Proposed amendments to the constitution

BLANK

Background

The proposed amendments enable us to widen the membership of the organisation and people who are eligible to become Officers.

We have had an empty vacancy for Chair for two years now and will shortly need to recruit for a new Treasurer as well as other Officers.  We have interest in the role of Treasurer from someone with strong links to the village but who is not currently eligible to stand as they are a non-resident.

We are also interested in being more open to businesses who may not live in the village and others who have an interest in Willaston, such as ex-residents.  Widening the membership will enable us to do this.

Current Constitution

The constitution currently has two levels of Membership as follows:

Full Membership

Full membership is automatically provided to the Local Councillor(s) and to any person aged 18 or over who resides within the area shown in the appendix.  Full members are eligible to vote at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and any Special General Meeting (SGM).

A person who is nominated by a community organisation listed in Section 7 to represent that organisation on the Management Committee, shall be a full member of the Society for the term of their appointment.

Associate Membership

Associate membership is available for those people who do not reside within the village boundary but have a specific interest in the village or a business operating in the District of Willaston.  Associate membership is by application and subject to the agreement by majority vote of the Management Committee.  An associate member can attend and speak at the AGM/SGM but does not have a vote.

The constitution says about Officers:

Officers are elected at the AGM for a period of three years and must fulfil the full membership criteria in section 4 at the time of election.

If the role of any Officer becomes vacant before an AGM, the Management Committee may, by  a majority vote, co-opt a person fulfilling the full membership criteria in Section 4 to fill the post for the subsequent period up to the next AGM.

Proposed Amendments

It is proposed to amend the constitution so that Associate members are given a vote and can become an Officer.

This would then enable people who do not live in Willaston to take on an Officer role to support the Residents’ Society.

The actual changes would be (in bold below):

Associate membership is available for those people who do not reside within the village boundary but have a specific interest in the village or a business operating in the District of Willaston. Associate membership is open to people aged 18 or over by application and subject to the agreement by majority vote of the Management Committee. Associate membership is limited to three years, after which the member has to reapply.   An associate member can attend and speak and vote at the AGM/SGM. A maximum of ten people may be associate members at any time.

A maximum of three associate members can have the role of an Officer at any one time.

Officers are elected at the AGM for a period of three years and must fulfil the full or associate membership criteria in section 4 at the time of election.