Difference between revisions of "Constitution"

Revision as of 19:04, 30 May 2013

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Below is the Nottingham Hackspace Constitution. This page is protected as the constitution can only be changed at an AGM or EGM. Any discussion about this document can take place on the Talk page.

This is the text of the constitution, but is a mess, need to clean it up, but keep numbering. James (talk) 17:42, 19 November 2012 (EST)

Articles refers to Nottinghack’s Articles of Association, and is in addition to them.
The Board refers to the seven trustees of Nottinghack
Nottinghack refers to the organisation Nottingham Hackspace Ltd
The Space refers to the physical area, building or buildings leased or purchased by Nottinghack
Trustee refers to members elected to ensure the adequate running of Nottinghack
Member refers to any person currently a member of Nottinghack as defined in section 2 of the Articles. The board maintains a list of all members.
Resolution A resolution of the Board means at least 4 board members agree

Trustees

All trustees will be directors of Nottingham Hackspace Ltd

A trustee’s term of office shall normally be two years

There is no limit to a trustee’s number of terms

The Board shall consist of seven trustees

The Board can appoint an additional member to the board to act as Treasurer if they feel it is in the best interests of Nottinghack

All other roles shall be decided between the Board as and when it becomes necessary

Annual General Meetings

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) must take place each calendar year, towards the end of May.

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) can be called by a majority of the Board, or 5% of members.

An EGM shall only have one item on its agenda

All members must be given notice as per section 33 of Nottinghack's Articles

Elections

Trustee positions become vacant when trustees either reach the end of their term of office or decide to stand down part way through their term. These will be decided a month before AGM.

In the week leading up to the AGM, elections must be held for all trustee positions that have become vacant.

Any member can nominate themselves to stand for election by giving notice to the community during the nomination window.

The nomination window will normally begin when the AGM is announced and end 24 hours before elections begin. The window will be announced along with the AGM.

Elections shall be conducted using electronic means. These must be secure and fair

The board shall invite offers for a member to act as Returning Officer. This member must be agreed by six trustees and cannot stand for election

The Returning Officer shall provide a means for offline voting.

Elections will use Single Transferable Vote

Members may abstain from voting

In the event of a tie, a new election will take place immediately amongst the tied candidates. Voting must happen within a 7 day window.

If one of the tied candidates decides to withdraw, and the remaining candidate has passed the winning threshold a new election will not be required.

An AGM will be quorate if more than 20% of members attend.

Constitutional changes can only be carried by a 60% majority of AGM attendees

Any vote during an AGM may be conducted in secret at the request of any member

Board Meetings

The Board will hold regular meetings usually monthly, open to all current and potential members

Any member may submit items to the agenda

Meeting dates and times will be shown on the Nottinghack event calendar

Minutes are to be taken and are publicly available

Terminations

Membership may be terminated if:

the member dies or, if it is an organisation, ceases to exist;

the member resigns by written notice to the Board;

any sum due from the member to Nottinghack is not paid in full within six weeks of it falling due - a minimum of one reminder will be sent during that time;

the member is removed from membership by a resolution of the Board that it is in the best interests of Nottinghack that his or her or membership is terminated. A resolution to remove a member from membership may only be passed if

the member has been given at least twenty-one days’ notice in writing of the meeting of the trustees at which the resolution will be proposed and the reasons why it is to be proposed;

the member or, at the option of the member, the member’s representative (who need not be a member of Nottinghack) has been allowed to make representations to the meeting.

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 ===Elections===
-====During the normal business of an AGM, elections must be held for all trustees that have reached the end of their term of office====
+====Trustee positions become vacant when trustees either reach the end of their term of office or decide to stand down part way through their term. These will be decided a month before AGM.====
-====The board shall invite offers for a member to act as Returning Officer.  This member must be agreed by six trustees and cannot stand for election====
+====In the week leading up to the AGM, elections must be held for all trustee positions that have become vacant.====
-====Any member can nominate themself to stand for election by giving notice to the Returning Officer at least 72 hours before the AGM====
+====Any member can nominate themselves to stand for election by giving notice to the community during the nomination window.====
-====All members will receive a number of votes equal to the number of trustee positions open, or the number of members standing for election, whichever is the lesser====
+====The nomination window will normally begin when the AGM is announced and end 24 hours before elections begin. The window will be announced along with the AGM.====
-====Members may not vote for a candidate twice====
+====Elections shall be conducted using electronic means. These must be secure and fair====
-====Members may abstain from voting====
+====The board shall invite offers for a member to act as Returning Officer. This member must be agreed by six trustees and cannot stand for election====
+====The Returning Officer shall provide a means for offline voting.====
-====Votes will be cast in secret by a method determined by the Returning Officer.====
+====Elections will use Single Transferable Vote====
-====The Returning Officer must allow proxy voting for members who are not able to attend. Members accept that proxy votes cast by email will be known to the Returning Officer.====
+====Members may abstain from voting====
-====Proxy voting will be conducted during the 48 hours prior to the AGM.====
+====In the event of a tie, a new election will take place immediately amongst the tied candidates. Voting must happen within a 7 day window.====
-====In the event of a tie, a new election will take place amongst the tied candidates purely by proxy.  Voting must happen within a 7 day window.====
+====If one of the tied candidates decides to withdraw, and the remaining candidate has passed the winning threshold a new election will not be required.====
 ===An AGM will be quorate if more than 20% of members attend.===