Constitution
Version Number: V0.01 Draft
Version Date: 26-May-2023
View PDF version here
1. | Name | |||
| 1.1 | This is the constitution of the assembly known as “Guisborough Residents Assembly” hereinafter referred to as ‘Guisra’ or ‘Assembly’ in this constitution. | |||
| 1.2 | Guisra is an unincorporated association at present but will look to become incorporated as it grows and becomes more complex. | |||
| 2. | Aims, Objectives and Values | |||
| 2.1 | Our aim is to be a people driven association. | |||
| 2.2 | Guisra will ensure our public servants act in the interest of the residents of Guisborough. | |||
| 2.3 | Elected representatives are in service, not “in power”. | |||
| 2.4 | As an Assembly we uphold equality for all. | |||
| 2.5 | The Assembly will act as a facilitator. The role of the Assembly is to empower the residents of Guisborough through their membership of Guisra. | |||
| 2.6 | The Assembly goal is to ensure our members are fully empowered to serve their communities. | |||
| 3. | Project Office (PO) | |||
| 3.1 | Responsible officers are those selected by the membership of Guisra: | |||
| i. | The General Manager (GM) will be a member of the Project Office. Their role will be to facilitate the outcome of project office decisions and provide input. The GM will not hold any voting rights on the PO | |||
| ii. | The Assembly will have 6 project office members (POMs) up and until the time the membership decide otherwise. | |||
| iii. | POMs will not be assigned specialist roles but will rather fulfil the role as described the project office job description. | |||
| iv. | POMs will agree amongst themselves which specific tasks should be assigned to whom. | |||
| v. | POMs will agree amongst themselves which member manages which project | |||
| vi. | Should a responsible officer stand down, be removed by election, or be removed by disciplinary procedure, an election will be held to replace them at the earliest opportunity. | |||
| vii. | The PO has a facilitating role with all decisions going to the membership for ratification. | |||
| 3.2 | The election of the Project Office Members (POMs) process is: | |||
| i. | General Manager (GM): The role of the GM is to facilitate PO meetings and as such the GM is a permanent member of the PO. See section 4 for selection of the GM | |||
| ii. | PO Chair: There will not be a permanent meeting chair but rather the members of the PO will choose a chair at the start of each meeting. The role involves managing the meeting and holds no special rights up and above ensuring the agenda is followed, voting is facilitated and minutes are kept. The chair would not normally be expected to record minutes but can do if needed and they are willing. The chair will be selected in the same way as all members of the Project Office as they are a normal member. | |||
| iii. | Project Office Members: Are selected using the following methodology: | |||
| 1. | A call to Guisra members to submit their name will be published 3 months prior to the election. | |||
| 2. | All members are eligible to enter their name to be considered for election unless they have previously been specifically excluded by a vote of the members. | |||
| 3. | Members cannot propose another member. Each potential candidate must submit their own name. | |||
| 4. | Members will have one month from opening of the process to submit their name for inclusion. The closure date can only be extended by a vote of the membership. | |||
| 5. | Following the closure of candidate submissions the election of POMs will take place. The voting process will be as such: | |||
| a. | An electronic list will be created of all candidates. This must be available to members no later than 1 week after the closure of candidate submissions. | |||
| b. | Members can vote for whether a candidate can go forward to the next stage. It would be expected that members will vote for all members (or no members) in most cases. The exception would be where the membership votes against a member standing. This would be seen as an exceptional circumstance. | |||
| c. | Once the voting is complete all candidates (bar any that have specifically been rejected) will be put forward for sortition. | |||
| d. | As part of the voting process members can state that the PO should be increased in number. If this is required the retiring PO will advise in advance of the election. Only two additional members can be added at any election. | |||
| e. | From the list of candidates names will be drawn by the method deemed acceptable to the membership. Once enough names have been drawn then those members are elected to the PO. | |||
| f. | The new PO will work with the retiring PO for a period of no less than two weeks to ensure a smooth transition. | |||
| iv. | Secretary: The role of the secretary is to facilitate PO meetings and as such the secretary is a permanent member of the PO. The person in the role can vary from time to time. POMs can take minutes on a volunteer / rota basis should the secretary is unavailable. See section 4 for more details on the role of the secretary. | |||
| 3.3 | The Project Office may invite members of administration to attend meetings to assist with carrying out their duties just as the administration can request POMs to visit their meetings. The two teams should aim to support each other. | |||
| 3.4 | Administration team members can stand to be elected to the Project Office. | |||
| 3.5 | Members of the Project Office will be suspended should they be under criminal investigation. If they are found guilty of a criminal offence the membership will vote on whether they can continue in the role. If they are found guilty of any sexual or violent offences they will automatically be removed from the Project Office without recall to the membership. | |||
| 3.6 | A member will be elected unopposed to the Project Office if the number of candidates equals or is less than the number of roles. | |||
| 3.7 | The S.C. will meet no fewer than 12 times a year, and whenever necessary to ensure the smooth running of the Project Office. The ways of working are: | |||
| i. | A schedule of meetings will be created by the General Manager (GM) and the GM will make all the arrangements to ensure the meeting can take place. | |||
| ii. | Should POMs wish to add a subject to the agenda they must do no later than 4 days prior to the meeting. | |||
| iii. | Should Members wish to add a subject to the agenda they must do no later than 4 days prior to the meeting. | |||
| iv. | The GM will establish a formal structure for reports and meeting documents. | |||
| v. | The meeting agenda will be published on the website no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting. | |||
| vi. | Minutes and Action Items resulting from the meeting will be made available to the membership within 7 days of the meeting taking place. | |||
| vii. | Only those attending a meeting can be allocated an Action Item. | |||
| 3.8 | Decisions made by the Project Office that impact the running of Guisra must be supported by a 2 thirds majority of the membership. | |||
| 3.9 | An PO meeting will not be classed as a formal meeting unless all of the officers have been invited and at least 5 are in attendance. | |||
| 3.10 | POMs should send apologies if not attending a meeting. | |||
| 3.11 | Meetings can be held in person or remotely. | |||
| 3.12 | Any expenses incurred while carrying out PO duties will be reimbursed subject to the Expenses Reimbursement Handbook. Project Office members are acting purely in a voluntary basis and no wages or imbursements shall be paid. | |||
| 4. | General Manager (GM) | |||
| 4.1 | The founder (Michael Dakin) will be the General Manager for the first year of Guisra’s formation. This will allow Guisra to become established (stabilised). The date of formation is the date of the inaugural meeting. | |||
| 4.2 | Following the completion of the first-year of Guisra formation elections will be held for the role of GM. The present GM can stand as a candidate but has no priority over other candidates. | |||
| 4.3 | The election process for GM will be one member, one vote unless the membership votes for a different method within the first year. Prospective GMs can provide supporting documents on why they should be selected and make a presentation to membership prior to the vote commencing. | |||
| 4.4 | Once the GM has been selected by vote the newly elected GM will be in office for 3 years. | |||
| 4.5 | The GM will have a small team to help them deliver their role. This team will be volunteers initially, but over time it is the intention that this would be paid work, funds allowing. | |||
| 4.6 | The GM will be paid £15 per hour, funds allowing, until the creation of a renumeration board who can raise or lower the amount as they see fit. Note: The founder will only receive a wage where funds allow and if the work level is impacting his normal earning potential due to long hours. | |||
| 4.7 | A full description of the GM role is detailed here. | |||
| 5. | Annual General Meeting (AGM) / Extraordinary General Meetings (EGM) | |||
| 5.1 | An AGM will take place both online and at a physical location. | |||
| 5.2 | The date and location of the AGM will be published no later than one month prior to the meeting and distributed to all members. | |||
| 5.3 | The General Manager, Project Office and Administration will present an annual report. | |||
| 5.4 | An EGM will be called by the Secretary at the request of the membership. The General Manager and Administration will evaluate the urgency of the EGM and plan accordingly. | |||
| 5.5 | The EGM will take place within twenty-one days of the request being approved by the General Manager. Should the General Manager reject a request for a EGM then the member can appeal to the membership to have the EGM held. | |||
| 5.6 | A member will not be granted more than two EGMs per year and Guisra will endeavour not to hold more than 6 EGM’s per year. Normal business should exclude the need. | |||
| 5.7 | All members will be given one weeks’ notice of an EGM. | |||
| 6. | Financial Structure: | |||
| 6.1 | A financial structure will be established once an administration team is in place. This will include the legal structure of Guisra financial affairs such as whether to be incorporated. | |||
| 7. | Membership | |||
| 7.1 | Membership of Guisra is open to all residents of Guisborough 14 and over. | |||
| 7.2 | To be classed as a resident of Guisborough you will live in the following: | |||
| • | The town of Guisborough | |||
| • | Pinchinthorpe | |||
| • | Newton under Roseberry | |||
| • | Nunthorpe | |||
| • | Dunsdale | |||
| • | Others to be decided by membership | |||
| 7.3 | Membership commences once a resident has registered. | |||
| 7.4 | All members have full voting rights | |||
| 7.5 | There is no fee to register at this time and it is preferred that Guisra is funded from small donations and grants. | |||
| 7.6 | A register of members will be held by administration and will be subject to GDPR rules. | |||
| 7.7 | Membership can be cancelled at any time. We will always be grateful if residents leaving the assembly provide a reason if they think it is appropriate. | |||
| 7.8 | Where members have broken the rules of the assembly it is possible for them to expelled from the party by a decision of administration. Also members will be automatically excluded should they have been convicted of a crime of a violent or sexual nature. | |||
| 8. | Grievance and Disciplinary Procedure | |||
| 8.1 | The best outcome to any grievance or disciplinary case is resolution by mutual agreement. | |||
| 8.2 | Members are expected to treat others as they would expect to be treated. Disciplinary action may be taken when grievances are upheld. | |||
| 8.3 | Disciplinary procedure applies whether reported or observed incidents take place ‘in real life’, online, on Guisra’s own social media or any other platforms. | |||
| 8.4 | Examples where disciplinary action may be taken include but not limited to: | |||
| (i) | Physical or verbal attacks on other members of Guisra or members of the public. | |||
| (ii) | Targeted harassment, bullying, and intimidating behaviour or use of abusive language. | |||
| (iii) | Abusive discrimination towards someone’s race, sex, gender, age, sexual orientation, identity, or disability. | |||
| 8.5 | Actions available to Guisra include suspension, partial suspension, exclusion from meetings and events, removal of voting rights, the right to represent Guisra in any form, and in extreme cases, expulsion. | |||
| 8.6 | As subject to the rules of natural justice, Guisra will not auto-expel members. | |||
| 8.7 | The investigation will be undertaken by the resolution committee made up of members of Guisra. See the Rule Book for further details. | |||
| 8.8 | If resolution efforts fail and a decision is made for disciplinary action by the committee, there will be a right of appeal and a members jury will be established to carry out the appeal process. The process is detailed in Rule Book. The outcome of such decisions will be made in writing (sent electronically). A postal version is available on request. | |||
| 9. | Changes to the Constitution | |||
| 9.1 | Amendments to the constitution may only be made following an Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary General Meeting vote except in the first year of the creation of Guisra where it will be stabilised based on membership input. | |||
| 9.2 | Any proposal to amend the Constitution must be provided to the Secretary in writing. This can be communicated using the comments section on the electronic version of the constitution as held at https://guisra.org.uk. The proposal must then be circulated with the notice of the meeting. | |||
| 9.3 | Any proposal to amend the Constitution will require a two thirds majority of those present and entitled to vote. | |||
| 10. | Dissolution | |||
| 10.1 | Should Guisra be dissolved, all remaining funds and other assets, post settlement of outstanding debts will be donated to another organisation with similar aims. |