FIRLE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

DRAFT CONSTITUTION

  1. Name

The name of the group shall be Firle Community Association (FCA)

  1. Aims

The purpose of Firle Community Association will be:

 

  1. To help the community form an informed view (or a range of views), seeking consensus, where possible, on any issues that affect our village community.
  2. To help ensure that all the views of the community are presented appropriately to influence decisions that will affect our community.
  3. To seek positive and collaborative engagement with stakeholders and external organisations.

 

The FCA will be non-party political, consider the needs of young people and future generations.

 

The FCA will seek to be open, inclusive, democratic, transparent, communicative and fair to everyone involved.

 

The FCA will not discriminate on the grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic or national origin, sexuality, disability, religious or political belief, marital status or age.

 

  1. Membership

Full membership is open to anyone who is aged 16 or older, and lives within the boundaries of Firle Parish.

Business membership and Associate membership is available and encouraged for individuals or organisations that have a strong connection to Firle.  The Committee reserves the right to reject applications if they are considered to be inappropriate, or contrary to the aims of the Association.  Associate members will not have any voting rights.

Full members will be eligible to vote at Annual and General meetings, and participate in opinion gathering by the Association.

Associate Members will be eligible to participate in opinion gathering by the Association

All members will be entitled to receive copies of any documents issued by the Association

A list of all members will be kept by the Secretary.  Members may request confidentiality of membership.  A member may resign at any time by writing to the Secretary.

Membership details will be recorded for the sole purpose of sharing information pertinent to the community.  The Association will comply with all relevant aspects of GDPR.

Members behaving in an offensive way at meetings, or acting against the aims of the Association may be asked not to attend further meetings or to resign.  The decision of the committee in this context is final.

  1. Committee

The business of the FCA will be carried out by a Committee elected at the Annual General Meeting. The Committee will meet as necessary and not less than two times a year.

The Committee will consist of up to 10 members.  Additional members may be co-opted onto the committee at the discretion of the committee.

The Committee will, after each Annual General Meeting, elect members to roles within the committee, including Co-Chairs, Secretary, and Treasurer.  In the event of an officer standing down during the year a replacement will be elected by the committee.

The Committee meetings will be open to any member of FCA who wish to attend, and may speak when invited, but not vote.

  1. Meetings

6.1. Annual General Meetings

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held within fifteen months of the previous AGM.

All members will be notified at least 3 weeks before the date of the meeting, giving the venue, date and time. Notice may be by social media, phone, email, post or printed material displayed within the Firle Parish.

Nominations for the committee may be made to the Secretary before the meeting, or at the meeting.

The quorum for the AGM will be 10% of the membership or 10 members, whichever is the greater number.

At the AGM:-

  • The Committee will present a report of the work of Firle Community Association over the year.
  • The Committee will present the accounts of Firle Community Association for the previous year.
  • The Committee for the next year will be elected.
  • Any proposals given to the Secretary at least 7 days in advance of the meeting will be discussed.

6.2 General Meetings

General Meetings are open to all members and will be held at least twice a year or more often if necessary.

All members will be given two weeks’ notice of such a meeting, giving the venue, date, time and agenda, and notice may be by social media, phone, email, post or printed material displayed within the Firle Parish.

The quorum for a General Meeting shall be 10% of the membership or 5 members, whichever is the greater number.

6.3 Committee Meetings

Committee meetings may be called by the Chair or Secretary. Committee members must receive notice of meetings at least 7 days before the meeting.

The quorum for Committee meetings is three Committee members.

6.4. Rules of Procedure for all meetings

All questions that arise at any meeting will be discussed openly and the meeting will seek to find general agreement that everyone present can agree to.

If a consensus cannot be reached a vote will be taken and a decision will be made by a simple majority of members present who are eligible to vote. If the number of votes cast on each side is equal, the chair of the meeting shall have an additional casting vote.

  1. Finances

An account will be maintained on behalf of the Association at a bank agreed by the committee. Two signatories will be nominated by the Committee (one to be the Treasurer).  The signatories must not be related nor members of the same household.

All payments will be signed by two of the signatories.

  • For cheque payments, the signatories will sign the cheque.
  • For other payments (such as BACS payments, cash withdrawals, debit card payments or cash payments), a requisition note will be signed by two signatories, and held by the treasurer.

Records of income and expenditure will be maintained by the Treasurer and a financial statement given at each meeting.

All money raised by or on behalf of Firle Community Association is only to be used to further the aims of the group, as specified in item 2 of this constitution.

  1. Amendments to the Constitution

Amendments to the constitution may only be made at the Annual General Meeting or General Meeting.

Any proposal to amend the constitution must be given to the Secretary in writing. The proposal must then be circulated with the notice of meeting.

Any proposal to amend the constitution will require a two thirds majority of those present and entitled to vote.

  1. Dissolution

If a meeting, by simple majority, decides that it is necessary to close down the group it may call a General Meeting to do so. The sole business of this meeting will be to dissolve the group.

If it is agreed to dissolve the group, all remaining money and other assets, once outstanding debts have been paid, will be donated to a local charitable organisation. The organisation will be agreed at the meeting which agrees the dissolution.