The Bylaws Committee and SDAO Board of Directors have been working this past year on a review of the SDAO Bylaws, which haven’t been updated since 2020.  The proposed amendments to the bylaws will be voted on at the Annual Business Meeting which will be held at the SDAO Annual Conference on February 10th at 4pm.  For your review, we have provided links to a clean copy and a copy highlighting the proposed revisions. 

In summary here are the most important changes:

1. In the definition of a “Regular Member” we eliminated the long list of district types because new types of districts continue to be created by the legislature.  Instead, we referred to ORS Chapter 198, the statutes that define special districts.
2. The current bylaws say that fire, water, sanitary, irrigation, ports and parks have a dedicated board seat. This has been interpreted in the past to be broad categories because there are several types of special districts that provide the same or similar services.  For clarity, we have grouped together like kinds of districts into categories. 
3. We added a specific new section for past president and made the position a non-voting member.  There were many issues identified by the committee where our current language is confusing as to the intent.  The Board decided that the cleanest solution is to make the position entirely advisory. 
4. In the “How Elected” section we have removed the ability for board member nominations to be made from the floor.  The current process potentially strips away the power of the caucus system and can create confusion at the business meeting.  The Board believes the caucuses have a purpose, and that purpose should be honored. 
5. We simplified the “Disqualification of Directors” language.  Currently, there are different vacancy procedures and timelines depending on when someone becomes disqualified from serving.  The revised language establishes one standard and process to follow once a board member is no longer eligible. 

If approved by the membership, the revised bylaws will become effective July 1, 2024.

Proposed Bylaws - Markup

Proposed Bylaws - Clean Copy