Revision as of 22:47, 6 October 2008

BYLAWS OF Makers Local 256

ARTICLE I — MEMBERSHIP

Section 1 — Eligibility for membership:

• Application for voting membership shall be open to any current resident within the 256 Area Code that supports the

purpose statement in the Constitution of Makers Local 256. Membership requires completion of a membership application and statement of pledge amount. All memberships shall be granted upon a majority vote of the board.

• Charter Members are defined as the group of ten individuals involved in the creation of the organization.

• Regular Members may have their membership revoked by a majority vote of the board.

Section 2 — Annual dues:

Section 2.1 - Regular Member Pledge Amount:

Regular Members are requested to pledge an unspecified monthly amount to help cover the day-to-day expenses of running the organization. The board may accept pledges that are not monetary, such as maintaining property, advertising the organization, etc.

Section 2.2 - Charter Member Pledge Amount:

Charter Member Pledge Amounts shall be set by the Charter Members at the beginning of each fiscal year, and may be changed by a 3/4 vote of the other Charter Members during the year at a Specially called meeting of the Charter Members. Continued Charter Membership is contingent upon being up-to-date on membership pledge.

Section 3 — Rights and Responsibilities of Members:

Anyone who desires to be a Member must sign the Liability Release Form.

Section 3.1 - Regular Members:

• Members may vote in organization elections.
• Members may serve on the board of the organization.
• Members may vouch for guests, taking responsibility for the property upon themselves.
• Members are expected to state an intended pledge amount to help offset the costs of the organization.
• Members may request keyed access to the organization's housing.
• Members are expected to follow all rules set by the board pertaining to the organization's housing.

Section 2.2 - Board Members:

• Board Members shall have unattended access to the property of the organization.
  • The President, Secretary, and Treasurer shall have metal key access to the housing of the organization.

Section 3.3 - Charter Members:

• Charter members shall have unattended access to the property of the organization.
  • Charter members shall have standard metal key access to the housing of the organization.
• Charter Members may vote to Reset the Board. All previous Board members may re-run for the open Board positions after

a Board Reset. Board members must be voted in by majority after a Board Reset, candidates may not be elected by default.

• Charter members may Reset the Board with a 3/4 vote in favor by the Carter Members.
• Charter members may serve as a Board member in addition to the already existing Board Members at any time.

Section 4 — Resignation and termination:

Any member may resign by filing a written resignation with the secretary. A non Charter Member can have their membership terminated by a majority vote of the membership.

ARTICLE II — MEETINGS OF MEMBERS

Section 1 — Regular meetings:

Regular meetings of the members shall be held at minimum once quarterly, at a time and place designated by the chair.

Section 2 — Annual meetings:

An annual meeting of the members shall take place in the month of October, the specific date, time and location of which will be designated by the chair. At the annual meeting the members shall elect Board Members, receive reports on the activities of the association, and determine the direction of the association for the coming year.

Section 3 — Special meetings:

Special meetings may be called by the chair or a simple majority of the board of directors. A petition signed by fifty one percent of voting members may also call a special meeting.

Section 4 — Voting:

All issues to be voted on shall be decided by a simple majority of all board members.

• Voting periods outside of meetings should be a minimum of 72 hours, and a maximum of 30 days.
• If a Call to Vote is made outside of a meeting, the proposer must notify the Secretary.
• If a Call to Vote is made outside of a meeting, the Secretary must notify those eligible to vote via email in time to cast their votes.
• Proposals must be Seconded by another board member before a Call to Vote takes place.

ARTICLE III — BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Section 1 — Board role, size, and compensation:

The board is responsible for overall policy and direction of the association, and delegates responsibility of day-to-day operations to volunteers and committees. The board shall have up to 10, but not fewer than 3 members.

• Charter Members may sit on the board as a Board Member in addition to regular Board Members.
• The board receives no compensation other than board approved expenses.

Section 2 — Terms:

All board members shall serve one year terms.

Section 3 — Meetings and notice:

The board shall meet at least quarterly, at an agreed upon time and place. An official board meeting requires that each board member have written notice (such as email) at least two weeks in advance.

Section 4 — Board elections:

New board directors and current board directors shall be elected or re-elected by the voting members at the annual meeting. Board Directors will be elected by a simple majority of members. Votes shall be accepted at the Annual Meeting, and via internet at least 72 hours after the Annual Meeting concludes.

Section 5 — Election procedures:

Any member can nominate a candidate to the slate of nominees.

Section 6 — Quorum:

A quorum must be attended by at 2/3 percent of board members for business transactions to take place and motions to pass.

Section 7 — Officers and Duties:

There shall be three officers of the board, consisting of a chair, secretary and Treasurer. Their duties are as follows:

• The chair shall convene regularly scheduled board meetings, shall

preside or arrange for other members of the Executive Committee to preside at each meeting. If the chair cannot make the meeting, the Chair shall arrange for either the secretary or treasurer to preside at the meeting.

• The secretary shall be responsible for keeping records of board

actions, including overseeing the taking of minutes at all board meetings, sending out meeting announcements, distributing copies of minutes and the agenda to each board member, and assuring that corporate records are maintained.

• The Treasurer shall make a report at each board meeting. The treasurer

shall chair the finance committee, assist in the preparation of the budget, help develop fundraising plans, and make financial information available to board members and the public.

Section 8 — Vacancies:

When a vacancy on the board exists mid-term, the secretary must receive nominations for new members from present board members one week in advance of a board meeting. These nominations shall be sent out to board members with the regular board meeting announcement, to be voted upon at the next board meeting. These vacancies will be filled only to the end of the particular board member's term.

Section 9 — Resignation, termination, and absences:

• Resignation from the board must be in writing and received by the Secretary. A board member shall be terminated from the board due to excess absences, more than two unexcused absences from board meetings in a year. A board member may be removed for other reasons by a three-fourths vote of the remaining directors.
• Resignation as a Charter Member must be in writing and received by the Secretary. A Charter Member may be removed for other reasons by a unanimous vote of the remaining Charter Members.

Section 11 — Special meetings:

Special meetings of the board shall be called upon the request of the chair, or one-third of the board. Notices of special meetings shall be sent out by the secretary to each board member at least two weeks in advance.

ARTICLE IV — COMMITTEES

Section 1 — Committee formation:

The board may create committees as needed, such as fundraising, housing, public relations, data collection, etc. The board chair appoints all committee chairs.

Section 2 - Finance Committee:

The treasurer is the chair of the Finance Committee, which may include three other board members. The Finance Committee is responsible for developing and reviewing fiscal procedures, fundraising plans, and the annual budget with Member volunteers and other Board Members. The board must approve the budget and all expenditures must be within budget. Any major change in the budget must be approved by the board. The fiscal year shall be the calendar year. Annual reports are required to be submitted to the board showing income, expenditures, and pending income. The financial records of the organization are public information and shall be made available to the membership, board members, and the public.

ARTICLE V — AMENDMENTS

Section 1 — Amendments:

These bylaws may be amended when necessary by two-thirds majority of the board of directors. Proposed amendments must be submitted to the Secretary to be sent out with regular board announcements.

ARTICLE VI - DISSOLUTION

Section 1 - Dissolution:

The organization may not dissolve less than 30 days from the time a proposal to dissolve passes. A reasonable effort must be made to contact the Charter Members immediately following a proposed and seconded dissolution movement. A reasonable effort must be made to contact the Charter Members immediately following a proposed and seconded movement to alter Article VIII of this document.

Section 2 - Asset Distribution:

In the event that a movement to dissolve the organization passes, assets may be liquidized to pay off any debt the organization may have accrued. Any remaining assets of the organization must be donated to a charitable, educational, or scientific endeavor.

CERTIFICATION

These bylaws were approved at a meeting of the board of directors by a two-thirds majority vote on .


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Secretary Date