Click here to download the membership form.

PREAMBLE
We, as young resident citizens of the City of Greenville, Mississippi, in order to be the greatest possible service to our city, and in order to allow each young person of Greenville to express, through us, their content and/or discontent with every facet of the city government, and to work accordingly to create the most favorable situation which can be afforded the public, having taken the solemn oath of office do establish and ordain the “Greenville Mayor’s Youth Council.”

ARTICLE I. NAME AND PURPOSE
1. The name of this organization shall be the “Greenville Mayor’s Youth Council.”
2. The purposes of the Greenville Mayor’s Youth Council shall be:
(a) To act as a mediator between the youth of Greenville and city government,to keep city government informed of the needs of youth, and to keep informed of the actions of city government.
(b) To give the youth of Greenville an active voice in affairs of city
government by expressing their ideas through council members, and
(c) To advise city officials on, and take action concerning matters which will work toward development of Greenville’s youth into responsible citizens.

ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP
1. Qualifications for membership shall include:
(a) All members chosen for duty on the Greenville Mayor’s Youth Council shall either live in the city of Greenville or attend a school in the city of Greenville or both.
(b) In addition, all members must be currently enrolled in high school. The term “high school” includes public, private, and parochial high
schools as well as organized home school programs.
(c) Automatic termination of membership will occur if one of the previously mentioned qualifications is not maintained.

2. Selection to membership.
(a) Any candidate for membership, who meets all the requirements, may apply for a position on the council by completing an application for membership which will be provided for eligible candidates in the spring of the school year.
(b) Initially all applications to membership will be reviewed by a selection committee comprised of the Mayor, the Youth Council Advisor(s), and two (2) City Council members selected by the Mayor. In all succeeding years thereafter, all applications to membership will be reviewed by a selection committee comprised of the Advisor(s) and senior members.
(c) All final applicants must have an oral interview with the Advisor(s) and the outgoing officers.

3. Oath of office. Each selected member will be administered the Oath of Office pledging to support the Constitution of the United States and the State of Mississippi and obey the laws thereof.

4. Length of term. This Council will serve from June 1 through May 31.

5. Succeeding terms. Members who will not automatically graduate from the Council may be eligible for succession. Members who, in the eyes of a special panel consisting of the Advisor(s) and the outgoing officers, have displayed excessive degrees of qualities necessitous to the effective operation of this Council, may be named to succeed themselves by the above-mentioned panel. Succession is not mandatory.

6. Grade dispersion of members.
(a) This Council will consist of fifteen (15) youth members.
(b) Members will be selected with grade dispersion as follows:
Five (5) senior class members; four (4) junior class members;
four (4) sophomore class members; and two (2) freshman class
members.
(c) Where applications submitted do not allow for the above grade dispersments, the Council shall follow the above guidelines as closely as possible.

7. Requirements of members. In order to conduct the business of the Council, regular attendance at meetings is important. Members who are absent from more than six (6) meetings during the year will be removed from the Council.

ARTICLE III. OFFICERS
1. Titles. The officers of this organization shall be a president, a vice president, a secretary/treasurer, and a reporter.

2. Selection and tenure.
(a) Officers shall be elected by the members of the Council.
(b) Each person selected to office in the Council shall serve in office on this Council for one year.

3. Qualifications of officers.
(a) The president of the Council shall be a rising senior and shall have one or more prior years of service on the Council.
(b) All remaining officers shall be rising sophomores, juniors, or seniors. Prior service is not required for these officers.

4. Duties of officers.
(a) The president shall:
(1) Preside at all Council meetings
(2) Call special meetings of the Council at his discretion, subject to limitations set forth in Article IV.
(3) Appoint all committees and officers not otherwise provided for by this Constitution.
(4) See that the regulations of the Council are enforced.
(5) Carry out assignments and instructions given to him by vote of the Council.
(6) Perform such other duties as customarily pertaining to the office of president.

(b) The vice president shall be an aide to the president and, in the absence of the president, shall accept the responsibilities of the president as provided for in Article III, Section 4 (a) of this Constitution and act accordingly.

(c) The secretary/treasurer shall:
(1) Keep a record of the proceedings of all meetings.
(2) Issue notices of meetings and agenda after consultation with the president.
(3) Conduct the correspondence of the Council.
(4) Manage all finances for the Council.

(d) The reporter shall inform the news media of events pertaining to the Council.

5. Vacancies of office. Any officer’s post which is for any reason vacated during the term will be filled by a Council member nominated and elected by the Council and approved by the Advisor.

ARTICLE IV. MEETINGS
1. Regular meetings. Meetings of the Council shall be held on the first (1st) and third (3rd) Mondays of each month at a City-maintained building designated by the Mayor with regards to convenience on the part of the Mayor and all other Council members.

2. Special meetings. Special meetings may be called by the President of the Council, when, after consulting with the Mayor, he is convinced that the need is sufficiently urgent. A special meeting may be called upon demand of any five (5) members, exclusive of the President, if the Mayor recognizes the need for such a meeting and so approves it.

3. For any meeting of this Council, a quorum shall consist of one-half of the membership.

ARTICLE V. BOARD OF CENSORS
Any member guilty of noncompliance with provisions set forth in Article I of these bylaws will fall under jurisdiction of a board of censors, consisting of the five (5) senior council members, and may be issued a written letter of reprimand or a statement of dismissal from the Council. Should accusations be brought against a senior member, he would not be allowed to sit on the board while the inquiry was being made.

ARTICLE VI. APPOINTED OFFICERS AND BOARDS
The president of the Council, at his own discretion or at the request of the Advisor(s) or other council members, may appoint any office or board not provided for by the Constitution, if he feels it is necessary to effectively carry out Council business.

ARTICLE VII. COMMITTEES
The president of the Council may, in order to carry on Council business effectively, appoint any committee, and appoint members to positions on committees as he sees fit. Members who move for the formation of committees may within their motion assign members of the Council to said committees.

ARTICLE VIII. ORDER OF BUSINESS
This Council will conduct all meetings using the method set forth in Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised.

ARTICLE IX. FILLING VACANCIES OF MEMBERS
If any position shall become vacant, the president shall, at the earliest possible date thereafter, order a special election between the alternates for the purpose of filling the vacated position. Prior to the election, the secretary shall read each alternate’s attendance and participation record to the entire Council. Therefore, the voting members should give special consideration to the alternate who has shown he/she would benefit the Council most. If any two alternates have the same qualifications, preference should be given to the oldest one.

ARTICLE X. AMENDING THE BYLAWS
Bylaws of this Council may be adopted or amended at any regular meeting by a majority vote, provided that some sort of expressed notice of the intended change was given at least three (3) days previously.

Click here to download the membership form.

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