Operating Procedures

New Hanover County Board of Health

 

 

 

1. Name and Office.

 

The name of this organization is the New Hanover County Board of Health (hereinafter “Board”). The principal office of the Board is located at 2029 South 17^th Street, Wilmington, North Carolina.

 

2. Officers and Committees.

 

1. Chair and Vice-Chair

 

The Board members shall elect a Chair and Vice-Chair by plurality vote each year at the December meeting.

 

2. Secretary

 

The health director shall serve as Secretary to the Board, but he/she is not a member of the Board. The health director may delegate the duties of the Secretary that are set forth in these operating procedures to an appropriate health department employee.

 

3. Standing committees

 

The Board shall have the following standing committees:

 

Executive Committee:

 

       Section 1.  The officers of the Board of Health and three members appointed by the Chair shall constitute the Executive Committee.  It has been the practice of the Board of Health to include the Immediate Past-Chair as one of the three appointed members

 

       Section 2.  The Executive Committee shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Board of Health between its regular meetings.  The Executive Committee shall be subject to the orders of the Board of Health and none of its acts shall conflict with action taken by the Board of Health.  Action taken by the Executive Committee shall be reported to the Board of Health for ratification.

 

       Section 3.  The Chair may call special meetings of the Executive Committee.

 

 

 

 

Environmental Health Committee:

 

The Chair shall appoint an Environmental Health Committee composed of five members in January.  It shall be the duty of this committee to act as an advisor to the Board of Health with respect to environmental health matters.

 

Personal Health Committee:

 

The Chair shall appoint a Personal Health Committee composed of five members in January.  It shall be the duty of this committee to act as an advisor to the Board of Health with respect to health promotion and disease prevention matters.

 

Animal Control Services Advisory Committee:

 

An Animal Control Services Advisory Committee shall be composed of members appointed by the Board of Health as set forth under Section 3-2 of the New Hanover County Code.  Members will include, but not be limited to, interested citizens, and persons representing animal care, welfare or similar organizations.  It shall be the duty of this committee to act as an advisor to the Board of Health with respect to animal control matters.

 

Other Committees:

 

Committees, standing or special, shall be appointed by the Chair to assist the Board of Health or Executive Committee. The Chair shall be an ex officio member of all committees except the Nominating Committee.  The Chair has no obligation to participate at committee meetings and should not be counted in determining if a quorum is present.

 

All committees are subject to the North Carolina open meetings laws and shall comply with the provisions of those laws.

 

3. Meetings.

 

1. Regular Meetings.

 

The Board shall hold a regular meeting on the first Wednesday of each month. In the event a regular meeting day is a legal holiday, the meeting shall be held on the next Wednesday. The meetings shall be held at 2029 South 17^th Street, Wilmington, North Carolina, or designated location, and shall begin at 8:00 a.m.

 

2. Agenda.

 

The Secretary to the Board shall prepare an agenda for each meeting. Any board member who wishes to place an item of business on the agenda shall submit a request to the Secretary at least two working days before the meeting. For regular meetings, the Board may add items to the agenda or subtract items from the agenda by a majority vote. The agenda for a special or emergency meeting may be altered only if permitted by and in accordance with the North Carolina open meetings laws. 

 

Any person may request that an item be placed on the Board’s agenda by submitting a written request to the Secretary at least ten working days before the meeting.

 

3. Presiding Officer.

 

The Chair of the Board shall preside at Board meetings if he or she is present. If the Chair is absent, the Vice-Chair shall preside. If the Chair and Vice-Chair are both absent, another member designated by a majority vote of members present at the meeting shall preside.

 

4. Quorum.

 

A majority of the actual membership of the Board, excluding vacant seats, shall constitute a quorum. A member who has withdrawn from a meeting without being excused by a majority vote of the remaining members shall be counted as present for purposes of determining whether or not a quorum is present.

 

5. Voting.

 

Each Board member shall be permitted to abstain from voting, by so indicating when the vote is taken. A member must abstain from voting in cases involving conflicts of interest as defined by North Carolina law. If a member has withdrawn from a meeting without being excused by a majority vote of the remaining members, the member’s vote shall be recorded as an abstention.

 

6. Minutes.

 

The Secretary shall prepare minutes of each Board meeting. Copies of the minutes shall be made available to each Board member before the next regular Board meeting. At each regular meeting, the Board shall review the minutes of the previous regular meeting as well as any special or emergency meetings that have occurred since the previous regular meeting, make any necessary revisions, and approve the minutes as originally drafted or as revised. The public may obtain copies of Board meeting minutes at 2029 South 17^th Street, Wilmington, North Carolina.

 

4. Amendments to Operating Procedures.

 

These operating procedures may be amended at any regular meeting or at any properly called special meeting that includes amendment of the operating procedures as one of the stated purposes of the meeting. A quorum must be present at the meeting at which amendments are discussed and approved, and any amendments must be approved by a majority of the members present at the meeting.

 

5. Other Procedural Matters.

 

The Board shall refer to the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (RONR) to answer procedural questions not addressed in this document, so long as the procedures prescribed in RONR do not conflict with North Carolina law.

 

6. Compliance with North Carolina Law.

 

In conducting its business, the Board shall comply with all applicable North Carolina laws, including but not limited to open meetings laws, public records laws, and the laws setting forth the powers and duties of local boards of health. To assist the Board in compliance, the local health director shall maintain a current copy of relevant North Carolina General Statutes and make them available to Board members on request.

 

 

 

Approved and adopted by the New Hanover County Board of Health on January 3, 2007.

 

 

___________________________________

Edward Weaver, Jr., OD

Chair, New Hanover County Board of Health

 

 

 

 

___________________________________

David E. Rice, MPH, MA

Secretary, New Hanover County Board of Health