Dearborn Public Library

ARTICLE I

NAME AND AUTHORIZATION: The name of this organization is Library Commission, City of Dearborn, Public Library System, formed under the Charter of the City of Dearborn (November 6, 2007).

ARTICLE II

OBJECTS: The objects of this Commission are to determine and monitor policies of the Dearborn Public Library System to assure provision of a full range of quality services and a balanced collection of library materials to meet the educational, informational, and recreational needs of the Dearborn community, with all members of the community having equal access to the library system. Such access is subject to such reasonable rules and regulations as the Library Commission may adopt; and the Commission may exclude from the library facilities and services any and all persons who willfully violate such rules.

ARTICLE III

SECTION I. MEMBERSHIP:

Under the Charter of the City of Dearborn, the Mayor has the power and the duty to appoint nine commissioners to the Library Commission for terms of three years each.

SECTION 2. QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP:

To conform to the Charter of the City of Dearborn, the Mayor shall choose commissioners from the citizens at large, with reference to their fitness for such office.

SECTION 3. RESIGNATION AND EXPULSION:

A commissioner may resign in writing to the Secretary; or by failure to attend, without Commission approval, three consecutive or four non-consecutive commission meetings in any one year. Under the Charter of the City of Dearborn the Mayor may remove any commissioner for misconduct or neglect of duty.

ARTICLE IV

SECTION 1. REGULAR MEETINGS:

The commissioners shall hold their regular meetings at Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Michigan, or at such other place as from time to time they may determine.

SECTION 2. ANNUAL MEETING:

The annual meeting of the Commission, for the election of officers, to make provisions for the preparation and submission of the Annual Report, and the transaction of other business, shall be held in each year on the second Wednesday in June at 5:00 p.m., if not a legal holiday, and if a legal holiday then on the next day not a legal holiday, at Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Michigan.

SECTION 3. SPECIAL MEETING:

Special meeting of the Commission shall be called at the direction of the Commission, by the Chairperson or Vice Chairperson, or upon written request of two commissioners for the transaction of business stated in the notice of each such meeting.

SECTION 4. NOTICE:

The Secretary shall give notice of each meeting of commissioners by mailing/e-mailing such a notice at least five business days before the meeting. Any commissioner may waive notice of any meeting in writing. Each notice shall state the time, place and general business to be transacted at the meeting. Except of special meetings, or unless otherwise stated in the notice thereof, any and all business may be transacted at any meeting.
To meet the requirements of Section 4 of Act 267 (the “Opening Meetings Act”) public notice of meetings shall be posted at the principal office of the Dearborn Public Library System.

SECTION 5. QUORUM:

A quorum for the transaction of business shall consist of the majority of the library commissioners then serving. Meetings shall be presided over by the Chairperson, or in the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson, or in the absence of both, a person designated by the commissioners participating. The quorum may be physically present or Commissioners may also participate by phone, as in a conference call using a two way speaker phone or similar technology, provided that the Library Commission meeting room can accommodate this function to support the ability for all participants, including the public, to hear comments of all participants and the votes of any commissioners attending via teleconference.

SECTION 6. ORDER OF BUSINESS AND RULES:

The Commission shall determine the Order of Business for each meeting. Robert’s Rules of Order shall apply unless suspended by consent of Commission. An affirmative vote of the majority of all members of the Commission present at the time shall be necessary to approve any action before the Commission. The Chairperson may vote upon and may move or second a proposal before the Commission.

SECTION 7. CONSENT AGENDA:

The Commission may use a consent agenda to process routine non-controversial business items. The designated consent agenda materials will be sent to the Commission members by the Library Director via e-mail no later than the Monday immediately preceding the scheduled meeting. The designated consent agenda materials from the Historical Advisory Commission may instead be sent to the Commission members by a designated individual from the Historical Advisory Commission, if applicable.
These items will automatically be included in the consent agenda at the meeting. At the beginning of the regular Commission meeting, the Chairperson shall ask whether any Commission members wish to remove any items from the consent agenda to discuss individually. Any one Commissioner may remove an item without the need for a motion or vote. If discussion of an item is desired by a Commission member, then it shall be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately by being placed on the regular agenda. If no Commissioner seeks removal of any item, then every item on the consent agenda shall be passed with a motion and majority vote. In the minutes, the actions passed in the consent agenda will be recorded individually and in full.

SECTION 8. PUBLIC COMMENTS:

Commission meetings are subject to the following regulations on public comment:

• All persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting and may not be excluded, except for a breach of the peace committed at such a meeting.
• Any person attending a meeting, unless excluded under the proceeding section, may speak in accordance with the established rules of the Commission.
• Any person attending a meeting may record or broadcast the proceedings of the Commission, so long as their activities do not interfere with the participation of other members of the public, or unreasonably interfere with the conduct of the meeting.
• Any person attending a meeting may speak upon an item during the public comment period.
• To assure that all those in attendance will have an opportunity to be heard, the Chairperson may announce and impose reasonable restrictions with respect to the conduct of the meeting, which restrictions may include imposition of a three (3) minute time limit on public participation by each speaker and a limit on the number of persons to be heard. Typically, the limitation on the number of speakers or the imposition of a three (3) minute time limit may be imposed by asking for a spokesperson if there are a large number of persons who wish to comment during the public participation portions of the meeting or to ensure they all have a chance to be heard.
• The Chairperson may limit comments to matters relating to functions of the Commission.
• The Chairperson may request any person disrupting the meeting to leave the meeting room. If such person does not leave, the meeting may be recessed until the disturbance has been quelled and/or the disruptive person removed.

SECTION 9. ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS:

E-mail, group texting (consisting of a quorum), or other forms of electronic communications among Commission members during the course of an open meeting that constitutes deliberations toward decision-making or actual decisions violates the Open Meetings Act, Act 267 of 1976. Commission members are prohibited from participating in such communications during an open meeting.
E-mail, group texting (consisting of a quorum), or other forms of electronic communications among group members outside of the course of an open meeting can create a violation under the Open Meetings Act, Act 267 of 1976. E-mail communications among members where a quorum of the Commission is on the communication and/or response is prohibited.

ARTICLE V

SECTION 1. OFFICERS:

The officers of the Commission shall be a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson, and a Secretary.

SECTION 2. TERMS:

Officers shall be elected by the Commission to hold office until its next annual meeting and until their successors have been elected and qualified.

SECTION 3. POWERS AND DUTIES:

The Chairperson shall preside at all meetings, appoint all committees as provided in Section 4 of the Article, authorize calls for special meetings, and generally perform the duties of a presiding officer. In the absence of the Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson shall perform the duties of the Chairperson.

The Secretary shall be responsible for notices of meetings and minutes of meetings, but may delegate said responsibilities to an employee of the library system assigned by the Library Director. The person recording the meetings, at the direction of the Secretary, may be an employee of the library system assigned by the library Director.

SECTION 4: COMMITTEES:

The Commission shall have the power to appoint such committees and delegate to them such powers as it may deem expedient. Such committees may be composed entirely of members of the Commission, or partly of members of the Commission and persons who are not members of the Commission, as the Commission shall deem expedient. Subject to revocation by the Commission, the power to appoint such Committees, but not the power to delegate to them, is delegated to the Chairperson.

ARTICLE VI

FISCAL YEAR: The fiscal year of the library system and the Commission shall begin the first day of July each year.

ARTICLE VII

SECTION 1:

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE LIBRARY COMMISSION: The Charter of the City of Dearborn provides the Library Commission is responsible for the general management and control of the library system by determining library system policies and selecting a Library Director.

SECTION 2:

LIBRARY DIRECTOR: The Library Director shall be a member of the classified service of the City of Dearborn and shall administer the activities of the library system in line with the policies of the Commission, including, but not limited to, recruitment, hiring and supervision of the staff; care and maintenance of the library equipment and property, selection, acquisition and organization of the library’s collection of material; advocacy of the library through contacts with the general public, civic organizations and public officials; and be the appointing authority for all other library system employees; all subject to the requirements of law and public policy. As Executive Officer of the Commission, the Library Director shall attend Commission meetings, unless otherwise directed by the Chairperson; and, as appropriate, represent the Commission to the public and to City officials. The Library Director shall collaborate and work cooperatively with other City Departments and employees to assure continuity and effectiveness of Library operations in accordance with the Commission and all applicable laws and ordinances.

ARTICLE VIII

AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS: These bylaws may be amended at any meeting of the Library Commission by a vote of a majority of the members, provided that the substance of such proposed amendments shall have been given in the notice of the meeting.

Amended on 12/10/2025