CITY OF BUCKEYE 2025 WRAC BYLAWS VS.docx

CITY OF BUCKEYE 
2025 CITIZEN WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMITTEE 
BY‐LAWS 
 
Article I – Name 
 
The City of Buckeye 2025 Citizen Water and Wastewater Committee, hereinafter referred to as 
the “Committee”, is a special committee of the Buckeye City Council established by Resolution 
No. 28-25 
 
Article II – Term of the Committee 
 
The Committee shall automatically terminate on December 31, 2025, without any further 
action by the Buckeye City Council. 
 
Article III – Powers and Duties  
 
The Committee will advise City staff and City Council and make recommendations to the City 
Council regarding the water and wastewater services and infrastructure provided and the 
corresponding rates and financing tools required to maintain and sustain compliant and safe 
systems. The Committee, acting as an advisory body to City staff, and the City Council on matters 
relating to water/wastewater shall have the following powers and duties:    
 
A. Attend all scheduled member orientation sessions; and 
 
B. Seek out and promote opportunities for public involvement in the water and 
wastewater 
rates increase process; and 
 
C. Review the current utility rate model; and 
 
D. Participate in presentations to the City Council; and 
 
E. Any other actions consistent with the provisions of these By‐Laws. 
 
 
Article IV – Membership 
 
Section 1:   
Number of Members. There shall be no more than 13 members appointed to the 
Committee, each of whom shall be voting members. The Committee will be 
comprised of one (1) member from each Council District and one (1) At‐Large 
member.  The remaining six (6) Committee members will be selected based on 
City‐wide focus instead of by Council District. Up to two (2) alternates may be 
appointed to the Committee. Alternates may participate in all discussions of the 
Committee but shall not be voting members unless appointed to fill a vacancy.

Section 2:   
Terms of Office. The terms of the Committee members shall be the duration of the 
Committee’s existence. 
 
Section 3:   
Selection. All members of the Committee shall be appointed by the City Council. 
Public notice of all Committee member openings will be given following the 
provisions of the City of Buckeye Boards, Commissions and Committees 
Reference Handbook. Candidates shall submit a completed application to the City 
in order to be considered for appointment. Qualified candidates may be interviewed 
by the Council Subcommittee for Boards, Commissions and Committee 
Appointments.  
 
Section 4: 
Composition. The Committee shall consist of members who meet the qualifications 
set forth in Article IV, Section 5 below and the composition of the Committee shall 
meet the following requirements: 
 
A. To the extent possible, the Committee membership should reflect the 
geographic distribution and demographic characteristics of the population of 
Buckeye; and 
 
B. Up to three (3) members appointed to the Committee may be non-residents of 
Buckeye that meet one of the requirements for non-residents set forth in Article 
IV, Section 5(B)   
 
Section 5. 
Qualifications. Members shall meet the following minimum qualifications upon 
appointment to the Committee. Committee members shall: 
 
A. 
be eighteen years of age or older; and  
 
B. 
be a Buckeye resident for at least one year, except that three (3) of the 
Committee members may be non-residents who meet one of the following 
criteria: 
 
a. own and operate, or represent a corporate entity that owns and operates, 
a business located within Buckeye; or  
 
b. own property within Buckeye; or  
 
C. 
not be an employee of the City, member of the City Council, or an 
immediate family member of such persons; and 
 
D. 
not be voting members on more than two boards, commissions or 
committees of the City. 
 
Section 6: 
Officers. The Committee shall include the following officers:

A. 
Chair. The Mayor shall appoint a Chair at the time the members of the 
Committee are appointed. The Chair shall be a Buckeye resident. The term 
of the Chair shall be the term of the Committee unless the Chair resigns, 
becomes incapacitated, is removed, no longer meets the qualifications for 
members, and/or is unable to perform the duties of the office. In the event 
the Chair resigns, becomes incapacitated, is removed from the Committee, 
no longer meets the qualifications for membership on the Committee and/or 
is unable to perform the duties of the office, the Mayor shall appoint another 
member of the Committee as Chair. The duties of the Chair shall include: 
 
a. establishing a regular meeting schedule; and 
 
b. determining the agenda for meetings after consultation with City staff 
designated by the Council to assist the Committee with its work; and    
 
c. presiding over Committee meetings, including deciding upon all points 
of order and/or procedure; and 
 
d. reviewing with department staff the agenda items for future Committee 
meetings; and 
 
e. considering other such matters and concerns of the Committee as set 
forth in these By-Laws or as otherwise directed by the City Council. 
 
B. 
Vice-Chair. The Mayor shall appoint a Vice-Chair at the time the members 
of the Committee are appointed. The Vice-Chair shall be a Buckeye 
resident. The term of the Vice Chair shall be the term of the Committee. In 
the event the Vice-Chair resigns, becomes incapacitated, is removed from 
the Committee, no longer meets the qualifications for membership on the 
Committee and/or is unable to perform the duties of the office, the Mayor 
shall appoint another member of the Committee as Vice-Chair. In addition 
to such other duties, if any, as may evolve upon the Vice-Chair by virtue of 
the office, or as assigned by the Chair, the Vice-Chair shall preside over 
meetings of the Committee and shall perform the duties of the Chair in the 
absence of the Chair. 
 
C. 
Temporary Chair. In the absence of the Chair and Vice-Chair, the 
Committee shall appoint a member of the Committee to serve as Chair for 
the meeting by a majority vote of the members present. 
 
D. 
Secretary. The City of Buckeye Water Resources Director or his/her 
designee shall appoint a staff member of the Water Resources Department 
to serve as Secretary and staff to the Committee. The duties of the Secretary 
shall include:

a. preparing agendas for each meeting of the Committee that includes the 
various matters of business to be considered; and 
 
b. ensuring that copies of agendas are duly posted in accordance with 
Arizona’s open meeting laws, as they may be amended from time to 
time; and 
 
c. taking all minutes of all meetings of the Committee, which minutes shall 
be in summary form; and 
 
d. except for documents maintained by the City Clerk, maintaining all 
records and documentation of the Committee; and 
 
e. advising on matters of parliamentary procedures when such issues arise 
during meetings of the Committee. 
 
E. 
Legal Representation. The City Attorney, or designee, shall provide legal 
representation and advice to the Committee as necessary. 
 
Section 7: 
Staff. The Water Resources Director or designee may designate additional City 
staff and/or outside consultants to assist the Committee in its work.  
 
Section 8: 
Vacancies. A vacancy on the Committee shall be deemed to have occurred upon 
the following events: a member’s incapacitation or resignation; removal of a 
member by City Council; and/or member’s circumstances change so he/she no 
longer meets the qualifications for membership (for example, a member who met 
the residency requirements at the time of appointment, moves outside the City; or 
a non-resident member who was appointed because he or she owned property 
within the City, but sells the property). In the event of a vacancy, the Mayor shall, 
if available, appoint an alternate Committee member previously approved by the 
City Council as a member of the Committee provided that the composition of the 
Committee with the appointed alternate meets the requirements set forth in Article 
IV, Section 4. If no alternate members approved by Council are available to fill the 
vacancy, and the Mayor concludes that the vacancy needs to be filled, the vacancy 
shall be filled by the Mayor. The Mayor shall appoint members from the pool of 
candidates who submitted completed applications to the City to be considered for 
an appointment to the Committee when it was formed but who were not appointed 
to the Committee. The Mayor, in his/her discretion, shall determine whether to 
solicit additional candidates to fill a vacancy on the Committee. Qualified 
candidates may be interviewed by the Mayor. 
 
Section 9:   
Attendance Policy. Absences from orientation session(s), or absences from two 
successive unexcused or unexplained absences or four total absences (excused or 
otherwise) by a member of the Committee from any regular or special meeting shall 
be grounds for removal of a member by the City Council without the necessity of a 
hearing or notice. The Chair shall notify City Council in writing of such a situation

and action, if pursued, shall be taken at a City Council meeting. Such action shall 
be final. 
 
Section 10:   Quorum. A majority of the voting members of the Committee shall constitute a 
quorum for transacting business at a meeting. In the absence of a quorum, the 
Committee is prohibited from discussing or taking any action on any items from 
the agenda and the meeting shall be rescheduled. In the event a quorum is lost after 
a meeting begins, no further discussions or actions shall be taken on any items from 
the agenda once the quorum is lost and the meeting shall be continued or 
rescheduled.  A majority vote is required for the adoption or passage of any action 
or recommendation.   
 
Section 11:   Meetings.  
 
A. 
The Committee shall hold at least one regular meeting each month, unless 
it is determined by the Chair that there is no business to transact. Notices of 
meetings shall be duly posted in accordance with State Law and City 
Ordinances. In the event a regular meeting is cancelled, notice of such 
cancelation shall be duly posted in accordance with State Law and City 
Ordinances. 
 
B. 
Meetings of the Committee shall be open to the public and the minutes of 
the meetings and other official actions shall be filed in the office of the City 
Clerk as a public record. For any matter under consideration, any person 
may submit written comments and, if attending in person, may speak to the 
issue upon being recognized by the Chair and stating his or her name and 
address and the names of any persons on whose behalf he or she is 
appearing. The Chair may institute time limits for speakers in the interest of 
meeting management. 
 
C. 
Meetings shall, to the extent not in conflict with these By-Laws, be 
conducted according to the City of Buckeye Rules of Procedure, except that 
the Chair shall be permitted to vote on any motion.  
 
D. 
If the Chair desires to make or second a motion, the Chair must first 
temporarily relinquish the presiding chair, until the vote on the motion has 
been taken or until a disposition on the motion has been otherwise 
completed.  
 
Section 12:   Order of Business: 
 
A. 
The Chair shall call the meeting to order and the minutes shall reflect the 
names of the members present or absent. The Chair may call each matter of 
business in the order of the approved agenda.

B. 
The Chair shall conduct all meetings generally in accordance with the City 
of Buckeye Rules of Procedure and may invoke such rules when making 
formal recommendations. 
 
C. 
All meetings of the Committee may be recorded by an electronic device. 
Any person desiring to have a meeting recorded by an electronic device or 
by a stenographic reporter, at his or her own expense, may do so, provided 
that he or she consults the Secretary to arrange facilities for such recording 
prior to the commencement of the meeting, and such recording will not 
otherwise disrupt the proceedings. 
 
Section 13:   Voting and Recommendations.  
 
A. 
Any formal recommendations to be forwarded to the City Council for 
review or approval shall require a majority vote of a quorum of the 
Committee. Each member attending shall be entitled to one vote. 
 
B. 
Voting shall be done by voice vote. If the results of a voice vote are not 
readily discernable by the Secretary, a roll call vote shall be taken. Any 
member of the Committee may call for a roll call vote in lieu of a voice 
vote.  
 
C. 
A member shall disqualify himself or herself and abstain from voting 
whenever he or she has, or may have, a conflict of interest in a case under 
consideration, as described and provided by the Arizona Revised Statutes 
(ARS §38-501, et, seq.) and the Buckeye City Code. 
 
D. 
Proxy voting shall not be permitted. Telephonic or other virtual 
participation may be permitted at the discretion of the Chair provided there 
is technology available to allow the public participation by telephone or 
other virtual means (i.e. a speaker phone is available). 
 
 
Article V – Sub-Committees  
 
The Committee shall be not be authorized to establish sub-committees. 
 
Article VI – Official Records 
 
The official records of the Committee shall include these By-Laws; agendas of the Committee; 
and minutes of meetings of the Committee.  The official records of the Committee shall be 
deposited with the City Clerk and shall be available for public inspection during regular office 
hours. 
 
Article VII – Amendments

These By-Laws may be amended by a majority vote of the City Council. The Committee may 
request an amendment to the By-Laws by a three-fourths majority vote of the members present at 
any meeting of the Committee at which a quorum is present provided such amendment(s) is 
proposed at a preceding meeting, or is submitted in writing at a prior regular meeting of the 
Committee and is recorded in the minutes of such meeting.  Such amendment(s) shall be subject 
to ratification by a majority vote of the City Council, and if so approved, shall become effective at 
the next regular meeting of the Committee after ratification. 
 
ARTICLE VIII -- Miscellaneous 
 
Section 1: 
Open Meetings. The Committee shall comply with the requirements of Arizona’s 
Open Meeting Laws, A.R.S. §§ 38-431 et. seq. Except for Executive Sessions 
authorized by A.R.S. § 38-431.03, all meetings of the Committee shall be open to 
the public. 
 
Section 2: 
Public Records. The Committee shall comply with the requirements of Arizona’s 
Public Records Laws, A.R.S. §§ 39-101 et. seq.  
 
Section 3: 
Conflict of Interest. Any member of the Committee who has a substantial interest, 
as defined in A.R.S. § 38-502, in the outcome of any matter brought before them 
shall publicly disclose that interest before the matter is discussed and shall refrain 
from voting or in any way participating in that matter.  The meeting minutes shall 
reflect the member’s disclosure of the substantial interest and the nature of the 
substantial interest. 
 
Section 4: 
City Ethic’s Policy. All members of the Committee shall adhere to the City Council 
Code of Ethics set forth in Section 3 of the City of Buckeye Rules of Procedure.  
 
Section 5:   
Resignation and Removal. Members of the Committee may resign at any time by 
delivering written notice of such resignation to the Chair. Committee members, 
including alternates, may be removed with or without cause by a majority vote of 
the City Council.  
 
Section 6: 
Agenda Items. Staff may, at the direction of Council, place items on a Committee 
agenda for discussion and determination.