Constitution
Section One: The Constitution
1. Name
1.1 The name of the Association is: Baytree Road Residents Association
1.2 The Association covers the area on and around Baytree Road, in Brixton, London, SW2.
2. Aims
The aims of the Association shall be to carry out such purposes which are not for profit and are for the benefit of the community living within the Association area. In furtherance of this, the Association shall have the following aims:
a) Promote membership of and involvement in the association to all people eligible to join.
b) Promote the improvement of the living environment and the prevention of crime and anti-social behaviour within the area of the Association.
c) Promote equal opportunities within the community.
d) Be non party-political
e) Represent the view of the majority of members affected by issues relating to their local environment.
f) Provide regular information to all members.
g) Regularly consult all members.
h) Monitor the Association, its work, finances and membership.
3. Membership
a) Membership of the Association is open to all tenants, leaseholders, licensees and Freeholders (and members of their households living in the area of benefit).
b) The secretary keeps records of all the members of the Association.
c) Association membership will cease when a member stops living in the Association area, dies, resigns, or is disqualified following a resolution of the Committee.
d) A member will only be disqualified where the Committee resolves it is in the best interest of the Association for the membership to be terminated.
e) A resolution to remove a member from the Association will only be heard where the member has had 21 days notice in writing of the proposed resolution together with the reasons for it; and has been given the option of attending or having a representative make representations to the meeting.
f) A copy of the constitution will be given to all new members of the Association, on request
g) The “area of benefit” is the area described in 1.2 above.
h) Membership criteria will be made freely available on the Association website.
4. Affiliation
The Association may affiliate to any non-party political organisation whose aims and objectives are commensurate with those of the Association and which can help the Association in achieving its aims and objectives.
5. The Committee
a) The committee shall have a minimum of the following officers: a chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretary, deputy secretary and treasurer. Committee members shall be elected at an annual general meeting (AGM). The size of the committee should be no fewer than 5 and no more than 15 members.
b) The chairperson or deputy chairperson shall chair all meetings of the Association. In the absence of the chairperson or deputy chairperson, another officer present shall take the role of chair.
c) No more than one officer shall be elected per household
d) Election or removal of officers or committee members can only be carried out by a majority vote at a General Meeting or Special General Meeting called specifically for that purpose
e) Any vacancies from the committee occurring by resignation or otherwise may be filled by the committee by co-opting members with full voting rights, until the next General Meeting, when the committee’s decision may or may not be ratified by the General Meeting
f) The committee may, when necessary or when deemed to be of benefit to the Association, co-opt up to three voting or non-voting people not living in the Association’s catchment area, but whose skills and/or experience would be advantageous to the Committee in carrying out its functions
g) Copies of the constitution are available free to all people in the Association area; the constitution will be freely available on the Association website, and any person requesting it will be directed to the website in a timely manner.
h) The committee shall, as far as possible, be representative of the community which it serves
i) Any officer or committee member who does not attend three consecutive meetings without giving reasonable apologies shall be deemed to have resigned
j) Committee members’ details will be freely available on the Association website, with a method of getting in touch with them.
6. Meetings
6.1 Annual General Meetings
a) The Association shall hold an AGM once each calendar year and not more than 15 months shall pass between the date of one AGM and the next
b) The AGM shall:
· Receive an annual report from the committee
· Present a statement of accounts to members
· Appoint an independent auditor (if turnover is in excess of £5K per year)
· Elect the chair, vice chair, secretary, vice secretary and treasurer
· Elect committee members
· Agree rates for membership fees (if any)
· Vote on amendments to the constitution (only if previously notified)
· Consider any resolution(s) put forward by members
c) An independent observer shall attend each AGM. They shall confirm that the meeting was arranged and conducted in accordance with the Association’s Constitution. Ideally, the independent observer would be one of the following:
· A member of the resident participation team
· An officer of the council or housing management contractor
· An elected councillor
d) 28 days general notice, which may be in the form of posters or other such mass communication, shall be given of the Annual General Meeting.
e) Every member present shall have a vote.
6.2 General Meetings
a) There shall be at least three (3) general meetings of the Association in any year (including the AGM)
b) Meetings are open to all people living in the defined area
c) Every member present at a General Meeting shall have a vote
d) Decisions of the General Meeting shall be binding on the committee
e) At least seven days notice shall be given for a General Meeting
The quorum for a General Meeting (including the AGM) shall be three (3) of the Association’s membership, including three (3) committee members at all times in the meeting.
6.3 Special General Meetings
The Secretary shall call a Special General Meeting at the request of a majority of the Committee; or on receipt of a petition signed by not less than 5% of the total number of dwellings or ten (10) dwellings whichever is the greater, giving reason for their request. The Secretary shall give not less than 7 days notice of such a meeting, which will take place within 14 days of receipt of this petition.
6.4 Committee Meetings
a) The quorum for Committee meetings shall be three (3) of its elected membership.
b) Committee meetings may be called by the Chair, Deputy Chair, or Secretary or at the request of one third of the Committee members. At least 7 days notice must be given to Committee members.
c) Although Committee meetings shall be open to all members, only members of the Committee may vote at Committee meetings.
7. Conduct of Business
7.1 Voting
a) At all meetings (except those dealing with alterations to the constitution) decisions shall be taken by a simple majority of those members present and voting. Each Member has one vote. Members not present will be able to see the outcome of votes on the Association website. Members who object to the outcome of votes can raise an objection to the committee who will raise it at the next meeting.
b) Alterations to the constitution require a 2/3rd majority of those present and voting at the meeting at which the constitution is proposed to be changed. Full details of proposed changes must be circulated at least fourteen days before the meeting.
c) In the event of a tie in voting the chair of the meeting shall have the casting vote. This casting vote should not be used to change or introduce new policies or procedures.
7.2 Minutes
a) All voting that takes place at an AGM, General Meeting, Special General Meeting or Committee Meeting shall be counted and recorded in the minutes.
b) All formal meetings such as Committee Meetings, Special General Meetings and AGMs must be minuted and the minutes formally approved by the next meeting of the Committee or General Meeting.
c) Minutes will be made freely available on the Association website.
8. Finance
a) A simple record of income and expenditure must be produced each year at the AGM and be available to all members on request.
b) Accounts should be independently examined if the turnover is over £10,000 per year, or the threshold defined by the Charity Commission, whichever is lower.
c) Accounts should be open to inspection by members on request, and be made available on the Association website.
d) The Association may raise funds either by donation, grant application or other means. The proceeds of any such fundraising shall be used in accordance with: and to the furtherance of: the aims and objectives of the Association.
e) Account(s) must be opened in the name of the Association. Cheques, transfers and other banking instruments or instructions shall be signed by at least 2 signatories who must be members of the Committee.
f) Signatories must not be related or be members of the same household.
g) Proper records of all petty cash transactions must be kept.
9. Changes to the Constitution
a) Any proposed change to this constitution can only be made at a Special General Meeting, a General Meeting or an Annual General Meeting.
b) Any proposed change to this constitution must be sent to the Secretary not less than 28 days prior to the meeting at which the alteration is to be discussed.
c) The Secretary will send the new wording (amendment) together with the old wording and notice of the meeting at least fourteen days prior to the meeting at which the alteration is to be discussed.
d) Alterations to the constitution require a 2/3rd majority of those present and voting.
10. Dissolution
a) Only a Special General Meeting called specifically to consider a motion to dissolve the Association can dissolve the Association.
b) All members shall be given 14 days written notice of such a meeting.
c) For the purposes of a Dissolution Special General Meeting, a quorum need not apply.
d) The Association can only dissolve if a majority of the members present and voting at the Special General Meeting vote for a motion to dissolve the Association.
e) The meeting shall decide on the disposal of any assets remaining after the satisfaction of debts and any other liabilities. These assets must be applied to charitable purposes agreed with the members of the Association .
f) An independent observer shall attend the ‘winding up’ meeting. They shall confirm that the meeting was arranged and conducted in accordance with the Association ’s constitution clauses on dissolution. The Independent observer must be one of the following:
· An officer of the council
· An elected councillor
Section Two: Code of Conduct for Committee Members
1. The role of the Committee is to carry out the day to day business of the Association in an efficient, fair and responsive way. In taking decisions on behalf of the Association , Committee members must always be aware of their responsibility to represent all residents of the area.
2. All Committee members must comply with the Constitution and Code of Conduct at all times.
3. The Association will provide new members with the appropriate support and make them feel welcome at all times.
4. Members shall conduct themselves in a manner that will not cause offence to others. Racist, sexist or inflammatory remarks or abusive behaviour will not be tolerated. The Chair or Committee members have the right to warn the members of their behaviour. If they persist they will be asked to leave the meeting until further notice. The Committee must arrange a date and time and hold a meeting for them to discuss the incident and make a decision for what action to take.
Relations between Committee Members and other residents
5. Committee members shall not be involved in harassment and anti-social behaviour. Action will be taken under the Code of Conduct against anyone in breach of this condition.
Finance
6. Committee members cannot receive any payment from the Association other than for bona fide expenses, which have been submitted to the Treasurer not less than seven days before the next Committee meeting.
Relations with Lambeth Council and outside bodies
7. Requests for statements to the media or other organisations should be made to the Secretary. Any decision to contact or respond to the media must have the approval of the Committee.
8. Letters sent on behalf of the Association must be signed by the Secretary or Deputy Secretary, agreed by the Committee, and recorded in a log by the Secretary.
General
9. Committee members must never personalise issues and should be willing to recognise that everybody is entitled to express their point of view without unduly preventing progress of discussion on the agenda at a Committee or General meetings.
10. The Committee will take decisions based on there being a unanimous agreement or a simple majority of those present if a vote is taken. Minority voters should always be prepared to accept the majority decision and not take such a decision as any form of personal slight or criticism.
11. Committee meetings should be held at times which are convenient to the majority of Committee members. Every Committee Member must try to attend Committee meetings regularly.
Section Three: Equal Opportunities Statement
1. The London Borough of Lambeth has a diverse, multi-cultural population containing people with a variety of abilities. This Association recognises that all sections of the community have a positive contribution to make to the life of the borough. This Association will represent the interests of all local residents to the best of its ability.
2. We will take steps to make our Association as representative of the local community as possible. We will ensure that our meetings and any other Association activities are accessible and welcoming to all local residents.
3. The Association will not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexuality, age, disability, religion, marital status, or responsibility for dependants.
4. All individual members of the Association will be responsible for helping the Association to meet these aims.
5. Any resident who feels that they have not been treated fairly and equally by the Association should first raise the issue with the Association Chair and committee.
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