VOLUSIA TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ORGANIZATION

PREAMBLE
The following sets forth the bylaws, policies, and procedures which shall serve to guide the proper functioning of the Urban Transportation Planning Process for the Volusia Transportation Planning Organization (formerly known as the Volusia County MPO) which is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for all of Volusia County and a portion of Flagler County. The intent is to provide procedures and policies for the TPO and its Standing Committees for fulfilling the requirements of the Federal Highway Act of 1962, as amended, and subsequent laws setting forth requirements for transportation planning for all modes of travel and to insure the accomplishment of the planning tasks within a cooperative framework properly related to comprehensive planning on a continuous basis.

SECTION 1.0: BYLAWS OF THE VOLUSIA TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ORGANIZATION (TPO)
A. The Governor, under Section 339.175 of the Florida Statutes, has designated and apportioned the membership of the TPO. The governing body of each governmental entity so designated shall appoint the appropriate number of members to the TPO. The designated local governmental entities and their appointment by the Governor are stipulated by the most recently approved Volusia TPO (hereafter referred to as the TPO) apportionment plan incorporated into this document by reference.

SECTION 1.1: MEMBERSHIP APPOINTMENT, QUALIFICATION, AND TERMS OF OFFICE
A. The TPO members shall serve at the pleasure and discretion of the member local governments. Membership shall terminate upon the member leaving his/her elective or appointive office for any reason, or by a majority vote of the total membership of a county or city governing body represented by the member. Vacancies shall be filled by the original appointing body.

B. For an individual meeting of the TPO, a qualified member of the TPO may designate in writing to an officer of the TPO an alternate who may exercise full membership powers in the absence of the TPO member. Said alternate must be a locally elected official capable of representing the interests of the unit of government represented by the absent member of the TPO, and said alternate may serve for only that meeting for which he or she is designated.

C. Non-voting members of the TPO include the FDOT District V Secretary or his/her designee, a representative from the Volusia County School Board, the Chairman of the Technical Coordinating Committee, the Chairman of the Citizens’ Advisory Committee, and the Chairman of the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee. Non-voting members may not be a TPO Officer or member of the TPO Executive Committee. Non-voting members may serve on TPO Subcommittees as appointed by the TPO Chairman.

D. The following narrative describes the methodology used to determine the voting structure for the TPO:

1) There shall be nineteen (19) voting members on the TPO. This is the maximum number of voting members currently allowed under Section 339.175 of the Florida Statutes. The voting members of the TPO are:

Volusia County Representation
Existing County representation would remain at 6 seats = 1/3 of vote of full Board.

Municipal Representation
Muncipalities would be broken down into large cities (ten) and groups of small cities (three).

Large Cities (in order of population size):

Small City Groups:

2) The vote of each municipality shall be weighted in the following manner:

• 33.3% shall be divided equally among the six (6) Volusia County representatives:
• 66.7% shall be divided among the ten (10) large cities and three (3) city groups in Volusia County and Flagler County as a percentage of each municipality’s population. Population percentages shall be determined annually by using the most current data available from the Bureau of Economic and Business Research (BEBR) of the University of Florida. (BEBR data will be updated annually, within 30 days after the information has been finalized and becomes officially available).

3) With respect to the arrangement to rotate one vote among the three (3) small city groups, the following policy shall apply:

• If the voting city representative of one group is absent from the meeting, then the city representative from the next city in line from that group who is present at the meeting shall vote on behalf of the group.
• If the city next in line to hold the voting seat declines the opportunity, then the next city in line to vote will hold the voting seat for a period of two years.
• If the small city groups would like to hold coordination meetings to review and discuss the TPO agendas prior to the monthly TPO Board meetings, the TPO staff shall make all appropriate arrangements to ensure that these meetings are held, including providing proper notice of said meetings to the press and public.

SECTION 1.2: OFFICERS AND DUTIES
A. The Chairman shall have the authority to appoint members to committees and sub-committees of the TPO Board except where the membership of said committees is specifically delineated in these Bylaws, and for the appointment of representation on the MPO Advisory Council and the three members and one alternate to the Central Florida MPO Alliance. The Chairman shall appoint a Nominating Committee of five TPO members at the October (May) meeting, for the purpose of making nominations for Chairman, 1st Vice-Chairman/Treasurer, and 2nd Vice-Chairman/Secretary. The Nominating Committee member appointments shall be confirmed by the TPO Board.

B. Nominations shall be presented at the June meeting for the following officers: 1. Chairman and 2. 1st Vice-Chairman/Treasurer, and 2nd Vice-Chair/Secretary, after which elections shall take place.

C. Officers shall be elected by a majority of the members present at the organizational meeting and shall serve a term of one year, starting with the July meeting. TPO Officers cannot serve a consecutive term for the same office.

D. The Chairman shall preside at all meetings and in the event of his/her absence or at his/her direction, the 1st Vice-Chairman/Treasurer shall assume the powers and duties of the Chairman.

E. The 1st Vice-Chairman/Treasurer shall be the Chairman of the TPO’s Budget Committee and shall be responsible for reviewing and commenting on the Annual Audit and for making periodic reports on the current status of the TPO’s operating budget.

F. The 2nd Vice-Chairman/Secretary shall be the Chairman of the TPO’s By-laws Subcommittee.

SECTION 1.3: MEETINGS
A. Regular meetings of the TPO shall be held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at a time and place to be designated by the Chairman. Regular meeting dates and times may be changed by action of the TPO to accommodate desirable changes because of holidays and/or other reasons.

B. Members desiring items to be placed on the agendas must present those items to the staff by the Thursday before the regularly scheduled Executive Committee meeting. This will ensure that those items have been thoroughly discussed and approved by this committee prior to being placed on the agenda. If there are items to go in the agenda packet for informational purposes only, members may provide staff with the appropriate number of copies on, or before, the Thursday before the Executive Committee meeting.

Nothing in this section shall abridge the concurrent privileges, duties, and obligations of the TPO members stated within any other section of the Policy Manual: Metropolitan Planning Organization for Volusia County.

C. Special meetings may be called by the Chairman or by written request of two or more members delivered to an officer. Reasonable notice must be provided to the members and alternates and to the public for special meetings.

D. A majority of voting members on the TPO shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

E. The 2nd Vice-Chair/Secretary is responsible for the minutes of the meetings and for all notices and agendas for future meetings. The Director shall furnish a Recording Secretary for all TPO meetings. The Director will further assist the 2nd Vice-Chair/Secretary in the preparation, duplication, and distribution of all printed materials necessary for TPO meetings.

F. Notices and tentative agendas shall be sent to members and alternates at least five (5) working days prior to the regular meeting dates.

G. Request for agenda changes must be received by the Chairman at least three (3) working days prior to the regular meetings or one (1) working day prior to special meetings.

H. Meetings will be open to the public and press.

I. All items approved by the TPO that will affect the Byaws shall be automatically included within the Bylaws.

J. If the Bylaws do not address a particular issue that comes before the Board, and if the Statute that the TPO is operating under does not cover said item, then Robert’s’ Rule of Order shall take precedence

SECTION 1.4: RESPONSIBILITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE TPO
A. The TPO is charged with the overall responsibility for preparation, approval, and implementation of the urban transportation planning and programming process for the Metropolitan Planning Area served by the Volusia-Flagler TPO and all plans and programs that are developed through the process. The TPO is responsible for defining transportation related goals and objectives and ensuring that the transportation planning process embodies these goals and objectives.

The TPO’s Public Involvement Process:

1. The TPO shall follow the procedures and processes as laid out in the TPO’s most recently adopted Public Participation Plan

2. The TPO shall provide the opportunity at each of its meetings for citizens to comment or be heard on any matter pertinent to the urban transportation planning process. Request for Public Comment forms shall be provided at each meeting and those members of the public who wish to be heard shall submit a completed form to the meeting secretary prior to the commencement of the meeting..

SECTION 1.5: STANDING COMMITTEES
A. The TPO shall have five (5) standing committees which are: the Executive Committee, the Technical Coordinating Committee, the Citizens’ Advisory Committee, the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and the Transportation Disadvantaged Local Coordinating Board. These committees shall each meet on a regular basis and perform the functions identified below.

• Executive Committee:
An Executive Committee consisting of the Chairman, TPO Past-Chairman, 1st Vice-Chairman/Treasurer, and 2nd Vice Chair/Treasurer and three (3) TPO members appointed by the TPO Chairman, to serve a one-year term, is hereby created and empowered to meet separately to establish the TPO agenda. The Executive Committee shall also be empowered to establish the meeting schedule of the TPO Board for the upcoming year, to have limited budget authority to move funds from task to task within the adopted Unified Planning Work Program and adopted Budget, and to authorize the execution of contracts for services delineated within the adopted UPWP or items approved within the adopted Budget. In addition, the Executive Committee shall have the authority to take ministerial or administrative actions on behalf of the TPO in the ordinary course of business of the TPO. The Executive Committee shall meet no less than ten (10) times per calendar year (meetings will not be scheduled for the months of July and December unless a special meeting is called). For those months in which an Executive Committee meeting is scheduled, at the beginning of the year, the newly appointed Committee shall set the date and time it meets for that year. On an annual basis the Executive Committee shall be responsible for the evaluation of the Executive Director and shall make a recommendation to the TPO regarding the renewal or termination of the Executive Director’s contract.

• Technical Coordinating Committee:
The TCC is responsible for coordinating transportation planning and programming; for review of all transportation studies, reports, and plans and/or programs; and for making recommendations to the TPO that are pertinent to the subject document. The TCC shall assist the TPO by providing technical resources as requested. Subcommittees, Task Forces and Working Groups shall be designated by the TCC as necessary to investigate and report on specific subject areas of interest to the TCC

• Citizens’ Advisory Committee:
The CAC is responsible for providing citizen input and provide recommendations to the TPO concerning transportation planning and programming; for review of all transportation studies, reports, and plans and/or programs; and for making recommendations to the TPO that are pertinent to the subject document. Subcommittees, Task Forces and Working Groups shall be designated by the CAC as necessary to investigate and report on specific subject areas of interest to the CAC

• Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee:
The BPAC is responsible for reviewing plans, policies, and procedures as relates to bicycle and pedestrian issues in the TPO Planning

• Transportation Disadvantaged Local Coordinating Board
The primary purpose of the TDLCB is to assist the designated Official Planning Agency in identifying local service needs and providing information, advice, and direction to the Community Transportation Coordinator on the coordination of services to be provided to the transportation disadvantaged pursuant to Chapter 427.0157, Florida Statutes

SECTION 1.6: SUBCOMMITTEES
Subcommittees shall be designated by the TPO as necessary to investigate and report on specific subject areas of interest to the TPO or to address administrative and/or legislative issues. These may include but are not limited to:

1. Airports
2. Highways
3. Mass Transit
4. Transportation needs of “transportation disadvantaged” groups
5. Directions for future growth (local Comprehensive Plan reviews)
6. Bylaws
7. Nominating Committee
8. Legislative Issues
9. Budget

SECTION 2.0: GENERAL POLICIES OF THE TPO
General Policies shall apply to all committees and participants of the TPO.

A. The adoption and/or acceptance of reports, studies, plans, and programs must be by resolution of the TPO after review and recommendation by the TCC and CAC and/or the BPAC or TDLCB

B. Only published data and/or reports may be released, either to individuals or agencies. Unpublished data and/or reports require specific approval by the TPO Executive Committee. Requests for information and/or data made to participating jurisdictions and/or agencies, prepared by these agencies, shall be released according to the policies of the agency generating or collecting the data originally

C. Recommended changes in the Bylaws require a simple majority vote of the members at any meeting, providing that all members have received written copies of proposed amendments at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting

D. All committees shall maintain a broad perspective covering the range of all modes of transportation and associated facilities in all recommended planning work programs so that proper study and evaluation of transportation needs shall result in a multi-modal transportation system plan, balanced with respect to areawide needs and properly related to areawide comprehensive plan goals and objectives

SECTION 3.0: TPO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & AGENCY STAFF
• Executive Director:
The Executive Director shall be selected and appointed by TPO Board and shall serve at their discretion

• The Executive Director, under the general policy direction of the TPO Board, has the authority to perform the highest level managerial and administrative functions related to the TPO including, but not limited to, the following:

• Implementing the mission of the TPO
• Providing leadership in planning and promoting and integrated, intermodal transportation system
• Working with the TPO and its committees to develop strategies, goals, objectives and plans related to transportation and related land use issues
• Developing positive working relationships with member local governments and building consensus among stake holders
• Procuring funding and developing funding sources
• Evaluating plans and strategies which promote the goals and objectives of the TPO
• Overseeing the general administrative functions of the TPO by providing direction to staff

• TPO Staff:
TPO Staff shall be composed of various level planners, a Chief Financial Officer, and other specialists and support staff as needed. The Executive Director is responsible for hiring and supervising staff

SECTION 4.0: LRTP AND NETWORK UPDATE PROCEDURE AND POLICY
The Volusia Transportation Planning Organization has developed a draft LRTP amendment procedure. The procedure identifies three basic categories of amendments: Project Addition, Project Removal, and Project Substitution.

Two basic criteria must be met before the amendment process may proceed:

• Any amendments to the LRTP must conform to the overall cost estimates associated with the LRTP as adopted by the TPO – unless additional funding has been identified; and
• Any costs associated with amending the LRTP (i.e. modeling, traffic studies, land use updates, public hearings, etc.) will be bourne by the requesting jurisdiction.