Article III

Home

WSSA Bylaws

Article I

Article II

Article III

Article IV

Article V

Back to top

WSSA Bylaws - Article III

ARTICLE III

Section 1

Office of the President:
1. The President shall be the Chief Executive of the Association
  President's duties shall be:
  1. To see that the provision for the Constitution and Bylaws, the regulations and policies established thereunder are observed, and
  2. To be presiding officer at the Annual Conference and all other WSSA meetings.
2. The President shall have the authority to designate the President-Elect to act in place of the President at public gatherings, at the Annual Conference and at Executive Committee meetings. In the event that the President-Elect cannot accept any assignment, the President may appoint another representative.
3. The President shall have the authority to ask District Association Presidents to make appointments to such committees as may be deemed necessary.
4. The President may make appointments to committees of other organizations with approval of the Executive Committee. Appointees may be discharged after filing a report with the Executive Committee or by action of the President.
5. The President shall be compensated for duties related to the assumption of the office as recommended by the Finance Committee and approved by the Executive Committee.
Office of the President-Elect:

The President-Elect shall be the representative of the President on all matters referred to him/her.
The President-Elect shall on request or in the absence of the President, preside over meetings of the Annual Conference or Executive Committee.

Office of the Secretary:
1. The Secretary shall keep a record of all meetings of the WSSA, all meetings of the Executive Committee, and prepare same for permanent record in a book or file kept for that purpose; and, shall at each meeting, at the direction of the President read the minutes of the previous meetings and make such corrections as may be allowed.
2. The Secretary shall have all property and equipment of the duties of the office.
3. The Secretary shall render at the Annual Conference, a complete report of the functioning of this office for the preceding year and shall perform such other duties as may be imposed upon the office by the Executive Committee and the President.
4. The Secretary shall be compensated for duties related to the assumption of the office as recommended by the Finance Committee and approved by the Executive Committee.
Office of the Treasurer:
1. The Treasurer shall receive all funds collected from all sources.
2. The Treasurer shall record all receipts and disbursements.
3. The Treasurer shall make a complete financial report to the Annual Conference and such other reports as may be required by the Executive Committee.
4. The Treasurer shall pay by check drawn on WSSA funds all expenses incurred by WSSA.
5. The Treasurer shall deposit all WSSA funds, bonds, and securities in a bank approved by the Executive Committee.
6. The Treasurer shall be compensated for duties related to the assumption of the office as recommended by the Finance Committee and approved by the Executive Committee.
7. The Treasurer may, with Executive Committee approval, delegate any of the responsibilities, delineated in articles D.l. through D.5., to any standing committee of the WSSA Association. Such delegation shall be renewed by the Treasurer and Executive Commmittee on a year-to-year basis. The parameters within which the delegation of authority takes place shall be set by the Treasurer and Excecutive Commitee. (Adopted 6/6/91)
Office of the Parliamentarian:
1. The Parliamentarian shall interpret the Constitution and Bylaws, Conference Resolutions, procedures and other WSSA regulations and give an opinion thereon at the request of the President or Executive Committee.
2. Shall act as Parliamentarian at the Annual Conference.
Office of Immediate Past President:
1. Will act as a consultant to the Officers of WSSA.
2. Will assist the incoming President so as to maintain continuity within the organization.
3. The Immediate Past President shall continue as a member of the Executive Committee for one (1) year.
Office of Association Historian:
1. Will be responsible for compiling and maintaining the historical record of the Association.
2. Will have authority to request from the Officers and Committee Chairpersons information necessary for the performance of the office.
3. Historian shall find storage space for the historical files. This shall be done with the approval of the Executive Committee.

Section 2

The Executive Committee:
1. The members shall participate in all meetings of the Executive Committee.
2. Between Annual Conferences, the administrative power shall be vested in the Executive Committee, who, with the President, shall exercise general supervision over the WSSA.
3. The President may call a meeting of the Executive Committee at any time and place. The President shall call a meeting of said committee at any time when requested to do so in writing by five members thereof.
4. The Executive Committee shall have the power to require any Officer having the possession or custody of any funds or property of the WSSA to give a bond in such sum as they shall fix with securities as they shall approve. All expenses shall be paid out of WSSA funds.
5. The Executive Committee shall have authority to appoint sub committees and delegate to them such functions and authority as it shall deem necessary.
6. Any matter purporting to relate to the policy, business or administration, and which is not regulated by specific provisions of the Constitution, WSSA Conference or these By-laws, shall be referred to the Executive Committee for determination or adjustment.
7. The Executive Committee shall formulate the Association's position on legislation and issues between conferences on matters not in conflict with the mandates of the conference body.
8. The Executive Committee as a whole shall constitute a Conference Board to:
  1. Fix the date and site of the Annual Conference.
  2. Select Conference Chairperson(s) and set their rate of compensation.
  3. Exercise complete control and have full responsibility for the administration of the Annual Conference.
9. The Executive Committee shall constitute a Publication Board which shall appoint a Publication Editor and pay for all expenses entailed.
10. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to employ a part-time executive secretary and with the Finance Committee establish a salary.
11. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to approve additional special awards proposed by any standing committee.
12. The Executive Committee, by majority vote, may award Honorary Membership at any time during the year.
13. The Executive Committee shall have the authority to appoint someone to fill a vacancy on any standing committee when the District Association fails to name a replacement.
14. The Executive Committee shall explore membership benefits and make recommendations to the membership for adoption of such benefit (Adopted 6/6/91)
15. The Executive Committee, with approval of the Treasurer, may authorize any delegation of Treasurer's fiscal responsibility to any other standing committee of the Association. (Adopted 6/6/91).

Section 3

Elections:
1. The President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian and Historian shall be elected from the membership.
2. The President-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, Parliamentarian and Historian shall be elected by a plurality of votes cast by ballot (Rev. 5/27/93) by regular and honorary members in any Association election. Any nominated candidate with no opposing candidate will be declared elected. (Added 6/2/05)
3. The term of office of each of the Officers shall commence on the first day of July. All Officers shall be elected to a two year term, except the President-Elect who shall serve one year as President-Elect, one year as President, and one year as Past President. The parliamentarian and Secretary shall be elected in odd numbered years.
Vacancies:
1. If the immediate Past-President cannot serve, the position shall remain vacant for the remainder of the term.
2. A vacancy occurring in the office of the President shall be filled by the President-Elect for the remainder of the term. In addition, the President-Elect shall complete his/her own term of office.
3. A vacancy occurring in the office of the President-Elect shall be filled by appointment of the President, subject to confirmation by an affirmative vote of three-fourths of the Executive Committee members. The appointment of the President-Elect shall be effective upon confirmation. The President-Elect shall assume the office of President on the first day in July unless a majority of the District Associations request an election to be held for that office. Such request must be made within 90 days following confirmation.
4. Vacancies occurring in other offices shall be filled by appointment of the President, subject to confirmation by affirmative vote of three-fourths of the Executive Committee members.
5. Vacancies occurring in the office of District Association representatives to the Executive Committee shall be filled by that Association.
6. An Officer or Executive Committee member who is unable or unwilling to perform the assigned duties may be removed from office by a three-fourths vote of the Executive Committee.

Section 4

Association Standing Committees
1. Business may be conducted by committee members present at a duly called meeting.
2. The presiding officer and secretary for each committee shall be elected by a majority vote, cast by committee members present at the organizational meeting.
3. The presiding officer of each committee shall notify each committee member including the Executive Committee liaison member of all committee meetings.
4. Each presiding officer of a standing committee shall be responsible for forwarding correspondence, minutes, and the committee procedural manual to his/her successor.
5. If a committee representative or designee fails to attend two consecutive meetings of the committee, the presiding officer of the committee shall notify the President of the District Association. If the District Association fails to provide a replacement, the State Executive Committee may appoint one.
6. Reimbursement of necessary expenses not paid out of other funds shall be reimbursed out of Association funds in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the Executive Committee.
7. Each committee shall develop and maintain a committee procedural handbook.
8. Each standing committee shall report periodically to the Executive Committee and at the Annual Business meeting of the Annual Conference.
9. To publicize human service programs. (Added 6/6/91)
Ad-Hoc Committees may be formed by the President or the Executive Committee with a specific purpose, and are time limited.
The Standing Committees are:
1. Operations Committee has responsibility (Rev. 06/01):
  1. To act as a formal representative of WSSA in areas related to recruiting and maintaining membership plus publicizing the Association's missions and goals. (Rev. 6/14/02).
  2. To identify target groups and conduct mass solicitation of members, and to maintain a system for welcoming new members and encouraging their involvement in WSSA (Added 6/5/97).
  3. To notify members when membership renewal is due.
  4. To recruit, receive and process nominations for the State offices in which vacancies occur and submit a list of candidates to the Association Secretary (Rev. 6/5/97).
  5. To administer elections for vacant State offices. Results shall be certified to the Executive Committee by May 1st (Rev. 6/2/05).
  6. To serve at the business meeting of the Annual Conference:
    1. Sergeant-at-Arms checking delegate credentials and membership cards at the doors of the business meeting hall.
    2. Keep record of members entering the business session (Rev. 6/5/97).
    3. Certify to the Association Secretary the number of voting members present at the business meeting (Rev. 6/5/97).
  7. To develop nomination and selection criteria for awards and scholarships which are established by the Association or Executive Committee.
  8. To recruit, receive and process nominations for awards, scholarships and honary life awards.
  9. To submit a notice to the local newspaper of each award winner. (Rev. 6/5/97)
2. Constitution and Bylaws Revision and Resolutions Committee has responsibility:
  1. To originate and review resolutions from other committees or individual members relative to clarity, intent, and disposition. All resolutions, to be acted on at the Annual Conference, shall be submitted, to the Constitution and Bylaws Revision and Resolutions Committee at least thirty (30) days prior to the first day of the Annual Conference.
  2. To prepare final revision of the Constitution or Bylaws of the Association for presentation at the Annual Conference Business Meeting.
  3. To review and take action on all matters pertaining to Constitutions and Bylaws revisions and resolutions referred by the Annual Conference or Executive Committee.
  4. To recommend to the Executive Committee reprinting of the Constitution and Bylaws at appropriate times.
3. Social\Human Services Committee has responsibility:
  1. To act as a formal representative of WSSA in areas of social\human service concerns.
  2. To establish and maintain direct communication with the Department of Health and Family Services and to deal with social/human services issues and program areas as presented by WSSA and the Department of Health and Family Services and specifically its divisions.
  3. To allow WSSA members to have a formal means of reviewing and suggesting changes in social\human services areas.
  4. To be aware of all available training for social\human services professionals. To provide the Department of Health and Family Services with input as to what the training needs are and to assist with the development of training curriculum.
4. County-State-Legislative Committee has responsibility to (Rev. 6/4/98):
  1. Meet periodically with personnel of the State Dept. of Health and Family Services and its divisions.
  2. Meet periodically with staff of the Department of Workforce Development and its divisions.
  3. Meet with the above for the purpose of discussion of policies and procedures, and joint deliberation and agreement, which will result in a sound partnership between county agencies and state administration.
  4. Analyze proposed legislation affecting human/social services.
  5. Inform membership, appropriate WSSA committees and district associations of the impact of such legislation.
  6. Solicit recommendations from membership on proposed legislation.
  7. Represent the viewpoint of WSSA on such legislation with personnel of appropriate state departments.
  8. Testify at scheduled hearings by legislative committees.
  9. Review and take action on relevant legislative matters (resolutions, motions) referred by the Executive Committee or as a result of the annual business meeting.
5. Finance Committee has responsibility:
  1. To fix the amount of the Treasurer's bond.
  2. To prepare and submit to the Executive Committee for approval an annual budget based on estimated receipts.
  3. To invest in safe securities such funds of the WSSA which are not needed for administrative purposes, with the approval of the Executive Committee.
  4. To audit, within 6 months of the end of the fiscal year, all Financial Records of the Association Treasurer and Committee Treasurers. To make a report of such audits to the Executive Committee. (Rev.6/4/92)
6. Economic Support/Workforce Development Committee has the responsibility (Rev. 6/5/97):
  1. To establish and maintain communication with the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and the Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS).
  2. To provide input to DWD and DHFS in the areas of manual/handbook content, policy and procedural changes.
  3. To request DWD and DHFS to provide clarification of policies and procedures as necessary.
  4. To be aware of all available training for Economic Support/Workforce Development staff to ensure ongoing training in all areas of Economic Support/Workforce Development. (Rev. 6/5/97)
  5. To promote improvements to the Economic Support/Workforce Development Program delivery system(s). (Rev. 6/5/97)
  6. To promote and enhance the professional status of Economic Support/Workforce Development positions (Rev. 6/5/97).
  7. To establish and maintain communication with departments and divisions associated with the development and support of Wisconsin's Workforce (Rev. 6/5/97).
  8. To be educated and aware of the impact of Workforce Development issues and programs on all Social Services and welfare reform initiatives (Rev. 6/5/97).
  9. To be informed on all matters concerning child care programs and issues and to advise the Executive Committee of funding and recom-
    mendations. (Added 6/00).
7. Long Term Support Committee has responsibility:
  1. To keep informed on all matters concerning Long Term Support and to advise the Executive Committee on findings and recommendations.
  2. To develop plans and training on matters concerning Long Term Support for WSSA.
8. The Economic Support Committee for the Elderly, Blind and disabled programs has the responsibility:
  1. To establish and maintain communication with the DHFS with regards to Medical Assistance specific to nursing home/community waiver cases.
  2. To provide input to DHFS in the areas of MA Manual/Handbook content, policy changes, procedural changes, to spousal impoverishment and divestment relative to nursing home/community waivers cases.
  3. To request clarification from DHFS as necessary on policies and procedures to administer long term care Medical Assistance for nursing home/institution and community waivers cases.
  4. To be aware of all available training for nursing home/community waivers Economic Support staff. To encourage ongoing training in all areas relating to nursing home/community waivers. To help facilitate statewide training needs assessment in these areas.
  5. To promote improvements to the Economic Support nursing home/community waivers program delivery system.