Policies and Procedures

PENN DEL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES (UPDATED August 2014)

POLICY AND PROCEDURE FOR OFFICERS

PRESIDENT

The President is authorized to appoint all committee chairmen unless otherwise noted in the Chapter Bylaws, to be reviewed on an annual basis. He/she shall serve as an ex-officio member of all committees.

The President should keep informed regarding goals, activities, and actions of committees, task forces and liaisons. At the beginning of the year, the President will communicate by meeting or otherwise notifying all chairmen to review responsibilities, definition of duties, goals for the year, and to review and establish a budget for the coming year. After the announcement of officers following the annual Symposium, the president shall meet with the Chapter Board to review responsibilities and Policy and Procedures.

The President will be responsible for formulating an agenda for each Board meeting.

The President, working with the Treasurer will establish budget criteria and guidelines for committees. Before the beginning of the fiscal year each committee chair shall present to the President a budget for the coming calendar year. A revised budget may be presented at the March meeting.

The President shall conduct an annual performance review of the Executive Secretary, using standardized review guidelines. The Executive Secretary shall be a part of this review. In closed session, the Board shall decide the terms of the contract for the Executive Secretary for the following fiscal year.

New members to the Chapter shall be welcomed by a letter from the President.
Presidential personal ISA expenses are budgeted. The President must keep his/her expenses within the constraints of the budget.

The President shall attend the ISA Conference and the Chapter Presidents meeting at this conference. If he/she cannot attend, the responsibility will go to the President Elect. The Chapter will pay his/her expenses (travel, lodging, meals, and registration) for attending this meeting within the constraints of the budget.

The Chapter will pay all necessary expenses for the President to attend the Annual ISA meeting, Chapter Board meetings and functions, and lodging expenses to the Annual Penn-Del Chapter Shade Tree Symposium. If the President attends the Annual Leadership Conference, the Chapter will pay all necessary expenses. Reimbursement will not be made for meals included as part of the symposium.

PRESIDENT ELECT

The President Elect shall work closely with and take directives from the President. The President Elect shall assist the President and, in the event of the President’s absence or disability, shall perform the duties of the President.

The President Elect shall serve as chairman of the Symposium Committee, and work with the Education committee to obtain speakers, and establish the agenda for the two day conference. This includes keeping within the budgetary guidelines established by the Board for speaker expenses, honorariums etc. The President Elect shall appoint a person responsible for ensuring that deadlines for symposium planning are met. The appointed person will communicate with the Symposium Committee and the Executive Secretary during the planning process.

The President Elect shall serve as chairman of the Nominations Committee.

The President Elect shall serve as chairman of the Membership Committee.

The President Elect shall serve on the Policy and Procedures committee and attend
meetings.

When the President Elect is acting in place of the President, expenses will be paid as described for the President. As Shade Tree Symposium chairman, Symposium lodging, will be paid by the Chapter. Reimbursement will not be made for meals included as part of the symposium.

VICE PRESIDENT

The Vice-President shall be elected for the term of one year. He/she may be elected to a consecutive term if desired according to the procedure described for President and also with a two consecutive year limit.

The Vice President will serve as the Education chairman for the chapter and a member of the Symposium committee. In addition to assisting the President Elect and Executive Secretary in carrying out their duties, the Vice President will assist committee chairs in planning and supervising programs for the year.

The Vice-President shall serve on the Policy and Procedures Committee and attend their meetings.

General Committee Responsibilities of the Vice President:

Assist in scheduling Penn-Del Chapter programs for the year, including Arbor Day, Tree Climbing Competitions, Fall and Spring meetings, Symposium, Scholarship Fund raiser and any other programs of interest throughout the year.
Notify Executive Director of all programs scheduled throughout the year.
When the Vice-President is acting in place of the President, expenses will be paid as described for the President. As a member of the Symposium Committee, lodging will be paid by the Chapter. Reimbursement will not be made for meals included as part of the symposium.

SECRETARY

The Secretary is a director–at–large on the Chapter Board.

The Secretary shall take the minutes of the meetings of the Chapter Board and all meetings of the general membership.

It is the responsibility of the Secretary to see that a copy of all Chapter Board meeting minutes and the annual business meeting minutes are sent to the Executive Director for mailing to all Board, and to the ISA office, as required.

TREASURER

The Treasurer is a director–at–large on the Chapter Board.

The Treasurer shall work with budgeted committees to establish annual budgets, and record projected budgets as presented by each committee chair.

The Treasurer shall assist the President in preparing a budget for the year to be submitted to the Chapter Board prior to the beginning of each fiscal year.

The Treasurer shall prepare a report on finances for presentation at each Chapter Board meeting as well as any general membership meetings. A year–end financial report shall be submitted to the President and the Chapter Board prior to the first Board meeting of the fiscal year.

An expense report and all original receipts shall accompany any written request for reimbursement to any chapter member, officer, director or other individual before reimbursements are made.

The Treasurer, the President, and the Executive Director are authorized to sign or deposit any checks written as part of the normal operations of the Chapter.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The Executive Director shall be an independent contractor to the Chapter, hired by the Chapter Board of Directors on an annual basis. The contract may be renewed or terminated at the discretion of the Chapter Board following a performance review conducted by the President. The fee for this position will be determined and paid at the discretion of the Chapter Board. The Executive Director is a non-voting member of the Penn-Del Chapter Board.

The Executive Director shall serve as the chief staff executive and supervise the activities of other staff hired to assist the Chapter.

The Penn-Del Chapter will underwrite a membership in ISA for the Executive Director.
The duties of the Executive Director shall include, but not be limited to,

assisting the Chapter President in coordinating all functions of the Penn-Del Chapter through the course of the year, including the budget and finance processes.
serving as permanent coordinator to assist the Symposium committee and to keep detailed records of plans and facilities for each year.
serving as Editor for the weekly eBrief.
developing membership materials, and communicate with delinquent and lapsed members to encourage Penn-Del membership.
maintaining up-to-date membership rolls, and coordinating member lists with ISA. Mail dues notices to all Chapter members as necessary.
corresponding with officers and committee chairs, at least quarterly.
assisting chair-persons and officers in the mailing of notices to the membership, Certified Arborist examination schedules, and other Chapter event dates as needed.
representing the Penn-Del Chapter at official functions when necessary, and attending functions in the absence of the officers of the Chapter Board. Expenses will be paid according to these policies.
preparing memoranda and distributing correspondence to the Chapter Board, membership, and ISA offices, including Chapter Newsletter, Chapter Board meeting minutes, etc.
involvement in public relations for chapter events and activities.
welcoming of guests and dignitaries at Chapter events.
welcoming of new Chapter members.
maintaining financial records and assisting the Treasurer in managing the Chapter’s funds.
other duties and activities as directed by the Chapter Board or the President

Chapter will pay all necessary expenses incurred while performing duties, including ISA membership, subject to approval by the Chapter Board. Reimbursement will not be made for meals included as part of the symposium.

GUIDELINES FOR CHAPTER EXPENDITURES

To help committees establish working budgets, the Policy and Procedures Committee has organized this information:

Committee Chairs are responsible for presenting a budget for the coming year, each September, for the following fiscal year, to the President and treasurer. A revised budget may be presented at the March meeting. Other committees or members requesting funds for their activities shall submit a budget to the Chapter Board for approval on an individual basis. When Chapter members are required to travel, budgets will be based on the lowest fares and expenses available. Unexpected expenses should be requested before the expense is incurred. Requests for immediate funding should be directed to the President or Treasurer, and approval by the Executive Committee is necessary prior to disbursements being made. All requests for reimbursement of travel expenses should be directed to the Chapter Executive Director using an approved expense form provided by the chapter.

Committee Expenses are approved by the board of directors once the committee budget proposal is adopted as part of the budget. Prior approvals for expenditures by the Treasurer are not needed as long as they are within the budget proposal. Once a committee has exhausted its budget, it must get board approval for any additional expenditure. Committees that do not submit a budget proposal will be required to get expenditures approved by the treasurer prior to the expense.

Non Budgeted Expenses for Chapter Operation: In the case that there are purchases that need to be made to maintain the chapter that are not budgeted, the Executive Director must receive approval from the Board of Directors for the expenditure.

EXPENSES FOR APPOINTED POSITIONS

COUNCIL OF COMPONENT REPRESENTATIVE: Upon approval by the Board The Chapter will pay all necessary expenses incurred while attending CCR meetings, including travel, food and lodging subject to approval by the Chapter Board.

TREE FUND LIAISON: This is an appointed position. The liaison is required to attend ISA meetings as designated by ISA. The Chapter will pay for travel, meals and 2 nights lodging for meetings not covered by ISA or the TREE Fund.

ISA CERTIFIED ARBORIST LIAISON COMMITTEE: The Chapter will pay transportation, meals and one night’s lodging to the ISA Annual meeting in August. The Chapter will pay transportation, meals and lodging to the yearly ISA Certified Arborist meeting. The Chapter will cover registration to the Annual Shade Tree Symposium.

INTERNATIONAL TREE CLIMBING CHAMPIONSHIP CONTESTANT: Upon approval by the Board the Chapter will sponsor one chapter Jamboree winner each year to attend the National Tree Climbing Championship at the ISA annual conference.

SYMPOSIUM EXPENSES

In addition to the expenses outlined above, the Chapter shall:

Provide lodging, meals and registration for the official representative from the ISA attending the Symposium.

Sponsor a luncheon for the Past Presidents of the Chapter.

Provide complimentary registration for those over 65 years of age and retired from active employment.

Reimburse for meals for the team that sets up the tree prior to the start of the symposium. All other meals not part of the symposium will not be reimbursed.

Provide free registration to the volunteer coordinator and AV volunteers

ADDITIONAL POLICIES

Policy on Use of Member Information

All member data is solely the property of the Chapter. Any communication using the chapter email, mailing or phone list by a third party is prohibited, unless the board of directors votes to approve the use. Third parties may not send out emails, mailings or other communications with the chapter logo without express permission of the chapter.

Policy for Use of the Chapter Logo

The chapter logo is exclusive to the chapter. Third parties wishing to use the chapter logo must receive written permission from the chapter president allowing for the use. This applies to all written, electronic and other forms of communication.

Policy for Course Sponsorship by the Chapter

Any third party wishing to advertise that a course is co-sponsored by the chapter must receive approval by the board of directors prior to the course. The chapter board of directors must approve advertising for a co-sponsored course.

Policy for Use of Chapter Credit Card

A chapter credit card is available for purchases to the Executive Director and Treasurer that have been budgeted within the fiscal year.

Policy for Advertising Courses in the Penn Del Chapter

Courses approved for ISA Credit will be advertised to chapter members in the calendar section of the website and in the e-newsletter when space allows. Courses that are not approved for ISA Credit will not be advertised to chapter members free of charge.