Traffic Safety Commission Bylaws

Section 1: Name, Purpose and History

The name of this organization shall be the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission (the “Commission”).  Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission is a County designated citizen commission whose purpose is to advise the Clackamas County Transportation Engineering Division on matters related to transportation safety for all modes of transportation utilizing the roadway system. This commission was formed in 1980.

Section 2: Membership

2.1 Number of Members: The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission shall consist of a minimum of ten (10) and up to twelve (12) private citizen members and up to three (3) high school student members, all of whom are residents of Clackamas County. The private citizen members shall be appointed by the Board of County Commissioners and shall be as representative as possible of the geographic, demographic and diverse characteristics of the County. The Board of County Commissioners, in such numbers and as it deems necessary, shall appoint the high school student members. The student member(s) shall for all purposes be treated as regular voting members of the Commission. 

2.2. Term: Members selected to serve on the Traffic Safety Commission shall have a four (4) year term, with reappointment possible following completion of an application through the process established by Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners for all Advisory Boards and Commissions. The term length for high school student members shall be a minimum of three (3) months up to a maximum of one year, with reappointment possible.

2.3 Vacancies: Vacancies shall be filled through the process established by Clackamas County Board of County Commissioners for all Advisory Boards and Commissions. Applicants will be invited to a regularly scheduled Traffic Safety Commission meeting to be interviewed. Attending members shall vote to recommend appointment of applicants. The staff liaison shall forward the Commission’s recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners for formal appointment. New members will be notified of their appointment by Public and Government Affairs.

2.4 Absences: Three or more consecutive unexcused absences from regularly scheduled Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission meetings will be grounds for removal of any Commission member. Three consecutive unexcused absences shall be noted as a lack of desire to continue membership in the Commission unless these absences can be adequately justified to the satisfaction of the Chair of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission, who will be the primary arbiter in these cases. 

Before any member is considered for release for any reason, they will be afforded the opportunity to appear before the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission and present their appeal for retention. The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission, as a whole, will make the final decision for retention of a member. Irregular attendance, failure to accept adequate functional membership responsibility, or disruptive attitude toward specified goals of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission may also be considered as a basis for release from membership on the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission.

Any member, at their discretion, may propose the release from membership of any other member for cause. The entire basis for consideration of such release shall be considered by the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission as a whole and if approved by a majority of the quorum present, shall be acted on as described above.

Any member who anticipates in advance an absence from a regularly scheduled Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission meeting should report that possibility to the staff liaison of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission.

2.5 Leave of Absence for High School Student Members: High School student members may request a leave of absence from their commission term during the summer. A member on an approved leave of absence will not be treated as having resigned from the commission, will not be counted in establishing a quorum under 4.2, and will not be entitled to vote.

Section 3: Organization

3.1 Chair and Vice-Chair: At the first regular meeting of each calendar year the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission shall elect a chair and vice-chair for the ensuing year.  The current chair shall announce the matter of the upcoming election during the last meeting of the calendar year. Nominations for the offices may be made at that time. Nominations may also be made at the elective meeting. If no person receives a majority vote for election on the first ballot, the two receiving the highest number of votes will be considered on a second ballot. The newly elected chair shall take office immediately upon election and conduct the balance of the meeting from that point forward.

The Chair shall preside over all meetings of the Commission and have the responsibility of the performance of such duties as prescribed in these Bylaws.  The Chair will act as a point-of-contact between County officials and the Commission.

The Vice-Chair shall aid the Chair and perform the duties of the Chair in his/her absence.

3.2 Staff Support: The County Engineering Division will provide a staff secretary or a commission member shall be appointed as secretary by the chair to serve during their term of office. The secretary shall have the following responsibilities:

• Take minutes of all meetings and record them in permanent electronic form
• Prepare an agenda for each scheduled meeting.
• Provide electronic notification of meetings.
• Maintain custody of all contracts, legal documents, resumes, copies of incoming and outgoing correspondence and all other documents and papers filed with the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission.
• Maintain membership records.
• Prepare documents and reports needed by the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission.
• Assist with the preparation of an annual report to the Board of County Commissioners of program goals, activities and accomplishments.

Section 4: Meetings

4.1 Meeting Times: The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission will normally meet the first Wednesday of each calendar month during the year, at a time and place designated by the chair of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission. If this date should conflict with a recognized holiday, the chair shall make an alternate date decision during the preceding meeting. The secretary shall assure that appropriate notice is provided to all interested persons and agencies. The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission shall meet not less than six (6) times per year and under no circumstances will meetings be held less frequently than quarterly.

4.2 Quorum: A quorum of the membership shall consist of a majority of the membership. Members must be present to form a quorum and conduct official business. A simple majority of the Commission members present shall provide the deciding vote on any subject brought before the Commission. The chair or presiding officer shall vote only in the case of a tie vote. 

4.3 Meeting Conduct: The rules contained in the most current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Commission in all matters in which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and any special rules of order the Commission may adopt. The chair of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission shall establish the agenda with the assistance of the vice-chair and secretary.  The Commission shall attempt to complete all agenda business at each meeting. If the time for conducting required business exceeds a reasonable hour, the chair, or any member, may propose a carry-over of remaining business to a special meeting date to be designated, or to the next regularly scheduled meeting.

4.4 Bylaw Changes: Any member on any appropriate subject may propose bylaw modifications. Such proposals will be submitted in writing to the chair of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission. The submitted proposals shall be read during the meeting at which they are first presented. Discussion of the proposals will be limited to clarification of intent and verbiage at that meeting. The staff liaison shall ensure that the proposal, as modified by the limited discussion in the meeting, be forwarded to each Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission member and the Public and Government Affairs Department of the County along with a copy of the recorded minutes of the meeting. The proposed bylaw modifications shall be voted on at the next official meeting of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission. If a majority of the quorum present approves the proposal, and no objection is received from the Board of County Commissioners, the proposed changes shall be incorporated into the Bylaws and will be effective immediately. 

4.5 Meeting Minutes: Minutes of each meeting shall record the presence and absence of each member. They shall also document the business conducted at the meeting and a summary of the discussions and recorded decisions including proposed motions, seconds to the motion and discussions, dissentions and abstentions.

Completed minutes shall be electronically conveyed to members prior to the next meeting.

4.6 Open Meeting Policy: All monthly meetings of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission shall be open to the public.  All Commission meetings shall be publicized in advance of the meeting date and shall be conducted in accordance with the State of Oregon’s Public Meeting laws.

4.7 County Department Participation: The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission will be aided in the conduct of its functions by designated County staff, or their representatives. These designated representatives will be ex-officio members of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission and will be nonvoting. They will be designated by the DTD Assistant Director or their designee.

The chair of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission may request additional appointees to be designated representatives if such need appears desirable. These representatives will provide the Traffic Safety Commission with consulting services and assistance in their respective technical areas. 

4.8 Non-County Governmental Participation: Other governmental agencies serving Clackamas County will be solicited by the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission to participate as ex-officio nonvoting members of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission if their input can assist the Commission.

Section 5: Duties and Responsibilities

5.1 Overview: The primary duties and responsibilities of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission shall be directed towards efforts to reduce injury and fatal crashes in Clackamas County. The Commission will use adopted plans such as the Clackamas County Transportation Safety Action Plan and Clackamas County Transportation System Plan as a basis for developing policies, programs and tasks for reducing injuries and fatalities due to crashes on the transportation system. All resources available to the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission will be directed toward this endeavor. 

A “5E” approach including Education, Emergency Medical Services, Enforcement, Engineering and Evaluation shall be used to achieve safety goals. Collaboration with Clackamas County and its political subdivisions, their officials, civic leaders and organizations, private groups and individual citizens is important to this effort.  Each agency, group and individual can provide specialized input and assistance to this effort. The Commission shall coordinate with the Clackamas Safe Communities Program, which focusses on the reduction of injuries and fatalities in Clackamas County, as well as existing community traffic safety organizations and other county, state and federal safety offices.  The Commission shall encourage all political subdivisions in Clackamas County to implement traffic safety initiatives.

5.2 Safety Focus Areas: As needed, the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission will work toward organizing effective committees that involve representative countywide membership in the following functional areas: 

• Alcohol/drugs and other impairments related to traffic safety
• Codes and laws
• Driver education
• Emergency Medical Services
• Roadway design, construction and maintenance
• Identification and surveillance of crash locations
• Pedestrian/bicycle safety
• Safe routes to school
• Traffic control devices
• Traffic records
• Safety culture

The voting members of the commission shall select members for all committees as deemed necessary.  Other areas of interest may be added at the discretion of the Traffic Safety Commission.  Members of these functional committees who are not Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission members will be designated ex-officio Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission members.

The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission will examine each of the foregoing functional areas and goals set forth in the Clackamas County Transportation Safety Action Plan and/or similar safety-focused reports and establish an annual program and goals for immediate and long-range priorities.  This program will serve as the direction for the Commission and accomplishments will be measured against these written programs and goals. If functional area committees appear to be short of goal attainment, efforts will be made to correct the situation by appropriate means.

5.3 Safety Partner Collaboration: The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission, through its chair and staff liaison, shall maintain contact with various County committees and agencies on highway traffic safety matters. This will be accomplished through formal and informal reports and meetings. The secretary will maintain these reports and reports of meetings, and pertinent portions will be extracted for inclusion in periodic and annual reports as required by various directives.

The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission shall coordinate with each Clackamas County safety organization, community, municipality and other recognized political, neighborhood or area subdivision within the County. Other political entities such as State, Federal and Metro will be targeted for inclusion and coordination in any on-going traffic safety programs conducted or supervised by the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission.

The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission, through its chair, will serve as an advisory body to the Clackamas County Traffic Engineer for the purpose of developing local actions necessary to implement traffic safety projects.

Section 6: Policies

The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission shall adopt and follow the general operating policies recommended by the Board of County Commissioners. Primary among these policies and key guidelines to the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission are the following:

• Operate as a non-profit, nonpolitical organization, devoted exclusively to accident prevention in traffic related instances.
• Operate in the general public interest serving the County as a whole.  It shall serve no special Interest.
• Will not endorse any commercial products or enterprise.

Section 7: Authority to Bind

The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission, its members individually or collectively cannot commit Clackamas County, its officers or agents to financial obligation unless approved beforehand in writing for the express amount and purpose.  Such approval must have the funding account and citation number approved.  The Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission may receive funds from sources unaffiliated with Clackamas County at various times.  If this occurs, these funds may be used at the discretion of the Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission, when approved in official meetings.  These funds will not be commingled with county funds and must be accounted for.  The County will be permitted to conduct an audit of such funds at any time.

Section 8: Prior Bylaws

The amended bylaws shall supersede all previous bylaws and become the governing rules for the Commission. 

ADOPTED this __________day of ____________, 2018

Clackamas County Traffic Safety Commission

___________________________________,
Chair

___________________________________,
Vice Chair