BY LAWS
and
ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
The first bylaws of the Racine Taxpayers Association were adopted on February 10, 1948. They were adopted as the Articles of Incorporation but were never registered with the State of Wisconsin.
Somehow these original papers survived through a half century of "hand me downs." Which is truly amazing if you consider how small the RTA got from time to time. But the records were kept, and when we formally adoped them as bylaws in 1995, there were few changes made.
Then, as we got more organized and active, we checked on our corporate status, found the RTA was never officially incorported, so decided to do that. And on November 11, 2003 the RTA was officially recognized as a non-profit organization by the State of Wisconsin.
At that time we made some organizational changes and so adoped new bylaws on September 9, 2003. The major part of the bylaws, however, still remain unchanged since 1948. We still have some more minor changes to make, such as limiting members to Racine County. Modern day circumstances finds people living outside the county that still have an interest in county affairs, particularly taxation. We will need to change that. But in the mean time, the bylaws serve us well and we are making quite a stir (as our critics will attest) under their guidance.
In order to help you find things in the bylaws (they are so lengthy) we have broken them down into six sections so that you can find what you want in the bylaws quickly and easily.
First our name and purpose and how we go about pursuing it.
Next is who may be a member and how one goes about achieving, maintaining and/or terminating membership.
We have a uniqe method of electing officers. We actually have an Electoral College of sorts. The general membership electes nine (9) board members (at three year intervals) who in turn elect the General and Special Officers once a year.
And the there are the inevitable meetings. This section describes what kind we have, when they are held and what goes on there.
Money concerns and budget requirements—what would a taxpayers association be without those?
And finally how to change the bylaws when changes are needed with some rules of order for meetings thrown in for good measure.
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