Constitution

RHSO (Rivers Heritage Site and Orchard)

The name of the group shall be RHSO (Rivers Heritage Site and Orchard). RHSO will seek to represent the interests of all supporters of the Site and Orchard and all the Volunteers to co-ordinate their activities towards a common goal.

  1. Objective
    • 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 volunteer groups and to promote history of this site to the community.
  2. Membership of the group of volunteers
    1. Membership of the volunteers shall be open to any members 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 of the group and can take part in the RHSO Group activities without committing to being on a committee, these volunteers may be known as 'Regular Volunteers' or be on specific 'working groups'.
  3. RHSO Committee
    1. The RHSO Committee will consist of up to 9 members, the roles of these are as follows with the option of mulyiple roles being fulfilled by individuals
      • Chair
      • Treasurer
      • Secretary
      • Town Council Representative
      • Committee Member
      • Committee Member
      • Committee Member
      • Committee Member
      • Committee Member
    2. Members may stand for the above roles at a General Meeting, giving 7 days notice with a seconder and would be elected at the General Meeting. 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.
    3. The Constitution of the group can be amended at an open meeting provided that there is at least two weeks advanced notification of the proposed amendment.
  4. Meetings
    1. The minutes of meetings and the decisions shall be kept by the secretary recorded on the website.
    2. A minimum of four meetings of RHSO should be held each year from 1st January to 31st December.
    3. A quorum shall consist of a minimum of 4 committee members being present at any meeting.
    4. All questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a simple majority vote of those present, but in the case of an equality of votes the Chair shall have a casting vote.
    5. An RHSO meeting can be called when the chair feels one is needed, or when several RHSO members call on the secretary to arrange such a meeting.
    6. The Annual Meeting should take place in February each year and requires 14 days notice. Elections of new committee officers should take place at this meeting. This meeting should be open to the Volunteer Group and the Community.
    7. Accounts to be drawn up for the year from the 1st January to 31st December and approved at the AGM.
    8. To appoint an Independent Examiner.
  5. Disqualification of elected officers
    1. A member shall cease to hold office where he/she:resigns by giving notice in writing to the Chair of RHSO (in the case of the Chair, he/she can resign by giving notice to the rest of the group).
    2. In the opinion of a majority of the group a member brings the reputation of the RHSO into disrepute.
    3. Their membership of another organisation bestows a serious conflict of interests.
  6. Insurance
    • RHSO shall make such arrangements, as it considers necessary to effect suitable insurances including third party and Public Liability for the activities in which it proposes to participate.
  7. Banking
    • RHSO 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.
    • All monies raised by or on behalf of RHSO shall be applied to further its objectives and for no other purpose, save the repayment to volunteers of reasonable out of pocket expenses.
    • Payments from this account made by the treasurer must be approved either by the chair or secretary in writing (including electronically) or by a meeting of the group.
  8. Group termination and asset disposal
    • RHSO can be terminated by majority vote of an open meeting of the entire group; or if it is unable to fill the positions of Chair, Treasurer and Secretary. In such an event, the assets (physical and financial) will be transferred either to a nominated successor group (if formed) or to Sawbridgeworth Town Council to hold until such a group is formed. If it seems unlikely that a successor group (with similar objectives) will form, these assets may be dispersed to other local organisations.

Go back to the committee page.