Committee Objectives

GFOA Standing Committees will establish objectives to include specific projects and activities to benefit the GFOA membership. As appropriate, the GFOA Executive Board and president may direct or suggest that individual GFOA Standing Committees study and make recommendations on certain projects, programs or policy positions. GFOA standing committees should annually report to the GFOA Executive Board each Spring ahead of the GFOA’s annual conference on their respective activities and work programs. In certain circumstances (e.g., responses to GASB) a Standing Committee may assist staff with official GFOA responses to regulatory bodies. Additionally, the development of resources to further educate members about topics discussed in a Best Practice may be adopted by Committees without Board approval. However, aside from these instances a Standing Committee may not endorse a product, program, or project or adopt a policy position on behalf of the association without the Board's advice and direction.

Committee Membership

Membership on GFOA Standing Committees is limited to individuals who are Active GFOA members. Advisors for committees must hold Associate member status.

Term and Attendance

Committee members are appointed for a specified term, not to exceed three years, and then members may be appointed to another three-year term . Terms begin on September 15 of the year each member is appointed. Committee membership is conditioned upon attendance at fifty percent of the committee meetings and activities in each calendar year, whether those events are in-person or virtual.

Meetings

A minimum of two committee meetings will be held each calendar year either in-person or virtual.

Size of Committees 

Standing committees are to consist of no more than twenty-five voting (active) members and five advisors, who shall serve as non-voting members. Committee chairs may invite other individuals to work with committees on projects requiring special expertise. These persons shall not be considered committee members.

Composition of Committees

Standing Committees are formed with consideration to:

• potential members' individual fields of expertise, related experience, and size and type of governmental unit;
• the committee's technical area of interest;
• the committee members' overall geographic balance; and
• their present composition with the recognition that it is a goal of GFOA to have diverse representation of women and individuals underrepresented in public finance involved at all levels of the organization including the standing committees.

Committee Advisors

Standing committees may include up to five nonvoting advisors who are experts in the committee's area of interest. Advisors must be chosen from GFOA's associate membership and are appointed by the GFOA President. The advisor's role is to provide technical guidance to committee members on an as-needed basis to be determined by the committee chair.

A committee member who leaves the public sector must notify committee staff and resign her/his position as a member but - if an opening is available on the Committee - may become an advisor on appointment by the GFOA President.

Appointment of Standing Committee Members

The GFOA President makes all appointments to the various standing committees, with other individuals playing an important role in identifying appropriate candidates. The following process will be completed before appointment to a standing committee:

The executive director and staff will develop an application form for completion by individuals interested in serving on a GFOA committee. The form will solicit pertinent information regarding the individual's background and expertise. In addition, the form will make clear to the candidate the degree of commitment required to serve on a standing committee.

The opportunity for appointment to committees will be announced in the GFOA Newsletter each year in the summer and the standing committee application will be posted on the GFOA’s web site.

Specific recommendations of potential members will be solicited from current Executive Board members, current committee chairs and members, GFOA member networks, current state and provincial representatives and GFOA staff. All individuals identified through this process will made aware of the application form available on GFOA’s web site.

Completed application forms will be reviewed by GFOA staff and forwarded to the GFOA President for final determination of appointments.

Appointment of Standing Committee Chairs

The chair and vice-chair of each committee is appointed annually by the GFOA President. The GFOA President appoints the chair and vice-chair for a one-year term starting on September 15 of each calendar year. Standing Committee chairs and vice-chairs may be reappointed for two additional consecutive terms for a total of three years. A vice-chair serving their term of one to three years is then eligible to serve as a chair for one to three years. An Executive Board ex-officio member serving on a standing committee may not serve as the chair or vice-chair.

Rotation of Committee Member and Advisor Term(s)

Upon completion of a committee member's term, the GFOA president may reappoint committee members if he/she has reapplied for membership subject to the following limits.

• A member and advisor may serve for a maximum of two consecutive three-year terms.
• A member and advisor who has served two consecutive three-year terms may apply for standing committee appointment after one year. Committee ex-officio members following the completion of their Executive Board service must also wait one year before seeking another committee appointment.
• The GFOA President may extend an additional 3 year term for members who have served or are serving as Chair or Vice-Chair of the standing committee. However, regardless of a chair or vice chair’s service, they may not serve more than 9 total consecutive years on a standing
  committee

Committee members' terms are staggered so that a portion of the committee's membership rotates each year.

Interim Terms

Should a committee opening occur, the GFOA President may appoint a new member at such time for their first year of service. However, this new member’s term ends on September 14 even if they were not first appointed on September 15 of a certain year.

Quorum

Official actions by a committee require a quorum of more than fifty percent of voting members, which may occur either voting during the meeting (in person or virtual) or by written (email) proxy sent to the Committee Chair prior to the vote.

Staff Support

GFOA staff members responsible for standing committees are to provide logistical, editorial and technical support and general administrative services.

Ex-Officio Members

GFOA Executive Board members may contribute to the Committee’s work and serve as non-voting members of standing committees in an ex-officio capacity. The GFOA President will appoint Executive Board members to serve in an ex-officio capacity. The ex-officio members of a

Committee are responsible for presenting the Committee’s actions to the Board for the Board’s consideration. After the expiration of an Executive Board member's term, he or she will be eligible for appointment to a standing committee.=, following a one-year break

GFOA Administrative Policy (Revised 2/1990, 2/28/1997, 5/30/1997, 6/1999, and 7/2021)