1.5 INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITIES OF BOARD MEMBERS

To discharge the duty of diligence, each Board member will act in the best interests of the Agency and will be thoroughly acquainted with the Agency’s purpose and policies, what tasks are delegated and to whom and will have an awareness of the operations of the Agency.  Board members will work as a team so that they can govern effectively.  That means that the Board shares its collective legal and fiscal responsibilities.  In contributing to the achievement of the responsibilities of the Board as a whole, each individual Board member will:

• Upon recruitment, obtain a Police Clearance Certificate which will be maintained by the Manager of Administrative Services:
• participate in a formal orientation from the Executive Director to the Agency’s history, mission, values, goals, strategic/operating plans and services;
• act honestly, in good faith and in the best interests of the Agency;
• recognize that the Agency is to be operated in the public interest;
• respect Board of Directors’ decisions once these have been reached;
• maintain confidentiality;
• abide by the Board’s conflict of interest policy;
• understand the distinction between the strategic and policy role of the Board and the day-to-day operational responsibilities of management;
• serve on Board committees as required;
• commit to attend Board and committee meetings regularly;
• complete the necessary background preparation in order to participate effectively in meetings of the Board and its committees;
• vote on matters that come before the Board at its meetings;
• review the minutes and other materials that were distributed in order to stay informed, if attendance at the applicable meeting is not possible.  (The absent Board member may be liable for any decisions made or actions taken by the Board of Directors unless that Board member was to immediately register a dissent.);
• recognize that while a Board member might have been proposed as a member because of an affiliation with, or interest in a particular constituency or stakeholder group, the members’ obligations, once elected, are, first and foremost, to the Agency;
• keep informed about matters relating to the Agency, the community and the broader social and health systems;
• attend and support the Agency’s events;
• participate in an annual evaluation of the overall Board effectiveness and,
• periodically represent the Board in external activities such as liaison with consumers and other stakeholders.

Home