees may appoint special committees. A special committee reports recommendations to the Board for appropriate action. A special committee is dissolved when its report is accepted by the Board. All special committees are nominated by the Chair of the Board of Trustees, who serves as an ex-officio member of the committee.
3. The Board of Trustees may meet as a committee of the whole to review and appraise existing policies and College operations as occasion requires.

Organizational Meeting

The Board meets for organization on the first Monday in January following the date of the regular community college election. If the date of an organizational meeting falls on a holiday, then it is held on the next succeeding Monday, or at such time as the Board may determine.

Regular Meetings

The Board will annually announce the dates, time and place of regular meetings. Should the day appointed for a regular meeting be a holiday, or as other circumstances may warrant, a meeting will be held at the discretion of the Chair and the Secretary of the Board in consultation with the President of the College.

An adjourned regular meeting may be reconvened for the transaction of business normally scheduled for the regular meeting.

Special Meetings

Special meetings of the Board of Trustees may be called by the Chair or by any three members of the Board by giving notice in writing, stating the time, place and purpose of the meeting.

Public notice requirements are specific to the type of meeting

For regular meetings of a public body, there will be posted within 10 days after the first meeting of the public body in each calendar or fiscal year a public notice stating the date, time, and place of its regular meetings.

• For a change in schedule of regular meetings of a public body, there shall be posted within three days after the meeting at which the change is made, a public notice stating the new date, time, and places of its regular meetings.
• For a rescheduled regular or a special meeting of a public body, a public notice stating the date, time, and place of the meeting shall be posted at least 18 hours before the meeting.
• A meeting of a public body which is recessed for more than 36 hours shall be reconvened only after public notice has been posted at least 18 hours before the reconvened meeting.
• No business shall be transacted except that for which the meeting is called, which will be stated in the agenda.

Quorum

By statute, a majority of the full membership of the Board constitutes a quorum unless otherwise provided. When the vote is taken on any motion before the Board, the quorum present, a majority of the members voting shall determine the outcome, provided there are at least four affirmative votes.

Goode vs. Department of Social Services 143Mich App 756 (1985) and Office of Attorney General, no. 6835 (January 13, 1995) provides for participation by a Board member in a Board meeting by telephone.

Specifically:

• A public body may conduct a meeting under the Open Meetings Act without all the participants being physically present in the same room. The meeting would be held through a speaker phone and audible to everyone in the room.
• Further, a quorum must be physically present to satisfy the requirement for a Board meeting to take place.

Obligation to Vote

Every member present is obligated to vote on all questions, motions and resolutions submitted for action, unless the member advises the presiding officer the desire to abstain. Whenever the vote is a tie, the question will be considered lost. The names of those voting yea or nay will be recorded, if desirable, through a roll call vote.

Place of Meeting

All meetings of the Board are held at the College, unless a different place is designated by resolution, or in the notice of any special meeting.

Order of Business

The usual order of business of the Board is as follows:

1. Call to Order
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Roll Call
4. Setting of the Agenda
5. Approval of Minutes
6. Petitions and Communications from the Floor
7. Reports
8. Old Business
9. New Business
10. Informational Items
11. Miscellaneous
12. Adjournment

Motions

Rules of motion of the Board are as follows:

• A motion is out of order while another motion is being discussed unless it is an amendment to the motion under consideration.
• Exceptions are the motion to adjourn, the motion to table a previous motion, or the motion to refer the motion being discussed.
• A copy of all motions will be carefully recorded, as well as the names of those who make motions and those who support motions when appropriate.

Discussions

Discussions at Board meetings are conducted in the following manner:

• When non-Board members address the Board, the Chair will allot such person not more than five minutes for a report nor five minutes for other business, unless the time is increased or decreased by majority consent of the Board.
• When Board members discuss a matter:
  • The member first addresses the Chair, then the entire membership in an audible voice.
  • The Chair may stop any discussion which does not apply to the motion last made; and may stop the discussion of a matter if the Board has previously agreed to confine discussion to a definite period, and that period has expired.
  • Aside from such limitation, a member may speak without interference for such period as he or she deems necessary.

Call for a Vote

Any member of the Board may call for a vote on any question under discussion. Such a call may be overcome by a majority of Board members present.

Except as provided above, the rules of parliamentary procedure in Robert’s Rules of Order will govern the Board in its deliberations. Rules may be suspended at any meeting by a majority vote of members present.

Rules regarding citizen participation in Board meetings are as follows:

• Meetings of the Board are to be open to the public.
• All citizen communications to the Board must be addressed to the Board.
• Citizens who wish to present any matter of concern to the College are required to make written request to the Secretary of the Board at least one week prior to the meeting. This will come under Miscellaneous in the order of business.
• Under special circumstances, and with the consent of a majority of the Board, the Chair of the Board may give visitors who have not presented a written request an opportunity to present problems to the Board. The Chair will allot a visitor, at the appropriate time, not more than three minutes unless the time is increased or decreased by the consent of the Board.

Rules regarding the minutes of the proceedings of the Board meetings are as follows:

• Minutes of the Board proceedings are prepared under the guidance of the Secretary and emailed by the Senior Executive Assistant to the President to the members when possible, at least two working days before the time of the next meeting.
• Action on the minutes of the preceding meetings shall be approved by the Board as the first official act of the regular meeting. Approved minutes are signed by the Board Secretary.
• The official minutes are available in the President’s office, on the College’s website, and in the College Learning Resource Center under the direction of the Board Secretary.

Records of meetings of the Board are available to citizens for inspection at the College President’s office during business hours, may be examined in the College Learning Resource Center, or viewed on the College’s website.

Policies may be revised, added to, or amended, at a regular meeting of the Board by a majority vote of the Board members. Proposed amendments may be voted on at any meeting following their presentation.

The current policies of the Board members are to be available to the College community on the College’s website. All policies will be available to employees on the employee portal, as well as posted to the College’s website.

All new policies, request to delete policy, and significant policy changes require Board approval.

The Board encourages the use of College facilities by the community it serves. The College is authorized to enter into use and rental agreements with appropriate community groups. Rates charged and priorities for determining use are delegated to the College.

Federal and State grants, including fund matching grants, required of the College may be accepted by the administration and reported to the Board as soon as possible at a regular meeting. Applications for grants and final acceptance of grants will be noted in the minutes of the Board meetings.

The Board has several scholarship programs in which it participates. The awards are given based on demonstrated excellence in a subject area, for economic need, and others for a retiree grant program.

The Chief Financial Officer is charged with making finance reports at most regularly scheduled Board meetings.

The Chair and Treasurer of the College are authorized by electronic signature to pay approved obligations.

College checks will be valid only when an authorized electronic signatures are used.

The routine capital budget is approved in total by the Board each year for the following fiscal year and is funded by each fiscal year’s operating cash flow. Should no cash flow be generated from operations, routine capital could be funded by reserves, postponed, or funded by debt, as determined by the Board. All routine capital projects must be approved by the President as stated in the Capital Asset Policy.

College Brand Identity Policy

Board Conflict of Interest

Board Member Expense Reimbursement Policy

Board Member Expense Reimbursement Procedure

Emergency Authority to Act for Health and Safety Policy

Finance Committee Policy

Governance Systems Policy

Traffic Policy