|
Hamden Fire Retirees’ Association
BY-LAWS
Adopted January 11, 2011
ARTICLE I – ORGANIZATION
Section 1: This organization shall be known as the Hamden Fire Retirees’ Association, hereinafter referred to as the “Association.”
Section 2: The Association is an independent, non-political social organization established by retired career members of the Hamden Fire Department to meet periodically to promote their fraternal and social fellowship, to share information that may be beneficial or of interest to its members, and to preserve the historical record of the Hamden Fire Department for the benefit of all.
Section 3: The Association shall be open to all retired and former Hamden Fire Department career personnel, and other individuals whom the Association may choose to admit.
Section 4: The Association shall be the official retirement affiliate of the Hamden Professional Firefighters, Local 2687, IAFF.
Section 5: The Active members present at a Regular or Special meeting of the Association, by majority vote, may choose to affiliate with any appropriate fire service-related organization for the benefit of the Association and its members.
Section 6: At no time shall this Association affiliate with another organization that, in any way, would alter the independent or non-political status of this Association.
ARTICLE 2 – MEMBERSHIP
Section 1: The membership of the Association shall consist of Active and Honorary members. Only Active members shall vote and hold office.
Section 2: The Active membership of the Association shall consist of, and shall be open to, any individual who has served as a career uniformed member of the Hamden Fire Department.
Section 3: Anyone eligible for Active membership in accordance with Section 2 of this Article shall become an Active member immediately upon payment of the current dues as prescribed hereinafter.
Section 4: Honorary membership may be conferred upon any widow or widower of a deceased active or retired career member of the Hamden Fire Department, or any other individual who, by outstanding effort on his/her part, has demonstrated that he/she is sincerely sympathetic to the purposes and objectives of the Association, provided such Honorary Membership shall have been ratified by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of the members present at a Regular meeting of the Association.
ARTICLE 3 – MEETINGS
Section 1: Regular meetings of the Association shall be held quarterly, on the second (2nd) Tuesday in the months of January, April, July and October.
Section 2: The locations and start times of all Regular meetings shall be determined by the Active members present and voting at any Regular or Special meeting in accordance with Section 3 of this Article. If, for any reason, a meeting location and/or starting time is not determined by the membership, the Executive Board shall decide the meeting location and start time at least ten (10) days’ prior to the date of such meeting.
Section 3: To permit all members a reasonable opportunity to plan for and attend at least one (1) Regular meeting annually, in every calendar year at least one (1) Regular quarterly meeting shall be scheduled to start at or before 1:00 p.m. and at least one (1) Regular quarterly meeting shall be scheduled start at or after 7:00 p.m.
Section 4: Ten (10) active members of the Association shall constitute a quorum at all meetings.
Section 5: A Special meeting may be called by the President, or any time ten percent (10%) of the active membership, upon written notice to the President, request such a meeting.
Section 6: Notices for all Regular and Special meetings shall be sent to all members by the Secretary at least seven (7) days in advance. The notice for a Special meeting shall contain the purpose for such meeting and no other business shall be transacted.
Section 7: Members who have indicated that they are capable of receiving email shall receive all Association notifications by email. Members who do not receive email shall receive all Association notifications by U.S. mail.
Section 8: When a quorum is not present for a Regular meeting, the President shall be authorized to conduct such meeting as an executive session for the transaction of business on matters previously authorized by the Association in meetings at which a quorum was present.
Section 9: The order of business at all meetings shall be as follows:
· Call to order
· Reading of the minutes
· Correspondence
· Treasurer’s report
· Report of committees
· Nomination and election of officers
· Unfinished business
· New business
· Good of the Association
· Adjournment
Section 10: All procedures for conducting meetings not otherwise provided for herein shall be transacted according to “Roberts’ Manual of Parliamentary Procedures.”
ARTICLE 4 – MOTIONS
Section 1: A motion to record shall require a majority of the members present and voting.
ARTICLE 5 – VOTING
Section 1: A majority vote shall be construed as more than one-half (1/2) of the votes cast.
ARTICLE 6 – OFFICERS
Section 1: The elected officers of the Association shall consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and three (3) Trustees, all of whom shall comprise the Executive Board.
Section 2: The Executive Board shall be empowered to spend up to one hundred dollars ($100.00) between meetings and shall report on such expenditure at the next Regular meeting of the Association.
Section 3: The Executive board shall appoint an Association Historian who shall chair the History Committee and shall act as the Association’s archivist in accordance with Article 10 of these By-Laws.
Section 4: The Executive Board may determine the locations and start times for Regular meetings in accordance with Article 3, Section 2.
Section 5: Any officer may be removed from office for incompetence, embezzlement, larceny, breach of fudiciary responsibility, or felony conviction. No officer shall be removed from office without a hearing by the Executive Board and a two-third (2/3) majority vote to remove by the members present and voting at a Regular or Special meeting of the Association.
ARTICLE 7 - DUTIES OF OFFICERS
Section 1: Duties of the President
· The President shall be the chief executive officer of the Association and shall be charged with the general oversight, care management, and affairs of the Association.
· The President shall preside at all meetings and shall appoint all committees except where otherwise provided for herein.
· The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees.
· The President shall inspect and announce the results of all elections but shall not vote except to break a tie when the members vote.
· The President shall be empowered to table any business before a meeting until the next Regular meeting of the Association.
Section 2: Duties of the Vice President
· The Vice President shall assume the office of President whenever the President leaves office before his/her term is completed, in accordance with Article 9, Section 3 of these By-Laws.
· The Vice President shall keep a current copy of the By-Laws and shall be Chairman of the By-Laws Committee.
· The Vice President shall assist the President as may be required and shall perform the duties of the President in his/her absence.
Section 3: Duties of the Secretary
· The Secretary shall keep a fair, impartial and accurate record of all proceedings of the Association. In the event the Secretary is not present at a meeting, the President shall appoint a member in attendance to take the minutes in the Secretary’s absence.
· The Secretary shall send and receive all correspondence on behalf of the Association and report on same at all meetings.
· The Secretary shall send meeting notices to all members at least seven (7) days prior to all meetings in accordance with Article 3 of these By-Laws.
· The Secretary shall keep a current list of all Association members, which shall be posted on a password-protected page of the Association’s website.
· The Secretary shall keep a current copy of the By-Laws and shall be a member of the By-Laws Committee.
· The Secretary shall send out annual dues notices in accordance with Article 11.
· At each January meeting, the Secretary shall report on the proceedings of the past year.
Section 4: Duties of the Treasurer
· The Treasurer shall receive all monies for the Association and shall deposit all such monies in a bank or credit union as may be designated. He/she shall be empowered to endorse, for deposit only, all checks, drafts, money orders, etc.
· The Treasurer shall pay all bills of the Association by check, all such checks to be countersigned by the President or his/her legal substitute.
· The Treasurer shall keep an accurate account of all Association assets, income and expenses and shall report on same at each meeting of the Association, or when called upon by the President.
· The Treasurer shall be Treasurer of all committees and sub-committees.
Section 5: Duties of the Trustees
· The Trustees, three (3) in number, shall have general oversight of the funds and assets of the Association.
· Together with the President and Treasurer, the Trustees shall deposit or invest the funds of the Association in such a manner as the membership may determine.
· The Trustees shall make an annual audit of the cash books, ledgers, vouchers and accounts of the Treasurer, and present an annual report to the Association at the January meeting.
ARTICLE 8 – NOMINATIONS & ELECTIONS
Section 1: Nominations and elections for all positions being vacated shall take place at the October meeting of the Association.
Section 2: To be nominated, a member must be present and in good standing, or, if unable to be present, shall have submitted a written declaration of his/her intention to run for a specific office in advance of the October meeting.
Section 3: Except where otherwise provided for herein, nominations shall be accepted only from the floor. Once closed, nominations for a given office shall not be re-opened unless all nominees for that office have withdrawn their candidacy.
Section 4: Voting shall be by secret written ballot of the Active members present and in good standing. A candidate is elected when he/she receives more votes than any of his/her opponents. The Secretary shall cast one ceremonial ballot for all candidates who are unopposed.
ARTICLE 9 - TERMS OF OFFICE
Section 1: The terms of the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer each shall be one (1) year. Trustees shall each be elected to terms of three (3) years each, with no two (2) terms ending in the same year.
Section 2: All terms of office shall commence on January 1st following the election.
Section 3: When a vacancy exists in the office of the President, the Vice President shall automatically assume the office of President for the balance of such term. When a vacancy in any other office occurs between meetings, the President may appoint a temporary replacement until the next Regular or Special meeting, at which time the unexpired term shall be filled by special election in accordance with Article 8 of these By-Laws.
ARTICLE 10 – COMMITTEES
Section 1: In addition to such committees as the President may appoint, there shall be the following standing committees:
· Benefits Committee
· By-Laws Committee
· History Committee
· Membership Committee
· Sunshine Committee
Section 2: A joint Benefits Committee of the Association and Local 2687 including at least one (1) member of the Association and at least one (1) member of Local 2687, shall monitor the financial health and viability of the retirees’ pension and medical plan(s) and shall report on any changes, or proposed changed thereto at all Regular and Special meetings.
The members of the Benefits Committee shall be sufficiently acquainted with the various member benefits and shall be available to either answer members’ benefits questions, or to direct members to authorized individuals and/or agencies that can.
Section 3: The By-Laws Committee shall consist of the Vice President, who shall be chairman, the Secretary, and such other Active members whom the membership may choose. The By-Laws Committee shall oversee the application of the By-Laws and shall interpret same in case of dispute or misunderstandings. They shall receive all submitted proposed changes in the By-Laws. They shall carefully consider motions to amend, alter, repeal, or create provisions of the By-Laws and shall recommend a course of action at the next Regular or Special meeting called for such purpose.
Section 4: The History Committee shall be headed by the Association’s Historian, who shall be appointed by the Executive Board. The Historian shall be the Association’s archivist and shall be responsible for the acquisition, preservation, and maintenance of all photos, videos, news articles, memorabilia and such other archival material that is related to the history of the Hamden Fire Department. The Historian shall establish and maintain a secure repository for all such items and shall maintain an accurate record thereof.
The History Committee shall create and oversee an Association Internet website to promote the Association’s fraternal and social fellowship, to share information that may be beneficial or of interest to its members, and to preserve the historical record of the Hamden Fire Department for the benefit of all. All minutes, rosters and such other Association proceedings that are published on the Association website for the benefit of members only shall be posted on website pages that are password protected.
The History Committee shall periodically publish and distribute an Association newsletter to, and for the benefit of, those members who are unable to access the Association’s website.
Section 5: The Membership Committee shall reach out to all former career members of the Hamden Fire Department and invite them to join this Association.
The Membership Committee shall make every reasonable effort to locate those former Hamden career fire personnel whose current status and/or addresses are unknown.
The Membership Committee shall contact the spouses of deceased Hamden fire personnel to invite them to become Honorary members of the Association.
Section 6: The Sunshine Committee, upon learning of a member’s illness or hospitalization, shall send an appropriate card from the Association. Sending flowers or fruit baskets to ill members shall be at the discretion of the Sunshine Committee, but shall not encumber the treasury for any amount over $30 per member.
Any member, upon learning of the passing of an Association member, should contact an Executive Board member, who shall then notify the Secretary and the Sunshine Committee.
Once an obituary has been published in a newspaper, the Secretary shall notify all other members via email, postcard, and the website. The Secretary shall send a card or letter of condolence on behalf of the Association to the family of the deceased member.
The Sunshine Committee shall arrange for the purchase of a memorial plaque honoring the deceased member, to be presented to the member’s family at an appropriate time. This shall be in lieu of flowers.
Upon learning of the passing of a member’s spouse, parent or descendant, the Sunshine Committee shall send a card of condolence to the member on behalf of the Association.
ARTICLE 11 – DUES
Section 1: Dues for all Active members shall be $12 per calendar year, payable by January 1st.
Section 2: The Secretary shall send annual dues notices by U.S. mail to all Active members during the month of November.
Section 3: Active members whose dues are in arrears as of the April meeting shall not be considered to be in good standing. Honorary members shall not pay dues.
Section 4: The fiscal year shall be January 1 to December 31.
ARTICLE 12 - BY-LAWS
Section 1: These By-Laws may be amended, altered, repealed, or added to, only on a third-thirds (2/3) majority vote of the members present and voting at any Regular or Special meeting of the Association, provided at least thirty (30) days’ notice of the proposed change shall be contained in the notice for such meeting.
Section 2: No changes in the By-Laws as provided for in Section 1 of this Article shall be submitted for consideration unless approved by the By-Laws Committee.
|