§ 1-618. Attendance policy.

(a)

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.

(b)

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.

(c)

The absence of a member shall be deemed excused under the following circumstances:

(1)

When the member is performing an authorized alternative activity relating to outside Council business that directly conflicts with the properly-noticed meeting;

(2)

The death of an immediate family member, defined as a spouse, father, mother, stepparent, one who has stood in the place of a parent (in loco parentis), child, or stepchild domiciled in the member's household;

(3)

The death of a member's domestic partner;

(4)

The member's hospitalization;

(5)

When the member is summoned to jury duty; or

(6)

When the member is issued a subpoena by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(d)

Attendance records for members shall be submitted by the Council Coordinator to the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and Professional Standards' Coordinator within two (2) weeks after each meeting to determine attendance compliance. A member shall notify the Council Coordinator, either orally or in writing, at least two (2) business days prior to the scheduled meeting date as to whether he or she will or will not attend the meeting, unless the occurrence of an event specified in Subsections (c)(1)-(4) above makes such notice impracticable. This notification requirement is imposed to allow sufficient time for the Council Coordinator to cancel the meeting if it appears there will be no quorum. Failure to notify the Council Coordinator at least two (2) business days prior to the scheduled meeting shall be considered an absence if such failure results in cancellation of the meeting. All members attending the meeting (either in person or through teleconference, when permitted) will be marked as present. A member who has notified the Council Coordinator that he or she cannot attend the meeting will be considered absent even if the meeting is cancelled due to lack of a quorum. The Chair of the Council, shall, in his or her discretion, determine whether the member's absence meets any of the criteria for an excused absence set forth in subsection (c) above.

(e)

If a member is automatically removed for violating the attendance requirements, the Broward County Commission or other appointing authority, as applicable, pursuant to Section 11.07 of the Broward County Charter may reappoint the member when extenuating circumstances are found to exist for the member's absences or appoint a new member to fill the vacancy in accordance with Section 11.07 of the Broward County Charter.

(f)

To ensure that Council members do not have to choose between attending meetings or observing religious holidays, members may request that meetings not be scheduled on religious holidays, and the Chair must honor those requests.

(Ord. No. 2010-65, § 1, 12-14-10; Ord. No. 2013-17, § 1, 3-12-13; Ord. No. 2014-26, § 1, 9-9-14)