Butler Apartments

Butler Apartments Committee Election Bylaws

Preamble: Officers are to represent the spirit of Butler Apartments and conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to the success of the Committee. Interpretation of rules shall be left to the presiding Butler Apartments Committee.

A. Candidates for Office

1. Eligibility

1.1 Candidates for all offices shall live in the Butler Apartment Community during the term of their office.

1.2 Candidates for all offices must have attended at least three regular Butler Committee Meetings during the previous year.

1.3 Candidates for Committee Chair must have held any Committee office for at least one term in the past three years.

1.4 Preference for offices shall be given to those fulfilling the above requirements; however, if no one meets the requirements, the office is open to anyone.

2. Offices

2.1 Committee Chair: The responsibilities of the Chairman are as follows:

- Schedule meetings and reminding committee members of meetings

- Create an agenda for each meeting. The agenda should include all open business from previous meetings along with new business arisen since previous meeting

- Run the meeting itself.

- Act as a spokesperson or liaison between the committee and external groups

2.2 Committee Treasurer: The treasurer handles payment and reimbursement, maintains financial records, and keeps committee members informed of budget and balance issues. The responsibilities of the treasurer are as follows:

- Request activities fee from Student Life Officer in September

- Requests graduate school funding from Dean Montero’s office in September

- Handle transfer of co-sponsorship money from the Graduate Student Government

- Receive monthly checking account statements and balances checkbook, handles check writing and deposits

- Receive monthly controller’s office report and balances Princeton account, submits vouchers to Graduate School to access money

- Keep track of Yoga and Garden Accounts

- Submit end of year financial report to Dean Montero’s Office

In addition, the treasurer must observe the following guidelines (amendment approved at 09/18/02 ad hoc meeting):

1) The treasurer must submit a written report at each meeting, and this report must show every credit and debit as well as the account balance.

2) The treasurer alone will be responsible for writing checks. No signed blank checks may be issued.

3) The treasurer will present a breakdown of the account at each monthly meeting, clearly distinguishing money obtained/expended for yoga, gardening, social events, and money spent on miscellaneous expenses. The treasurer will keep accurate records of both the larger Butler budget and also smaller budgets within it such as gardening.

4) Reimbursements are only allowed if receipts are presented.

5) A brief description of the expenditure will be recorded next to the receipt in the treasurer's notebook to aid in future reference.

6) Copies of all receipts are to be made and kept with the account records before the receipts are submitted to the GSG.

2.3 Secretary: The Secretary’s responsibilities are as follows:

- Record the minutes at all committee meetings and report the minutes to the Committee Chair.

- Post the minutes in the Common Room

- Record all members present for Committee Meetings

- Aid the Chairman in the Election Process on Election Day

2.4 Social Chair: The responsibility of the Social Chair shall be to organize and coordinate all social events sponsored by the Butler Apartments Committee.

2.5 Bugle Editor: The responsibility of the Bugle Editor shall be to compile the publication, The Bugle, 3 to 4 times a year. The Bugle Editor shall also coordinate its distribution. The Bugle shall consist of important announcements and key topics discussed at committee meetings.

2.6 Webmaster: The responsibility of the Webmaster shall be to maintain the Butler Committee Website. All online updates and postings shall be posted by the Web Page Editor. The Webmaster must also maintain the butler-res and butler-com e-mail lists, and respond to general queries received in the committee e-mail account.

2.7 Dolly/Ladder Reserver – The responsibility of the Dolly Representative shall be to coordinate the use of the communal ladder and dolly.

2.8 Community Room Reserver: The responsibility of the Community Room Reserver shall be to coordinate the use of the Butler Apartments Community Room.

2.9 Gardening Coordinator: The responsibility of the Gardening Coordinator shall be to organize and distribute garden space to the Butler Community at large.

2.10 GSG Representative: The Representative shall act as a liaison to the Graduate Student Government. The responsibilities are as follows:

- Attend GSG meeting once each month

- Collect questions from Butler Committee to present in the GSG meeting

- Collect information related to Butler from GSG

- Apply for funds from GSG to Butler social events

2.11 Housing Representative

The housing representative serves as the liaison between the housing department and Butler community. Responsibilities include:

- Present concerns of the Butler community with respect to housing to the attention of the housing department and vice versa.

- Write the major maintenance request each year.

3. Filing

3.1 Candidates for all offices must file for election at least seven (7) days prior to the election day, and shall do this by notifying the Committee Chair via email or direct contact.

B. Qualifications and Conduct of Voters

1. Eligibility of Voters - All residents eighteen years of age or older of the Butler Community who have attended at least one previous meeting in the past year shall be eligible to vote.

2. Voting Procedure

2.1 No voter shall cast more than one (1) ballot in favor of a candidate.

2.1 Each voter may vote for one (1) candidate for as many offices as he/she is eligible to vote for and there are positions to fill. It is his/her prerogative to vote for only one candidate, to cast a no-vote, or to write in a name which does not appear on the ballot. This shall not invalidate the ballot.

2.2 Absentee ballots may not be cast.

C. Mechanics of the Election

1. Election Dates

1.1 The Butler Apartments Committee regular elections shall occurring during the May Meeting.

2. Polls

2.1 Election polls shall be open during the Election Day Committee Meeting.

2.2 The election shall occur in the Butler Common Room.

2.3 The election shall be conducted by secret ballot.

2.4 The standing Committee Secretary shall distribute and collect the ballots.

3. Ballot Counting

3.1 The ballot counting shall be conducted by the current Committee Secretary and supervised by the standing Committee Chair.

3.2 The ballot counting shall occur during the Election meeting and results shall be announced immediately.

3.3 If the election results in a tie, the ballots shall be recounted.

3.4 If the election results in a tie a second time, the standing Committee Chair will cast the deciding vote.

D. Vacancy

1. If any office is vacated during before the April Election, the immediate following meeting the position will be appointed by the committee to serve out the term. General elections will proceed in April in a regular fashion.
*** Bylaw Interpretation Update 04/08/2008. Section D1 lists regular elections as occurring in April while other sections of the bylaws clearly indicate that elections are held in May. The current Butler committee was recently informed of this inconsistency and on April 7th 2008 the committee agreed to interpret the Bylaws as indicating that general elections will be held in May. Thus general elections will occur in May 2008, the bylaws will be fully revised before any subsequent elections

E. Amendments to Election Bylaws

1. Amendments to these bylaws must be presented in writing to the Committee and require a two thirds (2/3) majority vote by the Committee for passage.