29.907 CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMISSION

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MISSION:

The Mission of the Regional Command’s Community Advisory Board is to support and share in the responsibility with the Police Department in protecting our community from crime and its consequences. The board will maintain order so as to enhance the quality of life in our neighborhoods by service as a liaison between the community and the Police Department. Furthermore, the board will encourage the concept of teamwork and greater community – police interaction to solve the problems of our community.

INTERIM OBJECTIVE:

It shall be an interim objective of this board to identify ways and means of bringing together the many resources available to the board and orchestrate them to work in concert to obtain our common goal, that will eliminate any barriers that may exist between resources and open lines of communication. Means that will establish clear defined problem solving paths, which utilizes S.A.R.A. model and resolves community problems. The Advisory Board will further act in partnership with the community and the Command, providing a communication link, which will relay needs relative to their concerns and provide feedback regarding the Command’s operations, and between the community and their officials, elected and not elected, on policy matters, and encouraging communication and understanding between the community and the Department.

AUTHORITY:

Administrative order A95-1 dated April 26, 1996 provides the authority to establish a Community Advisory Board at each Regional Command and outlines the roles of these boards. The authority of each Regional Commander establishes the Community Advisory Board. The Advisory Board shall have no subpoena power or rule making authority over the Police Department. It shall operate solely under the discretion of the Regional Commander and is advisory in nature.

DUTIES:

It shall be the duty of this Advisory Board to inform the Regional Commander of community problems and concerns. The Advisory Board will identify community problems and probable solutions that will mobilize community and police resources to solve the problem. The Advisory Board will further act in partnership with the community and the Command, providing a communication link, which will relay needs relative to their concerns and provide feedback regarding the Command’s operations.

RESPONSIBILITY:

The responsibilities of the Regional Command’s Community Advisory Board are:

• Assist the Commander, through community input, in making quality decisions. They should advise and inform the Department of the community problems and concerns and provide input to the decision making process.

• Help identify short - term and long - term concerns of the community and help identify priorities and solutions.

• Mobilize the community resources and strengthen the department’s ties within the community.

• Coordinate with other governmental agencies, community organizations and service providers to resolve community problems.

• Communicate information as to the role and operations of the police Department to the community.

• Assist in Community – Police Problem – solving to analyze problems, recommend solutions and review progress or results of the recommended strategies.

• Promote programs and committees that further support the El Paso Police Department’s Mission, Core Values and Community Policing philosophy.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:

The Community Advisory Board is an independent board selected by the Commander. Its duty is to carry out the aforementioned mission and responsibilities.

The board is established by the authority of Administrative Order A95-1 and operates under the discretion of, and reports directly to the Regional Commander.

The board will establish and publicize a readily available system through which members of the community may bring their concerns, complaints, recommendations, and commendations to its attention. The Regional Commander will forward recommendations that fall outside of the Regional Command to Chief of police.

The board will establish a set of specific goals for itself and the region.

The board will operate with the full realization that it has no authority over the Department. The board depends on the wholehearted cooperation of the Regional Command and its individual officers for the success of the Advisory Boards mission.

ORGANIZATION:

The Advisory Board will consist of members of the community appointed by the Regional Commander. All Advisory Board members will serve at the discretion of the Regional Commander.

The Board will consist of twenty members. All members will be appointed for a two - year term, which is renewable for one additional term at the Commander’s discretion. The Advisory Board members are eligible to a second, third or more if all parties are in agreement and the Regional Commander is in agreement.

The Advisory Board officers will consist of an elected CHAIR, VICE – CHAIR, SECRETARY, and a TREASURER, each serving a one - year term. Officers are eligible for re-election.

The Advisory Board will be chaired by the Regional Commander and co-chaired by a member from the Advisory Board recommended by the other board members.

The CHAIR shall preside at all meetings of the Advisory Board. The Chair shall be an ex-officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee. The Chair shall appoint sub-committees and Chairs as appropriate. The Chair shall be available to act as a liaison between the Advisory Board and the general public, the Regional Command and any other groups required.

The Community Relations Committee, Speakers Bureau, appointed by the Chair, will be responsible for communicating the Mission of the Advisory Board to the public through the Police Department. The Police Area Representative (PAR) officers of the Advisory board will be ex-officio members of this committee.

The Nominating Committee, appointed by the Chair, will be responsible for seeking out potentially productive nominees as Advisory Board members. The Committee will recommend members to the Advisory Board and the regional commander. Elections will be held at the next meeting. Prospective members will attend three meetings prior to nomination for election. Nomination will take place during the third meeting. If elected, the nominee will commence a regular term as discussed above. Nominations for regular Advisory Board terms will be presented upon a vacancy. The Nominating Committee will also prepare a list of nominations for officers for the Advisory Board, which will be presented the month prior to the elections and voted on in the election month. Nominations for officers will be accepted from the floor during both meetings.

The VICE-CHAIR shall perform the duties of the Chair in the absence of the Chair. The Vice-Chair will work with the Chair on any special projects assigned by the Chair.

The SECRETARY shall be responsible for maintaining a complete roster including addresses and telephone numbers of the Advisory Board members. The Secretary shall also maintain accurate records of attendance and minutes for the meetings of the Advisory Board, and be responsible for the distribution of the minutes. The Secretary shall also be responsible as the Parliamentarian and Historian. The Parliamentarian shall be familiar with Roberts’s Rules of Order and ensure that the correct parliamentary procedures are followed. The Historian shall maintain a file of newspapers and other materials pertinent to the activities of the Advisory Board.

The TREASURER receives and disburses all funds for the Advisory Board. Funds that are raised or donated to the Advisory Board cannot exceed $500 cash annually, in accordance with the City of El Paso Solicitation Ordinance. Funds are to be deposited into the Advisory Board’s account within four (4) days of receipt. Funds are dispersed by check only. A bill or signed and dated request will be presented to the treasurer for payment. The Advisory Board will establish which payments the treasurer can make without its vote. Two of three signatures on record at the bank must be on each check. One of these two must be the treasurer’s. A report will be presented at each monthly meeting. Copies will be made available. An audit will be made in December of each year. The audit report will be due within thirty (30) days. The funds collected will be used for projects like Pride Day, Friendship Tree, Flowers for the Officer of the Quarter, Crime Stoppers, certificates and awards for project sponsors, memorial gifts for Advisory board members that have passed away, the list goes on. The Advisory Board will put to a vote on any project that requires fund disbursement from the Advisory Board’s bank account.

The elected officials of the Advisory Board comprise the Executive Committee. It will transact, but not be limited to, business as directed by the Advisory Board, including handling the business of the Advisory Board between general meetings. Items to be considered for the agenda must be presented to the Chair at least two weeks before the meeting, and must be approved by the Regional Commander of the Advisory Board.

MEETINGS:

Meetings will be held monthly. Additional meetings may be scheduled if needed. All meetings will be open to the public.

All minutes will be prepared, distributed and filed by the Advisory Board Secretary.

A quorum must be present at any meeting of the Advisory Board to transact business. A quorum is defined as 50 percent of the membership of the Advisory Board at the time of the meeting. A majority vote is required to pass a motion or to make a proposal to the Regional Command.

Four members present at a meeting will constitute a quorum to transact business. Except as noted else where in these policies and procedures, a simple majority of those present at a meeting are necessary to pass a motion.

Any member missing more than three, (3) meetings in a six-month period without being excused by the Chairperson, will automatically be dropped from the membership. The Regional Commander and Chairperson may remove a member from the board.

A two-thirds majority at any meeting may remove any officer from office, provided said officer does not fulfill his/her obligations.

In the case of a vacancy in any elected office, the Nominating Committee will provide from the Advisory Board membership a slate of nominees at any regular meeting, with elections occurring at the next meeting.

Provisions of these policies and procedures may be amended at anytime by the Chairperson of the committee or by two-thirds vote at any meeting after having been proposed at a previous meeting.

Roberts’ Rules of Order will prevail in any case not covered by these policies and procedures.

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