Chapter By-Laws

Current revision: v 3-20-2026

Westchester-Putnam Chapter By-Laws

Chapter I: Name

Section 1. This organization shall be known as the Westchester-Putnam Chapter of the Knights of Columbus, hereinafter, called “the Chapter.”

Chapter II: Objects

Section 1. The object of the Chapter shall be the consideration and promotion of such measures as shall be beneficial to the general welfare of the chapter, the promotion of Catholic interests in general, and the social and civil welfare of the Councils and the Order.

Chapter III: Membership

Section 1. The Chapter shall include the State Deputy of New York, the District Deputies of the Districts encompassing the member councils, such members of the Supreme Board of Directors as reside within the State of New York, each council and members of the Knights of Columbus located in Westchester and Putnam Counties, excluding council #536, Loretto Council (Cold Spring, NY), said council being a member of another Chapter of the Order. Attendance at Chapter Meetings by all members is strongly encouraged,

Section 2. Voting: Each Council shall be entitled to 2 votes at a business meeting or whenever a vote is called upon by the Chapter, through its Delegates, or in the absence of one or more of its Delegates, though its Alternate Delegates as set forth below

Section 2.1 Delegates and Alternate Delegates: Each Council’s Grand Knight is an ex officio Delegate for his Council. All Delegates and alternates, excepting the Grand Knight, shall be elected annually by their respective councils at their regular meetings in June of each year in such manner as provided for in the Laws and Rules of the Order governing the election of officers. Each Council should provide the name of the Grand Knight and one (1) Delegate on behalf of the Council, as well as a list of at least 2 or more Alternate Delegates in ranked order. Each Delegate or Alternate Delegate must be a Knight in good standing.

Section 2.3 Voting Order. Each Council shall vote first by its Delegates. In the absence of one or more of the Delegates, then Alternate Delegates shall be substituted as necessary to fill the vacant vote(s) until two (2) votes are achieved. If the number of Alternate Delegates present at the meeting exceeds the number missing Delegates, then the Alternate Delegate(s) shall be entitled to vote based their ranked order until such time as two (2) Council votes are achieved.

Chapter IV: Officers

Section 1. The officers of the Chapter shall be: The Reverend Chaplain, President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Advocate, Historian, and Inside & Outside Guard(s) The Reverend Chaplain shall be appointed by the President of the Chapter. The other officers shall be elected as provided for in Chapter V of these by-laws.

Chapter V: Election of Officers

Section 1. The officers of the Chapter shall be elected annually by the members of Chapter at the meeting held in November. They will assume their elected office January 1.

Section 2. The nomination and election of officers shall be the preferred order of business. Nominations for the officers of the Chapter made at the Chapter meeting held in the month of October. The President will appoint a Nominating Committee in the month of June. Nomination addresses for any office shall be limited to five minutes and the seconds of nominations shall not exceed two minutes. At November election Nominating Committee Chairman, or his designee, will call for any further nominations from the floor for each office. The election will be by ballot. The name and council of each nominee will appear on the ballot. The names and Councils of nominees for all offices will be mailed to the Chapter Delegates, as the names of the Delegates appear on the Chapter rolls, before the November meeting. If further nominations for any office are made at the November meeting, the name of the nominee will be inserted on the ballot by writing in the same.

Section 3. In all cases of elections to any office as provided for in Section I of this chapter of the by-laws, a majority of all the votes cast shall be necessary to elect.

Section 4. All officers mentioned in section 1 of this chapter of these by-laws shall serve for one year and hold office until their successors are elected and have taken office, or is appointed in accordance with Section 6 of this Chapter

Section 5. The absence of any officer mentioned in chapter IV from three successive Chapter meetings without sufficient reason given to the President of the Chapter shall vacate the office.

Section 6. Where a vacancy occurs in any office or committee elected by the Chapter, vacancy will be filled by appointment of the Chapter President for the unexpired term. If the vacancy is that of the President, then the Vice-President will assume that office. It should also be understood that, in cases of vacancy, the President can create new vacancies by appointing officers from one position to another

Chapter VI: Duties of Officers

Section 1. The President of the Chapter shall be the executive officer thereof. He shall preside at all meetings of the Chapter. He shall appoint all standing committees immediately upon his accession to office. He shall be a member of all standing committees. He shall countersign checks drawn by the Treasurer of the Chapter and perform such other duties as the members of the Chapter shall by vote or resolution direct.

Section 2. In the absence or inability of the President to perform the duties of his office, the Vice- President shall perform all the duties of the President.

Section 3.1 The Treasurer shall be the custodian of all monies received, such monies shall be held in an account in the name of the Westchester-Putnam Chapter Knights of Columbus, in depositories designated and approved by Officers of the Chapter.

Section 3.2 He shall draw and sign all checks upon funds of the Chapter, such checks to be countersigned by the President of the Chapter, and will file tax returns in a timely manner, or oversee along with the President their preparation and timely submission

Section 3.3 The Treasurer of the Chapter shall also be the Treasurer of every committee appointed or elected by the Westchester-Putnam Chapter, and all monies of the Westchester Putnam Chapter disbursed by it or by any committee thereof shall be governed by these By-Laws and subject to their provisions.

Section 4. The Secretary shall be the custodian of all reports and correspondence submitted to, and sent by, the Chapter. He shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings of the Chapter.

Section 5. The Advocate shall be the Chairman of the By-Laws Committee and an advisor for the Chapter in similar matters.

Section 6. The Historian shall keep a chronological record of the noteworthy events and happenings of the Chapter and shall be the custodian thereof. He shall make at least one report, during the Chapter year based on the records he has compiled.

Section 7. The Guards shall attend the entrance to the meeting place of the Chapter and shall ascertain the qualifications of persons attending the meeting of the Chapter, and shall perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the President of the Chapter.

Chapter VII: Committees

Section 1. The President of the Chapter immediately upon his ascension to office or as soon as thereafter is practicable, shall appoint chairmen of all committees including all members of the Audit Committee of which three (3) shall not currently be serving as Officers of the Chapter.

Section 2. The Audit Committee shall, following the regular Chapter meetings in June and in December, audit the books to verify the cash and securities in the hands of the treasurer of the Chapter and present a report of the audit in writing at the next Chapter meeting. The Audit Committee shall also, at its own discretion and at any time, make an audit and examination of the books, cash and securities of the Chapter in the care of the Treasurer of the Westchester-Putnam Chapter. It shall be given access to all records and securities for that purpose.

Section 3. The By-Laws Committee shall have referred to it by the President of the Chapter for its recommendations such amendments as are presented at a regular meeting of the Chapter. The Advocate shall be the Chairman of the said committee and consisting of one (1) member from each District in the Westchester-Putman Chapter.

Section 4. The Committee on Resolutions shall pass upon all resolutions submitted to the Chapter and all such matters as may be referred to it.

Section 5. The Committee on Resolutions shall pass upon all resolutions submitted to them by the Chapter and they shall adjourn from the regular meeting of the Chapter and make their recommendations at the same meeting at which the resolution is introduced, if practicable.

Section 6. All committees shall be empowered to make recommendations respecting reports submitted by them and shall make a report at each Chapter meeting unless excused or report is dispensed with by the President of the Chapter.

Section 7. The term of all committees shall run concurrently with the term of the President of the Chapter by whom they have been appointed, except that they shall continue to function and perform their usual duties until their successors have been appointed.

Section 8. The President of the Chapter may appoint members of the committees from the general membership of the Order who have taken their third degree.

Section 9. A member of any committee who shall be absent from three consecutive committee meetings without sufficient reason being given to the Chairman of the Committee shall cease to be a member of that committee ipso facto.

Section 10. The President of the Chapter may declare as vacant the office of any chairman of a committee or committeeman appointed by him pursuant to Section 1. of this chapter of the bylaws, which such chairman or committeeman fails to perform or refuses to perform the duties of his office.

Section 11. All vacancies occurring for any reason in committees appointed by the President of the Chapter, pursuant to Section 1 of this chapter of these bylaws shall be filled by the President of the Chapter.

Section 12: The President of the Chapter may create ad hoc committees as he deems necessary for the good of the Chapter and in furtherance of Chapter business.

Chapter VIII: Dues
Section 1. There will be no dues charged to the Councils of the Chapter

Chapter IX Fiscal Year
Section 1. The Fiscal year of the Chapter shall being on the first day of January and end on the last day of December of the same year.

Chapter X: Funds

No money in excess of $500 shall be paid or transferred from the funds of the Chapter (except such moneys as the Chapter is called upon to regularly pay for its expenses as provided by the Laws and Rules of the Order or for purposes approved by the Supreme Council or Board of Directors or said funds having been collected for a specifically designated purpose and the distribution is in accordance with that purpose) unless by a majority vote of the member councils present and voting at a regular business meeting held subsequent to a regular business meeting at which notice in writing of a resolution of intention to pay or transfer such money and the purposes and amount to be paid or transferred shall have been given and regularly read.

Chapter XI: Rules and Procedures for Meetings

Section 1. Where such would not be in contravention of these By-Laws, or relevant governing documents of the Order, Robert’s Rules of Order will guide the procedures for meetings of the Chapter.

Section 2. A quorum sufficient to vote on any resolution or proposal will exist at any regular business meeting at which at least seven (7) of the participating Councils are represented by at least one voting member.

Section 3. Except as provided in 4.2 of this chapter, a simple majority vote of any quorum will be sufficient to pass any resolution or proposal properly brought before the membership for a vote.

Section 4: Emergency Expenditures- Definition and Limitations:  In instances when waiting to the next business meeting is impractical, the officers of the Chapter are authorized to spend funds necessary to meet the emergency but in no case to exceed $500, in total, before the next business meeting (“Emergency Expenditure”).

Section 4.1. Emergency Expenditures- Reporting: The Treasurer will report to the members at the next business meeting the nature, amount, and timing of the Emergency Expenditure.

Section 4.2.  Emergency Expenditures- Voting and Approval: For this purpose, a vote for an Emergency Expenditure will be called by the President, or in his absence, the Vice-President.  All officers will be included on the vote, and their vote will be recorded.  To pass, the vote must obtain over two-thirds affirmative votes from the votes cast.