Sheffield Retired Firefighters

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CONSTITUTION

THE SHEFFIELD BRANCH OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED FIREFIGHTERS

1.	Name
	The name of this Branch of the National Association of Retired Firefighters, hereinafter referred to as the Association, shall be:
	The ‘SHEFFIELD RETIRED FIREFIGHTERS” Hereinafter referred to as the ‘Branch’.

2.	Aims and Objectives
	The aims and objectives of the Branch shall be:

	To promote and safeguard the interest of its members and their dependants.
	To promote measures for member’s welfare, companionship and social contacts.
	To maintain links with retired members of the Fire Service.
	The Branch should not have any political affiliations.

3.	Membership

	3.1	Membership of this Branch of the Association shall be open to former personnel, whether wholetime or part time who have retired or were discharged (other than on grounds of having committed an offence or misdemeanour) from any Fire and Rescue Service maintained by a Fire and Rescue Authority within the United Kingdom.

	3.2	Every such person joining the Branch shall be styled a ‘Member’ with the right to vote at all Branch meetings.

	3.3	The Branch, at the members’ discretion, may admit other persons as Associate Members, who will be entitled to all the rights and benefits afforded to members, providing that they pay the prescribed annual subscription at Branch, District and National levels. Those Associate Members and Honorary members who do not pay the prescribed annual subscription will have no voting rights.

	3.4	The Branch may grant Honorary Life Membership to such persons, as they deem appropriate.

	3.5	The Branch may recommend to the Association that a member should be suspended, or have their membership terminated, if the Branch considers that the individual has:

		a)	Brought the Association into disrepute, or
		b)	Carried out any action designed to undermine, or considered to have undermined the Association, or
		c)	Been found to have mismanaged or misappropriated Branch funds, or
		d)	Carried out any other action or misdemeanour, which the Branch considers to have adversely affected the image and/or aims of the Association.
		e)	In extreme cases, which warrant an ‘instant’ judgement being made, the elected officials may make a decision to suspend a member, but, will be accountable to the Branch at the next Branch Meeting and will have to justify their actions at that meeting, and will notify the Association of their decision.
		f)	Any member so suspended shall be entitled to appeal to the Association, in accordance with Association Rule 3.8.

4.	Organisation

	4.1	At its Annual General Meeting the Branch shall elect:
		Chair
		Secretary
		Treasurer, and
		Two Auditors
		Who shall hold office until the next Annual General Meeting.

	4.2	If the members so wish, The Branch may be part of No. 3 District of the Association.

5.	Responsibilities

5.1

The Chair

		a)	The Chair will be responsible for the conduct of all meeting held by the Branch. The Chair will maintain impartiality and be entitled to a casting vote. When the Chair is not available, a substitute should provided by the branch members present at the meeting.

		b)	The Chair shall have the right to attend such other meetings, as he/she may consider necessary, to further the aims of the Association.

		c)	The Chair shall perform such further functions and duties as may be assigned by the Branch.

5.2

The Secretary

		a)	The Secretary will be responsible, under the direction of The Branch, for conducting general correspondence and keeping accurate records. The Secretary shall on all occasions, as far as it is practicable, act only within the agreed policies of The Branch.

		b)	The Secretary will ensure that all members of the Branch are kept informed of all relevant matters. He shall attend Ordinary Meetings and Annual General Meetings, at which the Secretary will ensure that an accurate record is made, to include the names of all those attending, apologies received for non-attendance, matters discussed and decisions reached. The Secretary will produce this record in the form of Minutes kept on file, copies of which will be made available to all members of the Branch. The Secretary will present these Minutes at the next applicable meeting for acceptance. If the Secretary is absent from a meeting, the Chair of that meeting will arrange for the Minutes to be recorded and passed on to the Secretary for filing and circulation. The Secretary will perform such other duties as specified in this Constitution or as directed by the Branch.

		c)	Any matters not defined in these policies or queries which may arise are to be referred to the next meeting of The Branch before any action is taken, or if urgent, must be referred to the Chair and Treasurer for their ruling.

5.3

The Treasurer

		a)	The Treasurer shall be responsible, under the general direction of The Branch, for the administration of the Branches financial affairs.

		b)	The Treasurer shall be responsible for the accounting, records and financial procedures of the Branch in relation to income received, expenditure, assets and liabilities.

		c)	The Treasurer shall be responsible for the Branches banking arrangements and shall operate such accounts in the name of the Branch.

		d)	The Treasurer shall submit a statement of the Association’s financial position to all meetings of The Branch.

		e)	The Treasurer, at the Annual General Meeting of the Branch, shall submit a statement of the Branches financial affairs. Two competent auditors, who were elected at the previous Annual General Meeting, should independently audit the statement.

		f)	In normal circumstances, the Treasurer shall be the only person empowered to incur expenditure on behalf of the Association.

6.	District Representation
	If required a member of the Branch Committee shall attend District meetings of the Association. When a Branch Committee member is unable to attend a District meeting the Branch, should appoint a substitute to attend, with the authority to vote, provided that the substitute is a member of the Branch.

7.	Appointments
	The appointment of all officers of the Branch shall be for an initial period of one year, and they shall be elected at an Annual General Meeting.

	After this period has elapsed, the Branch may ask that, in the interests of continuity and efficiency, the officers continue in post for a further period of three years, subject always to their agreement. Thereafter, the officers may subsequently offer themselves for re-election in future years.

8.	Quorum
	The quorum for a Branch Meeting and Annual General Meeting shall be six of the Branch Members entitled to vote at such meetings. The six members include the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

	Voting shall be by a show of hands, or by ballot, as decided by The Branch, all members, other than the Chair shall have one vote. The Chair will maintain a casting vote.

9.	Expenses
	Reasonable travelling expenses and out of pocket expenses may be allowed to members of The Branch attending meetings, or otherwise engaged on Association business with the authority of The Branch. Expenses are note payable for attendance at Branch meetings.

6	Assets
	The income and property of the Branch shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the ‘Aims and Objectives’ of the Association as set out in Clause 2 of this Constitution.

10.

Subscriptions

	a)	The Financial Year shall be from 1st January to the 31st December.

	b)	The annual subscriptions shall be payable to the Treasurer for every Member of the Branch.

	c)	The Treasurer shall forward the subscriptions to the appropriate Association Treasurer as early as possible following the 1st January each year.

	d)	Any member who is more than twelve months in arrears with their subscriptions, shall be removed from the Branch, South Yorkshire and National Databases, providing that the Member has been given due notice, in writing that they are in default.

11.	Annual General Meeting
	The Annual General Meeting of the Branch shall be held at such time and place as The Branch determines, usually in the month of April.

	a)	The voting at Annual General Meetings will be by a show of hands.

	b)	Any member may submit notices of Motion proposed for the Annual General Meeting. All Notices of Motion shall be forwarded to the Secretary before the 1st April each year.

	c)	Notices of Motion received by the specified date shall be placed on the Agenda.

	d)	Any closing dates must be rigorously adhered to.

	e)	Composition of Motions will be discussed by The Branch prior to it being submitted to the Association.

12.	Special General Meetings
	A Special General Meeting of the Branch may be requested by the Chair, or in response to a request in writing, to the Secretary. The Secretary shall convene such meetings.

13.

Alterations to the Constitution

	a)	This Constitution should only be subject to review at each Annual General meeting.

	b)	This Constitution shall not be rescinded, altered or added thereto except at the appropriate Annual General Meeting of the Branch, at which, such changes must be approved by not less than two thirds of the Members present. Such Notices of Motion shall be given in accordance with Clause 9 of this Constitution and notified to all Branch Officers by the Secretary.

14.

Dissolution of the Branch

	14.1	In the event of a Branch being unable to continue effectively, for whatever reason, the Branch, in accordance with the rules of the Association, may ask the National Treasurer, on behalf of The Branch, to hold all financial assets belonging to the Branch for a maximum period of ten years. At the end of which time the assets become the property of the Association, with the Branch having no further claim to the monies. However, if the Branch is able to reform in the ten year period, then the financial assets will be returned to the Branch along with 50% of the net interest (i.e., that is for each year that the account is held by the National Treasurer).

	14.2	The Branch shall not be dissolved except by a Special General Meeting, convened for the specific purpose.

	14.3	The Branch shall not be dissolved unless two thirds of the Members present vote in favour of dissolution.

	14.4	If the decision is taken to dissolve the Branch, then it shall be competent for the Members present, at this Special General Meeting, to arrange for procedures detailed in 11.1 of this Constitution to be carried out.

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