Redesdale Resident's Association - Constitution
TITLE
The name of the Association shall be Redesdale Residents’ Association.OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Association are to protect and improve conditions and amenities in the area for the benefit of residents and their families, and to provide opportunities for community and social interaction. The association shall be non-political, non-sectarian, non-commercial, and run on a voluntary basis.
FUNCTIONAL AREA
Dale Drive, Dale Close, Dale Road, Anville Drive, St. Kevin’s Park, Hazel Avenue (1-19, 2, 4 & 4A), Kilmacud Avenue, Highridge Green, Upper Kilmacud Road (101-137).
The Functional Area may be amended to include additional roads by a vote at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting, upon receipt of written request to the Committee from representatives of such additional road(s), outlining a reasonable mandate to act.
MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to all households in the functional area. Any resident of a household having paid their annual subscription (“Member Household”), shall be deemed to be a member.
SUBSCRIPTION
The annual subscription shall be € 20 per household, or such sum as shall be fixed from time to time at a General Meeting and shall be due on the first day of January and sought to be collected from the first day of March.
HOUSEHOLD REGISTER OF MEMBERSHIP
A register of household members shall be maintained. Only adult residents in membership households have voting rights at the AGM/EGM.
COMMITTEE
The Committee shall be composed of a Chairperson, Hon-Secretary, Hon-Treasurer and minimum of 6 ordinary committee members (endeavoring to include representative from each road within the Functional Area) and shall be elected each year at the Annual General Meeting. In the event of a person leaving the area or resigning from the Committee, the remaining committee shall seek another member to fill the position. An overview of the Officer roles is presented below;
- Chairperson – the Chairperson is elected to provide leadership, plan, call and chair meetings, and ensure that the committee works effectively and constructively together. A Chairperson should ensure that the Association keeps to its aims.
- Hon Secretary – the Hon Secretary is responsible for administration and communication. They set the agenda with the Chairperson, take minutes of meetings, distribute previous minutes and agendas for meetings coming up, and occasionally write letters on behalf of the Association. Members of the Association can assist the Hon Secretary with their allotted tasks.
- Hon Treasurer – the Hon Treasurer oversees the management of any money collected. They pay bills and keep accurate records of money received and spent. The Hon Treasurer works with the committee to carry out financial planning for the year. They ensure that all expenditure is agreed at a minuted meeting. They should prepare a financial report and bank statement to the committee at every meeting. At the end of the year they prepare the final account. The register of household members shall be maintained by the Hon Treasurer.
Except in the absence of other members volunteering for the position, an Officer shall not hold the same office for longer than 3 consecutive years and shall not be an Officer of the Association for longer than 5 consecutive years.
A person who holds any elective position in local or central government shall not be eligible for election to the Committee, and any Committee member wishing to contest such elections must first resign from the Committee.[PM1]
The Committee shall be empowered to appoint sub-committees (to be comprised of at least one Committee member) where deemed necessary, and members of the Committee shall be entitled to attend meetings of such subcommittees. The Committee shall have the power to dissolve any such sub-committees upon performance of their specified purpose, or otherwise.
MANAGEMENT
The general management of the affairs of the Association shall be vested in the Committee, who shall perform all such reasonable acts, as may be deemed necessary or expedient to further the objects of the Association. Any material issues must be referred to an AGM or EGM as required. Any physical changes to the environment will be deemed to be material, except where the change represents an immediate safety concern.
BANKING AND EXPENSES PROCEDURE
The Association shall have a banking account into which all monies received shall be lodged. All cheques or paper transfers shall be signed by any two of the three account signatories who shall be made up of the Hon Treasurer and two nominated Committee members.
The account of the Association shall be closed for audit purposes on the last day of December in each year. The accounts shall be available to all members at the AGM.
Expenditure over the petty cash amount must be subject to Committee resolution.No monies are to be paid to Committee members other than out of pocket expenses (e.g. telephone, stationary etc.).
Petty cash up to a maximum of €50 may be kept by the Hon Treasurer for incidental expenses, such as stationary, stamps, out of pocket expenses etc. No money is to be issued without a receipt.
COMMITTEE MEETINGS
All meetings shall be convened by the Hon Secretary, who shall give due notice of dates and times of such meetings to each Committee member. This notice shall be delivered via email or by other electronic means and shall be delivered at least two weeks in advance of the meeting. The Committee shall meet at least once every 2 months and no less than 6 times per year. Committee meetings shall be held in a suitable and accessible location. A quorum for Committee meetings shall be 50% of Committee members, including at least one officer. The Hon-Secretary, or their nominee, shall keep minutes of meetings and records of attendance. Minutes of all meetings shall be distributed to all Committee members and made available to all other members upon request.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting of the Association shall be held during the Spring of each year. Notice, in writing, must be given to every household in the Functional Area at least 14 days prior to the meeting.
All residents within the Functional Area of the Association may submit motions for discussions at the AGM. Such motions must be received by the Hon-Secretary not later than 7 days prior to the meeting.
EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by the Committee or by requisition signed by not less than 20% member households of the Association, delivered to the Hon-Secretary, who in turn must call such a meeting within 2 weeks from the date or receipt of such requisition. Only the business stated in the requisition may be debated at the Extraordinary General Meeting, and details of the said business should be included in the notice of meeting sent to all members.
VOTING RIGHTS AND QUORUM
A quorum for an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting shall be 20% of membership households. If a quorum is not reached, the meeting shall be re-convened and all members informed of the new date and venue, providing at least 7 days’ notice. Those present at a re-convened meeting shall constitute a quorum.
At all General Meetings, each member household will have one vote only.
Voting at all General Meetings shall be by show of hands, except when a ballot is demanded, and a simple majority supports such demand.
DISSOLUTION
The Association may be dissolved only by the vote of not less than 66% present at an Extraordinary General Meeting called for that purpose. An audited financial report shall be presented at such meeting. The dissolution will not be affected until assets are disposed of and liabilities discharged.
INDEMNITY
All Committee Members and Officers of the Association shall be indemnified by the Association for any reasonable expenses incurred in executing their duties on behalf of, and on the direction of, the Committee of the Association.
The Committee shall take out an insurance policy covering its members to cover claims arising from the performance of their duties.
ACCEPTANCE OF RULES
Membership of the Association shall imply the acceptance of each and all of these rules, and any additions and/or alterations, which may be agreed to at General Meetings.
AMENDMENT OF RULES
These rules shall not be amended, added to, or otherwise altered in any way, save with the consent of a simple majority of the members present and qualified to vote at the Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting called for that purpose in accordance with these rules.
Data Protection & General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR}
This statement is in line with the principles of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which safeguards the privacy rights of individuals in relation to the processing of their personal data by organisations. Information collected by membership application forms is used to maintain the membership roll of the Association provided for under the Constitution of the Association. The information will not be shared outside the Committee of the Association. The information will be held by a designated member of the Committee. The information will be retained while the member is a member of the Association (and for a reasonable period thereafter if the member ceases to be a member for the sole purpose of inviting lapsed members to renew their membership unless the member requests prior erasure of the information). A member may request a copy of all information held about them by the Association and this should be provided within one month. A member may request that any inaccuracies be corrected and to have information erased. A member may complain if the member is unhappy with the Association’s implementation of data protection law.
The Association may come into possession of other personal data. Any other personal data held by the Association will be used only to pursue the objects of the Association provided for under the Constitution of the Association. The information will not be shared outside the Committee of the Association except for the purpose for which the information appears to have been provided. The information will be held by a designated member of the Committee. The information will be retained while the matter to which the data relates is current (and for a reasonable period thereafter to deal with legitimate queries arising unless the person to whom the data relates requests prior erasure of the information). The person to whom the data relates may request a copy of all information held about them by the Association and this should be provided within one month. The person to whom the data relates may request that any inaccuracies be corrected and to have information erased. The person to whom the data relates may complain if they are unhappy with the Association’s implementation of data protection law.