Constitution 2014-2016

This constitution is not longer in operation. The latest constitution is available here.

Rivers Heritage Site and Orchard (RHSO)

The elected Management Committee of the Rivers Heritage Site and Orchard (RHSO) will represent the interests of all supporters of the Site and Orchard and all the Working Group members to co-ordinate their activities towards a common goal.

  1. Objective
    1. To protect, preserve and maintain the remainder of the Rivers site and to promote the site as a community asset; and to protect, preserve and maintain the history and archives of the Rivers Nursery and subsequent volumteer groups and to promote history of this site to the community.
  2. Membership of management committee
    1. Membership shall be open to any member of the community interested in furthering the objective, who are prepared to contribute their help and their time in kind.
    2. Individuals who believe they can offer a contribution under the objective can be co-opted on the agreement of the management Committee and can take part in the Working Group activities.
    3. Every member of the RHSO Management Committee shall have one vote; in the event of equal voting, The Chairman shall have the casting vote.
    4. The Chairman shall be elected annually from the members of RHSO Management Committee.
    5. The Quorum for a valid meeting of the RHSO Management Committee to take place shall be Four (4) including at least one out of the Chair, Deputy Chair and Treasurer.
  3. Partnership Positions
    1. At the Annual Meeting members shall elect a Chairman, Deputy Chairman, and appoint a Secretary and Treasurer. All shall hold office from the conclusion of that meeting until the conclusion of the next Annual Meeting and shall be eligible for re-election.
    2. The chairman will set the agenda for and preside over meetings and will have the casting vote in the event of a tie. Will be responsible for impartially moving the meetings through the agenda, ensuring that votes are carried out when required.
    3. The deputy chairman will stand in when the chairman is unable to attend a meeting.
    4. The secretary will be responsible for:
      • Producing and distributing the minutes of meetings.
      • Booking a meeting place and notifying members of forthcoming meetings.
      • Recording attendance and decisions in the Minute Book.
      • Recording responsibilities and any declarations of interest of the elected officers.
    5. The treasurer will be responsible for administering the funds of the group and maintain all financial requirements for the organisation.
    6. The RHSO management committee should include at least one member of Sawbridgeworth Town Council whose role is to report to the Town Council any condition or circumstances that may affect the existence of the Rivers Heritage Site and Orchard or that may prevent the continued public access or use.
    7. The Constitution of the RHSO Management Committee can be amended 6 months after first ratification and thereafter at the Annual Meeting provided that there is at least two weeks advanced notification in writing of proposed amendment.
  4. Meetings
    1. A Minute book shall be kept to record the decisions and attendance record of Members.
    2. A minimum of four meetings RHSO Management Committee should be held each year from 01 April to 31 March.
    3. Open forum meetings with invitations to the whole town and community can the called when the committee feels one is needed, or when several RHSO members call on the committee to arrange such a meeting.
    4. The Annual Meeting should take place in May each year and requires 21days notice. Elections of new committee officers shouls take place at this meeting.
    5. Accounts to be drawn up for the year for the year from the 01 April to 31 March.
  5. Disqualification of management committee members
    A member shall cease to hold office where he/she:
    1. resigns by giving notice in writing to the chairman of the RHSO Management Committee In the case of the Chairman, he/she can resign by giving notice to the rest of the committee.
    2. in the opinion of a majority of the Management Committee a member brings the reputation of the RHSO into disrepute.
    3. their membership of another organisation bestows a serious conflict of interests.
    4. In the case of the public sector the member ceases to be a Councillor or resigns from office by giving notice in writing to The Chairman of the Partnership.
  6. Insurance
    1. RHSO Management Committee shall make such arrangements, as it considers necessary to affect suitable insurances including third party and Public Liability for the activities in which it proposes to participate.
  7. Banking
    1. RHSO Management Committee shall make arrangements to keep safe and protect its funding by depositing all monies received into a Bank Account in the name of the RHSO Management Committee. Payments from this account made by the treasurer must be approved either by the chair / deputy chair in writing (including electronically) or by a meeting of the committee.
  8. Group termination and asset disposal
    1. RHSO can be terminated by majority vote of an open meeting or annual meeting of the entire group; or if it is unable to fill the four committee officer positions. In such an event, the assets (physical and financial) will be transferred either to a nominated sucessor group (if formed) or to Sawbridgeworth Town Council to hold until such a group is formed. If it seems unlikely that a sucessor group (with similar objectives) is likely to form, these assets may be dispersed to other local organisations.

Terms of Reference for the RHSO managemenr committee:

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