§ 2-892. Governing body.

(a)

Membership; compensation. The governing body of the board shall be composed of fifteen (15) voting members. Members shall serve without compensation but shall be entitled to reimbursement for necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.

(b)

Composition. The voting membership of the board shall be ethnically, racially and gender balanced and shall be composed of at least one person from each of the following categories:

(1)

Providers of services to domestic violence victims, including but not limited to a representative of Safe Space Shelter Inc.;

(2)

Domestic violence victim advocates;

(3)

Members of the judiciary, preferably a full-time, sitting domestic violence judge or a former or acting administrative judge of the domestic violence court;

(4)

Concerned citizens (at-large);

(5)

Victims of domestic violence;

(6)

Representatives of impacted jurisdictions; and

(7)

A representative of the Public Health Trust.

(c)

Appointment. Each member of the Board of County Commissioners of Miami-Dade County shall appoint one (1) member to the board; the County Mayor shall appoint one (1) member of the law enforcement community to the board; and the State Attorney for Miami-Dade County shall appoint one (1) member to the board. Each appointed member must meet the requirements of Section 2-11.38 of the Miami-Dade County Code of Ordinances.

Vacancies on the board shall be filled in the same manner by which the original members were appointed, with a special emphasis on choosing persons representative of the gender, racial and ethnic composition of the entire community.

(d)

Tenure and removal of board members. Each board member shall be appointed to a term of four (4) years, which shall end concurrently with the last day of the term of the County Mayor, County Commissioner or State Attorney who appointed the board member. However, each board member shall continue to serve on the board until the board member's successor has been duly qualified and appointed to the board. No board member shall be permitted to serve more than two (2) consecutive and complete terms of four (4) years unless so authorized by two-thirds (2/3) vote of the members present of the Board of County Commissioners. Nothing set forth in this subsection shall prohibit any individual from being reappointed to the board after a hiatus of two (2) years. Board members may be removed in accordance with the provisions of Section 2-11.38 of the Code of Miami-Dade County.

(e)

Qualifications. Each member of the board must comply with the requirements of Section 2-11.38 of the Code of Miami-Dade County.

(f)

Organization and procedure.

(1)

Officers. The board shall organize after the members thereof have qualified to serve and shall elect one of its members as chairperson and such other officers as the board may determine to be necessary. In addition, the board shall make, adopt and amend bylaws, rules and regulations for its own governance.

(2)

Meetings. The board shall hold regular meetings and such other meetings as it deems necessary. A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum. Minutes shall be kept of all meetings of the board and all meetings shall be public.

(3)

Committees. The board shall appoint any committees it deems necessary.

(g)

Applicability of county rules and procedures. The board 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.

(Ord. No. 94-156, § 2, 9-13-94; Ord. No. 15-125, § 1, 11-3-15)