Committee Member Policy & Agreement

Please note: Portland Downtown’s Office Manager will provide a hard copy of the Committee Member Policy & Agreement for committee members to sign & date.

Portland Downtown’s vision is set by a volunteer, elected Board of Directors. In order to ensure the organization’s mission is executed, the Board has established several committees to oversee programs and events and to gather “Property Owner” (property owner within the Portland Downtown district) and “Property Occupant” (property occupant within the Portland Downtown district) feedback.

Each Board member maintains membership on two of Portland Downtown’s committees. The committees are required to be chaired by two members of the Portland Downtown Board, per its Bylaws. Board members who are not officially committee members are considered guests when attending that committee’s meetings.

In order to be inclusive and open to new ideas, and to leverage the incredible talent of participants, certain committee meetings are open for Board members, Property Owners, Property Occupants and members of the public to provide comment or learn about the work of the committee (collectively, “guests”). Guests may request in advance for committee chairs to include their topic on the formal agenda, or they may comment in otherwise allocated agenda time. Committee chairs will provide a limited portion of agenda time for such guest comments.

Portland Downtown’s committees are active and are often involved in projects that require forwarding recommendations to the Board of Directors. When this happens, voting is essential to gauge consensus and to create a transparent and responsible process. Committee votes will require a quorum of at least fifty-six percent (56%) of members, and a majority vote of committee members present at a given meeting will constitute a decision of the committee.

Eligible Board members, Property Owners or Property Occupants who wish to contribute and participate as voting committee members may formally request to join the committee (as “committee members”). Those who do not fall into any of the aforementioned categories are not eligible for committee membership except as provided by the Portland Downtown Bylaws or as directed by the Chair of the Portland Downtown Board of Directors.

It is vital that committee members are committed to Portland Downtown’s mission and meet other membership requirements, so that they can be engaged with issues and informed about historical information and current happenings and trends.

The Board of Directors has approved the following criteria for membership and voting privileges for Portland Downtown’s committees. Membership may be offered to an eligible Board member, Property Owner or Property Occupant by the chair(s) upon meeting these criteria and will be conferred upon signing this Agreement.

To be considered for membership of a Portland Downtown committee (and thus eligibility to vote and participate in committee discussions), an individual must agree to the following:

Stakeholder position: Demonstrate property ownership or occupancy of a property in the Portland Downtown district (limited to one representative per owner or occupant). If both, declare which is being represented by the contemplated membership.

Attendance: Must have attended a minimum of three (3) consecutive immediately-prior committee meetings. Members are expected to attend the majority of committee meetings in a calendar year and have no more than two unexcused consecutive absences. Unexcused absences are absences that have not been cleared in advance of the meetings by the committee chairs. Notification of absences may be made via email to the committee chairs. Committee chairs will maintain a roster of current committee members and meeting attendance.

Active and respectful engagement: Engage in productive dialog and treat others in a professional and respectful manner.

Prioritize Portland Downtown’s mission: While all committee members will come with their own unique interests, the ultimate goal is to make decisions within the committee that will further the mission of Portland Downtown and create better programs, events, and services for all its constituents and other stakeholders.

Participation: Committee members are expected to participate proactively in the work of the committee. In addition to committee meetings, there are often opportunities to participate outside of meetings in research, at events, or in other activities.

Committee membership is a privilege extended to eligible Board members, Property Owners or Property Occupants who adhere to the above requirements. On-going adherence to the eligibility requirements must be maintained to continue as a committee member. Committee members who do not maintain eligibility will be removed from the committee roster by the chair(s). The Chair of the Board of Directors may require the resignation of a committee member at any time, at their sole discretion.