The Park Board's major function is to establish policy through the majority vote at duly called and authorized Park Board meetings. Through its policy-making functions, the Board determines fiscal procedures, personnel matters, operational procedures, fees and charges, land dispositions, and facility development. Specifically included in the above items are the following:
A. To provide for the levy of taxes pursuant to the authority granted by State Statute. Such levies shall provide for the various operational concerns by fund so that sufficient revenue is generated to provide for quality park and recreation activities.
B. Decide upon the proper use of funds generated by revenue-producing facilities after operational needs are satisfied and enact periodic adjustments in the operational policies of said revenue-producing facilities to ensure proper and meaningful controls for the benefit of the entire District and not just the revenue-producing facility itself.
C. The Board should employ an Executive Director as the District’s chief executive officer, upon whom the Board places its reliance and authority for the judicious administration of the day-to-day operation, of the Park District. The Director of Parks and Recreation shall be charged with executing the Board's policy, enforcing its rules and regulations, and acting as an advisor to the Board by preparing or causing to be prepared written reports for the Board which recommend a course of action.
D. The Board shall adopt and periodically review a set of rules and regulations affecting all full-time, part-time and seasonal personnel in a document known as "Personnel Policies of the Winnetka Park District."
E. The Board shall continually monitor the operational procedures of the Park District and make additions or alterations to said procedures at duly called and authorized Board meetings. The individual Board members shall keep themselves informed of the activities and functions of the District by observation, comments from its citizenry, and reports presented by the staff of the Park District. The Board shall act decisively on issues brought before it, in the best interest of the District as a whole.
Park Board members should make decisions involving the welfare of the community as a whole based on study and evidence rather than on feelings, prejudices, personal opinions, or other similar subjective factors. Such judgment requires mutual considerations of varying points of view before final action is taken.
Park Board members should accept the principle of Board unity and the subordination of personal interests by accepting and supporting majority decisions of the Board and identifying themselves with Board policies and actions.
F. The Board shall be responsible for establishing the operational philosophy of recreation programming for the Park District and setting fees and charges, to be approved at a duly authorized and attended Board meeting.
G. The Board shall recognize that land acquisition is of primary importance to the provision of leisure services and the proposition that open space, which is judiciously placed, produces benefits for active and passive use. Accordingly, the Board shall draw up and continually update a land acquisition plan, supported by a set of land acquisition criteria which will assist in evaluating various parcels.
Cooperative ventures with local, county, state, regional, and national levels of government should be recognized as important and integral processes toward the orderly acquisition of parcels which otherwise may be too costly for one agency to purchase. Various state and federal land grant programs should be viewed as a vehicle for financial assistance. Such grants must be reviewed carefully for their dependencies and provisos, which may be considered unreasonable or perhaps too restrictive.
H. The Board shall direct itself to the establishment and continual care of a well-rounded and broadly based park system, recognizing the diverse needs and interests of the District's constituency.
I. Board Member Code of Ethics
As a member of the Board Team, I will:
- listen carefully to my Board colleagues.
- respect the opinion of fellow Board members.
- respect and support majority decisions of the Board.
- recognize that all authority is vested in the full Board only when it meets in legal session.
- keep well-informed about developments relevant to issues that may come before the board.
- participate in board meetings and actions.
- bring to the attention of the board any issues I believe will have an adverse effect on the agency or those we serve.
- attempt to interpret the needs or those we serve to the agency, and interpret the-Actions of the agency to those we serve.
- refer complaints to the proper level on the chain of command.
- recognize that my job is to ensure that the agency is well-managed, not to manage the agency.
- represent all those whom this agency serves, not just a particular geographic area or interest group.
- consider myself a "trustee" of the agency and do my best to ensure that it is well-maintained, financially secure, growing and always operating in the best interests of those we serve.
- always work to learn how to do my job better,
- declare conflicts of interest between my personal life and my position on the board, and abstain from voting or discussion when appropriate.
As a member of the Board, I will not:
- criticize fellow board members in or out of the board room.
- use the agency for my personal advantage or that of my friends or relatives.
- discuss the confidential proceedings of the board outside the board room.
- promise before a meeting how I will vote on any issue,
- interfere with the duties of the administrator or undermine the administrator's authority with staff members.