5 o8 PARKS 



or county in which the board operates. The secretary may be a member 

 of the board or the clerk of the municipality or some one selected by the 

 board from outside. If the secretary is not a member of the board and is 

 placed in charge of the records and the office organization in general he 

 should preferably be considered a part of the executive organization and 

 not an integral part of the governing authority organization. Officers are 

 usually elected for one year or until their successors are elected and quali- 

 fied. (For reference to the officer organization, see Chapter VI, pages 

 452-459.) 



Committee organization. Most park boards have as a part of their 

 internal organization a system of committees. These are of two kinds, 

 standing committees and special committees. These are usually appointed 

 by the president. 



While the committee system is an excellent method for division of 

 responsibilities and duties among the members and for keeping the interest 

 of the members alive and alert to the work of the department, the great- 

 est care should be exercised in defining their duties and powers. This is 

 especially true of standing committees whose duties in any way relate to 

 executive functions. As a rule the powers and duties of all committees 

 should be limited strictly to advisory functions only. An instance is noted 

 where a park and recreation board had ten standing committees and every 

 committee exercised executive functions. It is needless to say that the 

 chief executive became a mere figure head and the entire department was 

 hopelessly disorganized. In general it may be suggested that the adminis- 

 trative business of the average park department can be more expeditiously 

 and efficiently conducted in the committee of the whole than through a 

 number of sub-committees; and there is likely to be far less confusion 

 arising in the executive organization. On the other hand, it is often valuable 

 and desirable to appoint special committees from time to time to make 

 investigations and reports on specific situations and problems. 



By-laws. The code of procedure by which a park governing authority 

 declares its plans and policies for conducting its affairs is usually embodied 

 in by-laws. In the case of independent park districts these by-laws are 

 generally enacted in the form of ordinances. The form and content of 

 by-laws are illustrated by the following examples of such codes formulated 

 and adopted by some of the park governing authorities in this country. 



Their content may be summarized as follows: I. Statement of officer 

 organization. 2. Definition of duties of officers of the board or commission 

 and of certain of the executive officers. 3. Statement of committee organ- 

 ization and definition of the duties of committees. 4. References to handling 

 certain fiscal matters, especially those relating to contracts and financial 



