Proposed Operating Procedures

11/2/10

AdirondackPartnership

Proposed Operating Procedures

Background

The Adirondack Partnership was created in 2010 through a Memorandum of Agreement signed by local governments, state agencies, non-profit organizations, and other institutions as authorized by majority vote of Partnership signatories, in the AdirondackPark who share a common goal of enhancing and benefiting communities, their economies, and the environment within the AdirondackPark.

It is anticipated that activities of the Partnership be financed through Environmental Protection Fund, private endowments, and other grants from various funding sources as well as in-kind/volunteer services and materials from the member organizations.

The Partnership will include municipalities (towns, counties,and villages), state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other institutions as authorized by majority vote of Partnership signatories.

Purpose of the Partnership

The Adirondack Partnership serves as a forum for local governments, state agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other institutions as authorized by majority vote of Partnership signatories, to work in partnership to address complex Adirondack issues in a coordinated manner. The Partnership has no approval or review function for actions proposed or undertaken by the individual members, or other organizations. Beyond serving as a cooperative forum, the function of the Partnership is to agree upon annual and long-term priorities for advancing Adirondack community sustainability, including applications submitted on behalf of the Partnership to implement these priorities.

The charter of the Partnership, as described in the 2010 Memorandum of Agreement, is as follows:

Develop a long-term implementation plan of priority actions to support and enhance sustainable Adirondack communities;

Advance implementation items from the long-term implementation plan;

Periodically establish, review, and update priority actions for enhancing sustainable communities;

Identify funding priorities for consideration by members when applying for grants and other financial assistance;

Periodically review implementation activities undertaken to support and enhance sustainable communities;

Facilitate coordination of members efforts and sharing of information to advance sustainable Adirondack communities;

Approve an annual work plan and budget for the Partnership;

Convene an annual forum for the purpose of reviewing past accomplishments and discussing actions needed to further support and enhance sustainable communities;

Establish sub-committees, as needed;

Adopt bylaws and procedures for the conduct of its business, as necessary.

Membership

The Adirondack Partnership includes the following members, or a designated representative: the Chief Elected Officials of the (list all signatory villages and towns); the Chair of the Boards of Supervisors or County Legislature of (list all signatory counties); (list chief officer of all signatory state agencies, which may include: New York State Secretary of State; Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Chair of the Adirondack Park Agency; Chair of New York State Empire State Development; and Commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation); (list designees of all signatory non-profits), and list of designees for any other entities authorized for membership by a majority vote of Partnership signatories.

Each organization may send one representative to the Partnership. Organizations may replace their representatives at will. Notification will be sent to the Chair as representatives are changed.

Selection of the Chair

A temporary Chair for the Adirondack Partnership will be named by the Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages. At the first meeting of the Adirondack Partnership, signatories will vote to elect a Chairfrom the Partnershipmembership to serve through an organizational period extending to the second annual forum held by the organization.

At the second annual forum, a vote will be taken among signatories to elect a Chair for a two year term, with subsequent elections to be held every two years at the annual forum.

Role of the Chair

The Chair of the Adirondack Partnership shall be responsible for the following:

Scheduling meetings of the Partnership, preparing the agenda, and conducting Partnership meetings;

Establishing sub-committees and naming the chairs;

Overseeing duties of the Project Manager; and

Fostering cooperative opportunities to support and enhance sustainable Adirondack communities.

Role of Subcommittees

The Partnership may recommend, and the Chair may establish, subcommittees as needed. The Partnership Chair shall appoint a subcommittee chair from Partnership members. The Partnership shall approve a "charge" to each subcommittee which describes its role, responsibilities, and expectations.

Initial subcommittees will be the Partnership Membership and Organization Subcommittee and the Priority Action Plan Subcommittee. The Partnership Membership and Organization Subcommittee will be charged with outreach to eligible signatories to encourage membership in the Partnership and oversight of organization of the Partnership by the Project Manager. The Priority Action Plan subcommittee will be charged with developing a list of priority actions and an implementation plan for the full Partnership’s review and approval.

Each subcommittee chair shall provide the full Partnership with a written or electronic progress report of activities underway on a monthly basis, including, but not limited to contacts made to advance the project, correspondence, suggestions for modification to how the project is being advanced, and problems encountered and actions taken.

Subcommittees shall not undertake actions which deviate from actions approved by the full Partnership without approval of the Partnership.

All Partnership members are eligible and encouraged to participate in these, or any, Partnership subcommittees.

Project Manager

The Project Manager shall have the following duties:

Provide support for meetings of the Partnership, including assistance in the preparation of agendas; provide supporting material, including correspondence, to Partnership members; maintain records; and prepare meeting summaries;

Assist in establishing and provide support for Partnership subcommittees to deal with specific program initiatives or issues;

Oversee completion of the priority projects agreed upon by the Partnership, including coordination and review of such initiatives and projects with Partnership members;

Report on expenditures made under various grant programs or other sources of revenue that support the work of the Partnership;

Prepare and maintain an annual work plan for implementation of the priority projects established by the Partnership;

Advise Partnership members of funding sources available to implement priority projects;

Prepare project funding applications for priority projects agreed upon by the, Partnership and submit to the Partnership for approval prior to submission of such applications; and

Organize and participate in an annual forum that examines achievements in advancing elements of the plan, re-assesses plan priorities, and reports to the public the progress in implementing the plan and other efforts to support and enhance sustainable Adirondack communities.

The Project Manager will report to the Chair, and will oversee or directly undertake assigned tasks to the satisfaction of the Chair.

The duties and compensation of the Project Manager will be set forth in annual subcontracts with a particular municipality serving as the recipient of an Environmental Protection Fund grant awarded to implement established priorities on behalf of the Adirondack Partnership, which shall be approved by the NYS Department of State. The same terms and conditions will apply to any funding received by the Partnership. Specific activities to be undertaken by the Project Manager will be described in quarterly work programs prepared by the Project Manager, acceptable to the NYS Department of State and/or any other funding source administrators.

To keep Partnership members informed, the Project Manager will provide quarterly work programs to Partnership members.

Meetings

The Partnership and its sub-committees shall meet on a schedule set by the Partnership or initially by the Chair.

Agendas for Partnership and subcommittee meetings will be prepared and provided to Partnership members in advance. Summaries of decisions made and actions taken at the meetings will be prepared and provided to Partnership members. Agendas for Partnership and subcommittee meetings will be established by the Partnership Chair, or subcommittee Chair. Suggestions for topics of discussion for such meetings from Partnership members are encouraged, and should be communicated to the Project Manager.

Decision-making

The following actions will be presented to the full Partnership by the Chair for discussion and acceptance by a majority vote of the Partnership members:

A long-term implementation plan to support and enhance sustainable Adirondack communities, a list of priority actions to be undertaken to implement the plan, and status reports on progress made to implement the plan;

Work program for the Project Manager, and any amendments;

Grant applications submitted to implement the work program and priorities of the Partnership; and

Correspondence, press releases, speeches, or other communication that represents the policy of the Partnership or that sets a direction for the Partnership.

Review of Operating Procedures

Operating procedures will be reviewed annually by the full Partnership to determine the need to update or amend such procedures.