By-Laws

BY LAWS

OF

THE ANTIGONISH TOWN AND COUNTY
CRIME PREVENTION ASSOCIATION

 

DEFINITIONS

Unless indicated otherwise the following definitions apply in these by-laws
  1. “Community Safety”- means the general feeling of safety enjoyed by the citizens of the communities throughout Nova Scotia as evidenced by the lack of crime and sense of safety and security of the people residing in the community.
  2. “Crime”- means any behavior which is an offense under federal or provincial law or which threatens the quality of life or is a danger to property, and any behavior which the Society defines as a threat to the safety and well being of Nova Scotian s.
  3. “Director”- means a member of the Board of Directors.
  4. “Member”- means a member of this society, who is either an individual member or a member of a local association affiliated with this Society.
  5. “Quorum means”-
  1.  At Board Meetings – no less than 30% plus 1 of voting delegates
  2.  At Annual Meetings – no less than 50% plus 1 of voting delegates
  3. At General Meetings – no less than 30% of voting delegates
  1.  “Registrar”- means the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies appointed under the Nova Scotia Companies Act.
  2.  “Society”- means the Antigonish Town & County Crime Prevention Association.
  3. “Special Resolution”- means a resolution passed at a general meeting provided
  4. members have been given advance notice of the intention to propose the
  5. resolution as a special resolution
  6. the resolution is passed by at least 75% of members present at the meeting
  7. and entitled to vote

MEMBERSHIP

  1. The subscribers to the Memorandum of Association and such other persons who maintain and promote the objectives of the Society as outlined in the Memorandum of Association, shall be admitted to membership in accordance to these by-laws, and none other, shall be members of the Society. Their names shall be entered in the Registrar of Members accordingly.
  2. To reflect a cross-section of the community, membership should be representative of: YOUTH, SENIORS, BUSINESS COMMUNITY, TOWN AND COUNTY COUNCILS, SERVICE CLUBS, POLICE, UNIVERSITY, MEDIA, HOSPITAL, DRUG AWARENESS, SCHOOLS, and any other group or individuals who reside primarily within the Town or County of Antigonish.
  3. An organization or individual may make application for membership into the Society. The application may be verbal or written and the application shall be voted upon by the Board of Directors. The entry in the Registrar of Members by the Secretary of the name and address of any organization or individual shall constitute an admission to membership in the Society.
  4. Membership is open to any organization or individual which exists or resides primarily within the Town or County of Antigonish.
  5. For purposes of registration, the number of members of the Society is unlimited.
  6. Membership shall cease in the Society upon: (a) the death of the member, (b) the member resigns their membership, (c) ceases to reside primarily within the Town or County of Antigonish or, (d) by means of a “Special Resolution”.

FISCAL YEAR

  1. The fiscal year of the Society shall be the period from July 1st in any given year to June 30th in the following year;.

EXECUTIVE

  1. The Executive shall consist of: Chairperson, Past Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and Police Liaison Officer.
  2. The term of office for members of the Executive, with the exception of the Police Liaison Officer, shall be for a term of two (2) years and shall not exceed two (2) consecutive terms.

Chairperson – presides over meetings of the Society

    • shall have signing authority for the Society
    • shall be an ex-officio member of all sub-committees

Past Chair – acts as advisor to the executive committee

    • acts as Chair of the Nominating Committee
    • carries out other duties as assigned by the Executive Committee

Vice-Chairperson – shall in the absence of the chairperson, perform the duties of the chairperson

    • shall have signing authority

Secretary – shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings

    • shall be responsible for handling and distributing all correspondence
    • shall act as custodian of all correspondence, minutes, and other papers pertaining to the day to day operation of the Society
    • shall have signing authority

Treasurer – shall be custodian of all financial records of the Society

    • shall be the primary signing authority on all accounts.
    • shall prepare a financial statement which will be presented at each meeting of the Society.
    • shall be responsible for payment of all outstanding Society accounts.
    • shall present a certified financial report to the annual general meeting of the Society.

Police Liaison Officer – shall liaise between the Society and the RCMP both locally and provincially.

    • shall provide information and statistics on local crime trends.
    • shall provide the Society with resource material and program information.
    • shall be responsible for publicity for the Society through the local and provincial media.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  1. The Board of Directors shall consist of a maximum of fifteen (15) persons.
  2. The Board of Directors consists of:
      1. The members of the Executive Committee
      2. One representative appointed by the Town of Antigonish
      3. One representative appointed by the County of Antigonish
      4. One representative appointed by the Naomi Society
      5. One representative appointed by Crime Stoppers Antigonish chapter
      6. One representative appointed by MADD Antigonish Chapter
      7. One representative appointed by an organization at present, a member of the Society or an organization added to the membership during the fiscal year. That representative must be approved by the existing Board of Directors
  1. The Board of Directors should meet at least monthly with the exception of the months of July and August. Only members of the Board of Directors may attend such meetings.
  2. Directors and officers shall serve without remuneration and shall not receive any profit from their positions. However, a director or officer may be paid reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of his/her duties
  3. The Board of Directors shall approve a deposit and investment policy for the Association
  4. The Board of Directors shall propose and present an annual report to the membership at the annual meeting of the Association.
  5. The Society may, by Special Resolution, remove any director before the expiration of the period of office and appoint another person to complete the term of the removed director.
  6. The Board of Directors shall be responsible for the general affairs of the Association, and shall perform such other duties which may, from time to time, be assigned to them by the membership of the Association.
  7. If a member of the Board of Directors fails to attend three consecutive meetings without cause satisfactory to the other members of the Board of Directors, his/her office shall be declared vacant by the Board of Directors; and, after notice to the director and the organization which the director represents to this effect, the Board of Directors may fill the vacancy until the next annual meeting.
  8. If a member of the Board of Directors resigns during a term of office, the vacancy may be filled by the Board until the next annual meeting.

MEETINGS

  1. The annual general meeting of the Society shall be held within three (3) months after the end of the fiscal year of the Society and can be included as part of a regular monthly meeting.
  2. Notice of the Annual General Meeting shall be advertised at least three weeks in advance.
  3. Meetings shall be held once a month excluding July and August.
  4. In the absence of, the chairperson and vice-chairperson, another member of the executive or Board of Directors may conduct the meeting and act as chair.
  5. All special resolutions will be available to the membership at the regular monthly meeting prior to the annual general meeting. Members wishing to introduce resolutions must submit them to the executive at least five (5) weeks prior to the annual general meeting.

VOTING

  1. A “Special Resolution” vote is required to amend any by- laws or objectives of the Society.
  2. Each member of this Society shall have one vote on issues brought to the floor of regular meetings or the Annual General Meeting.
  3. A tie vote is a negative vote.

COMMITTEES

  1. A committee format will be used to implement various efforts on behalf of the Society.
  2. The chairperson of each committee will be responsible to the Society as a whole in regard to all by- laws of the Society being adhered to by members of that committee.
  3. A committee shall report their activities to the Society at each monthly meeting.
  4. Nominating Committee

The Board of Directors shall appoint a nominating committee consisting of three persons, three months prior to the annual meeting. One member of the Board of Directors shall be a member of the nominating committee, along with two members from the general membership. The nominating committee shall present a sufficient number of candidates to fill all vacancies occurring on or before the time of the next annual meeting. Before convening a vote, the chairperson shall call for nominations from the floor. Positions shall then be filled either by acclamation, or in the case of more nominations than positions, by secret ballot from the members present.

  1. Before convening a vote, the chairperson shall call for nominations from the floor. Positions shall then be filled either by acclamation, or in the case of more nominations than positions, by secret ballot from the members present.

PROJECTS

  1. All projects and programs undertaken by the Society, must be approved by a vote of no less than one half (½) of the members of the Board of Directors.
  2. The Board shall determine the projects, programs and media coverage to be undertaken by the Society.
  3. Each Committee Chair shall, prior to each meeting of the Executive Committee,
  4. supply to the Chair through the Secretary the minutes of all committee meetings held since the date of the last Executive Committee meeting.
  5. All committee chairs are responsible to the Society as a whole for ensuring that
  6. their committee members abide by the by-laws of the Society.
  7. Committee chairs have the option of recruiting members for their committee.
  8. Committee Chairs may, with the approval of the Executive Committee, engage
  9. persons to provide advice or professional services to the committee where deemed
  10. necessary or desirable.

ANNUAL MEETING

  1. The membership, at the annual meeting, shall have the right to nominate additional candidates.
  2. The membership at the annual meeting shall elect the prescribed number of directors with the proviso that the municipal appointees and the Police Liaison Officer serve at the pleasure of the Councils and the Detachment Commander of the Antigonish Detachment of the RCMP.
  3. The annual meeting of the Society shall be held within three months of the end of the fiscal year of the Society.
  4. At the annual general meeting, each member shall have one vote on any election or other business coming before the meeting.
  5. A quorum at any annual or special meeting shall consist of fifteen (15) members.
  6. Special general meetings may be called at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

AMENDMENTS

  1. Amendments to the by- laws may be effected at the annual or a special meeting by a three quarter (3/4) vote in favor of the proposed amendment(s).
  2. Notice of any proposed amendment(s) shall be given, in writing, to the secretary at least five (5) weeks prior to the meeting in which the amendment(s) are to be considered.
  3. The membership shall be notified of the proposed amendment(s) at least ten (10) days prior to the meeting at which the amendment(s) are to be considered.

RULES OF ORDER

  1. The procedure at all meetings shall be governed by the rules referred to in Roberts Rules of Order.

MISCELLANEOUS

  1. The Society shall file with the Registrar, with its annual financial statement, a list of its directors, listing their addresses; occupations; dates of appointment or election; and, within fourteen (14) days of a change of directors, shall notify the Registrar of the changes.
  2. The Society shall file with the Registrar a copy, in duplicate, of every “Special Resolution” within fourteen (14) days after the resolution is passed.
  3. Signing authority for contracts, deeds, bills of exchange, checking accounts and other instruments and documents, may be executed on behalf of the Society by the treasurer and any other member from the chairperson, vice-chairperson or secretary.
  4. The seal of the Society shall be in the custody of the secretary and may be affixed to any document at the discretion of the Executive.
  5. The books and records of the Society may be inspected by any member at any time within two days prior to the annual general meeting at the registered office of the Society.
  6. The auditor of the Society shall be a person appointed by the members, normally, at the annual general meeting.
  7. The Society assumes no responsibility for the actions of its member societies or individual members, nor does it assume any liability for indebtedness incurred by any of its member societies or individual members, save and except on those occasions where the action or indebtedness was specifically authorized by the members or the Executive Committee.

June 18, 2009