§ 17-133. Membership.

(1)

Members. The governing body of the Trust shall be a Board of Trustees composed of thirteen (13) members. The members shall be the following:

(a)

One member designated by the director of Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Development Department, which member may be an employee of Miami-Dade County;

(b)

One (1) member nominated by Housing Opportunities Projects for Excellence, Inc.;

(c)

One (1) member nominated by the Builders Association of South Florida;

(d)

One (1) member designated by the director of Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust, which member may be an employee of Miami-Dade County;

(e)

One (1) member nominated by the Miami-Dade Affordable Housing Advisory Board;

(f)

One (1) member designated by Miami-Dade Housing Finance Authority, which member may be an employee of Miami-Dade County;

(g)

One (1) member nominated by the Miami Homes for All, Inc.;

(h)

One (1) member nominated by Fannie Mae;

(i)

One (1) member nominated by the Latin Builders Association, Inc.;

(j)

One (1) member who shall be the director of the Miami-Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization or designee;

(k)

One (1) member nominated by Freddie Mac;

(l)

One (1) member designated by the South Florida Community Development Coalition; and

(m)

One (1) member designated by a local lending institution.

Individuals shall be appointed based on the following criteria:

(a)

Knowledge of and demonstrable service to the affordable housing community;

(b)

Representation of the diverse populations of the Miami-Dade County community, including the proportional representation of women; and

(c)

Special expertise in affordable housing.

The County Mayor or the County Mayor's designee shall contact each non-County agency or organization to obtain the name of such agency's or organization's representative. The County Mayor or the County Mayor's designee shall verify that each representative nominated by their respective agency or organization meets the requirements of Section 2-11.38 of the Code of Miami-Dade County and any other applicable requirements established by the Board of County Commissioners. In the event a representative does not meet such requirements, then the agency or organization shall nominate another representative, subject to the before-mentioned requirements.

Members of the Trust shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to reimbursement for necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.

(2)

Vacancies on Board of Trustees. Vacancies on the Board of Trustees shall be filled in the same manner by which the original Trustees were appointed, with a special emphasis on choosing persons who represent the demographic composition of the entire community.

(3)

Qualifications of Members. Each member of the Board of Trustees shall be a permanent resident and duly qualified elector of Miami-Dade County, unless the Board of County Commissioners waives the residency requirement by a two-thirds ( 2/3 ) vote of its membership, and shall be of an outstanding reputation of integrity, responsibility, and commitment to serving the community.

(4)

Tenure and Removal of Members. All members shall serve staggered terms of three (3) years each, provided, however, of the original Board of Trustees, the two members designated by Miami-Dade Public Housing and Community Development Department and Housing Opportunities Projects for Excellence, Inc. shall serve for a term of one year; the two members designated by the Builders Association of South Florida and Miami-Dade Economic Advocacy Trust shall serve for a term of two years; and the remaining nine members shall serve for a term of three years. No trustee shall be permitted to serve more than two consecutive and complete terms of three years each unless so authorized by two-thirds (⅔) vote of the full membership of the Board of County Commissioners. Trustees may be removed in accordance with the provisions of Section 2-11.38 of the Code of Miami-Dade County.

(5)

Organization of the Board of Trustees.

(a)

Officers. The Trust shall organize after the members thereof have qualified to serve and shall, each fiscal year, elect one of its voting members as chairperson and one of its voting members as vice-chairperson and shall designate a secretary who may or may not be a member of the Board, and such other officers as the Trust may determine to be necessary. In addition, the Trust shall make, adopt and amend by-laws, rules and regulations for its own governance.

(b)

Meetings. The Trust shall hold regular meetings, no less than six times per year, and such other meetings, as it deems necessary. Seven members shall constitute a quorum. Minutes shall be kept of all meetings of the Trust and all meetings shall be duly noticed to the public.

(c)

Committees. The chairperson shall nominate and the Trust shall appoint the chairperson and members of such committees as the Trust shall find helpful to their mission, however, no authority to act or speak in the name of the Trust shall be delegated to a committee. Each committee shall be chaired by a duly appointed member of the Trust, however, committee membership may include persons who are not members of the Trust. The Trust may establish or eliminate committees at its discretion.

(d)

Applicability of County rules and procedures. The Trust shall at all times operate under the Florida Open Government laws, including the "Sunshine Law," public meeting laws and public records laws and shall be governed by all State and County conflict of interest laws, as applicable, including the Miami-Dade County Conflict of Interest and Code of Ethics Ordinance, Section 2-11.1 of the Code of Miami-Dade County.

(e)

Voting Requirements. Trustees may designate alternates to vote on their behalf.

(f)

Attendance requirement. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Code, any board member shall be automatically removed if, in a given fiscal year:

(i)

Such member is absent from two (2) consecutive meetings without an acceptable excuse;

(ii)

Such member is absent from three (3) of the Trust's meetings without an acceptable excuse; or

(iii)

Whether excused or not, if such member misses two-thirds (⅔) of the Trust's meetings in a given fiscal year. A member shall be deemed absent from a meeting when such member is not present at the meeting at least 75 percent of the time. An "acceptable excuse" is defined as an absence for medical reasons, business reasons, personal reasons, or any other reason which the Trust, by a two-thirds (⅔) vote of the membership, deems appropriate. By a two-thirds (⅔) vote of the members of the full Board of Trustees, the provisions of this section may be waived.

(g)

The County Mayor or the County Mayor's designee shall provide to the Trust adequate staff and support services to enable it to carry out its purposes.

(Ord. No. 07-15, § 1, 2-6-07; Ord. No. 16-29, § 1, 5-17-16; Ord. No. 17-98, § 1, 12-5-17)