Chagrin River Watershed

“The corporation shall have one class of voting members who shall be designated regular members and shall be entitled to one vote on each matter submitted to a vote of the membership. Regular members shall be such governmental units and publicly-supported charitable organizations designated in article iii or determined by the board of directors to be eligible for membership because of their interests in accomplishing the purposes of this corporation which are qualified under section 509(a)(1)a, (2)a and (3) of the internal revenue code and agree to become regular members.”

“The management and control of the affairs, finances and property of the corporation shall be vested in the board of directors who shall be elected annually by the regular members. Each regular member, who has paid its dues and met the other membership requirements established by the board of directors, shall be entitled to elect one regular director and to designate an alternate for its regular director. The regular directors elected by the regular members shall be empowered to elect up to one-half of the number of regular members as at large directors by a majority vote of the regular directors. All directors shall have equal status. Directors shall serve until their successors are duly elected and qualified.”

“See response to line 7a above.”

“Prior to filing, the form 990 is presented to the executive committee, finance staff, and the executive director for review and approval. The executive committee is delegated authority by the board to approve the 990 for filing. The board president signs the 990.”

“Upon election to the board, the board members are asked to review the organization's conflict of interest policy. Among other things, the policy makes clear that all decisions of the board, officers, and employees of the organization are made solely on the basis of a desire to promote the best interest of the organization and the public good. The conflict of interest statement requests board members to identify to the best of their knowledge affiliations with organizations that may be potentially related to the financials or other substantive operations of the organization. They are also asked to identify circumstances involving either themselves, or a member of their extended family, that may be construed as a conflict of interest. At the staff level, the organization's personnel also ensure that there are no conflicts of interest when considering the engagement of a new vendor. If a potential conflict is identified, appropriate steps are taken to both assess the nature of the potential conflict and, subsequently, to ensure that the possibility of an actual conflict is mitigated. Such mitigation is managed and the letter and spirit of the conflicts policy are upheld.”

“The executive committee annually evaluates the performance of the executive director. Compensation is based on performance and compared to other area mission-comparable organizations of similar size. The board has adopted the irs-written "rebuttable presumption" checklist which is completed contemporaneous with the performance review. Compensation for staff within the organization is determined by the executive director. The level of compensation is set based on performance and in relation to other area mission-comparable organizations of similar size. This compensation is a component of the budget, which is reviewed and approved by the finance committee and also by the board as a whole.”

“The organization's governing documents, form 990, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are made available to the public upon request. The form 990 and financial statements can also be found on several publicly-accessible websites, including candid.”

“Form 990 first accomplishment crwp is a collaboration of 35 cities, villages, townships, counties, and park districts working on innovative solutions to flooding, erosion, and water quality problems to minimize the impacts of development and limit local infrastructure costs. Crwp's founding principles are: - natural systems provide flood control, erosion control, and water quality - it is more cost effective for local governments to take planning and development steps to maintain these services than to pay for costly, and generally, less effective, remedial solutions. Crwp responds directly to the needs of member communities, elected officials, engineers, planners, law directors, and other professional advisors by helping them update comprehensive plans, zoning regulations, and other programs guiding land use. Crwp has assisted communities by introducing innovative practices that maintain natural resource functions and prevent or minimize flooding, erosion, and water quality problems. These practices include crwp's recommended watershed management tools for planning, riparian and wetland setbacks, conservation development, improved erosion and sediment control, and comprehensive storm water management. In 2024, chagrin river watershed partners worked with its members and partners to leverage funding to implement projects for healthy streams, wetlands, natural areas and lake erie. Our 2024 accomplishments include: protected and/or restored 9,255 linear feet of streams and 155.6 acres of stream corridor and wetlands. Planted 2,675 native trees and shrubs. Prevented 110 million gallons of polluted runoff from reaching streams. Engaged over 54,000 people to achieve healthy watersheds. Partnered with our member communities and central lake erie basin collaborative organizations to plan 18 projects in the chagrin river, grand river, and doan brook watersheds. Once constructed, these projects would restore over 12,600 linear feet of stream, 33 acres of riparian corridor, and 14 acres of wetland. Implemented a master rain gardener program and taught 145 residents and landscape professionals how to design and build functional rain gardens. The 23 rain gardens installed through this program in 2024 prevented 299,275 gallons of stormwater runoff annually. Partnered with the northeast ohio regional sewer district, hyfi and others to maintain a network of sensor-driven water level monitoring devices along streams, lakes, ponds and stormwater basins. The data collected by the sensor will help stormwater managers and emergency responders to stay up to date on the latest stream flow and level conditions.”