GAPTC Constitution
The County Association, a self-governing body, shall consist of lawfully constituted member councils and Parish Meetings of the National Association of Local Councils hereinafter referred to as the "National Association", in the County of Gloucestershire and shall be known as the Gloucestershire Association of Parish and Town Councils. It is referred to hereinafter as the "Association".
The aims and objects of the Association are to take all such steps as may be necessary or desirable in the interest of its Members consistent with the objects of the Association which are: -
a) To keep Members well informed and up-to-date on all issues that affect them as Councils and Parish Meetings.
b) To meet the needs of Members.
c) To work in partnership with other tiers of Local Government in Gloucestershire and other County Associations regionally and nationally.
d) To maintain and increase Membership.
(a) Membership of the Association shall be open to the Council of any parish, town or other similarly designated first tier council and to the Parish Meeting of any parish not having a Parish Council, (herein referred to as a Member Council), having paid its subscription for the current year, as set out in the following sub-section:
(b) Except with the express consent of the Association, human resources and legal services provided by the Association shall only be available to Member Councils whose subscription payments are up to date and have been members of the Association for a minimum period of six calendar months.
(c) Each Member Council shall pay to the Association on or before the first day of June in each year a subscription which shall be based upon the number of local government electors for the area of the Member Council, the amount of such subscriptions being determined from time to time by the Executive Committee of the Association, including a minimum fee applicable to each Member Council or Parish Meeting.
The Association shall pay to the National Association on or before the first day of August each year a sum being the National Association share of the subscription paid by the member councils to the Association, such amount to be determined from time to time by the Annual General Meeting of the National Association on a basis related to the number of local government electors in the area of the Association members.
(a) There shall be a President and such number of Vice-Presidents as may from time to time be determined by the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and such other honorary officers or advisers as may from time to time be considered appropriate, all of whom shall be elected at the AGM and shall each be eligible for re-election.
(b) Nominations for the offices of President and Vice President shall be sent to the Chief Officer, twenty-one clear days before the AGM, except in the case of nominations by the Executive Committee of the Association.
(c) Casual vacancies in any of the said offices may be filled by decision of the Executive Committee.
(a) The Chief Officer shall convene a General Meeting of the Association annually (the AGM) by the end of July on a date to be fixed by the Executive Committee.
(b) The Chief Officer shall give to the Honorary Officers, ex-officio officers, and each Member Council not less than twenty-one clear days' notice of the date, time and place of the AGM and shall send with such notice a copy of the Agenda, Annual Report and the Accounts for the preceding financial year.
(c) The Executive Committee shall make such arrangements as are necessary to ensure that motions for debate at an AGM are submitted in sufficient time to enable them to be considered by the Executive Committee, circulated to Member Councils for their consideration and for any subsequently submitted amendments also to be circulated with not less than 21 clear days remaining before the date of the meeting.
(d) The President of the Association shall, if present, preside at the AGM, but in the absence of the President the General Meeting shall appoint a Vice-president, or some other person from their own number to preside.
(e) Each Member Council shall be entitled to send up to two representatives to the AGM, of which at least one must be an elected councillor, and shall have one vote on any issue raised at the meeting, and the person presiding at the meeting shall, in addition, have a second or casting vote.
(f) However, unless presiding, the Honorary Officers shall not have a vote at General Meetings.
(g) The quorum at an AGM shall be representatives of 20 Member Councils. If no quorum is present within half an hour after the time appointed for the commencement of business, the meeting shall stand adjourned, to be reconvened within one calendar month, when the quorum shall be 15 Member Councils entitled to vote.
(a) Special General Meetings may be called at any time, either by the Executive Committee or after the receipt by the Chief Officer of such a request in writing signed by representatives of at least ten Member Councils.
(b) The Chief Officer shall give to the Honorary Officers, ex-officio officers and each Member Council not less than fourteen days notice of the date, time and place of the meeting, and stating the purpose of the meeting.
(c) The quorum, attendance and voting entitlements at such a Special General Meeting shall follow the arrangements for an AGM as set out in Section 6 above.
(a) There shall be an Executive Committee, which shall be the governing body of the Association and consisting of:-
i) The President and Vice President(s) by virtue of their office, may be invited to the Executive Committee meetings, in a non-voting capacity.
ii) Three persons elected every four years from the member councils from each of the four constituent District / Borough Council areas, (Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Stroud & Gloucester, Tewkesbury and Cheltenham) each such person being at the date of appointment a councillor of a Member Council, (12 persons). If there are insufficient nominations from any district following a further request, at the end of three months the nominations will be open to all districts.
iii) In addition, the Chief Executive Officer will make the appropriate arrangements in sufficient time, for the member council clerks to nominate and vote upon one representative clerk for the four-year period to sit on the Executive Committee. Should a vacancy occur during the four-year term, the Executive Committee will make arrangements for the vacancy to be filled for the remaining term of office.
iv) Save for the representative clerk, no Member Council shall have more than one member on the Executive Committee unless a shortfall of nominations for that District Council area ensues, in which case a second nomination can be considered.
v) In the event of local government elections taking place during the term of office of the Executive Committee, those councillors who do not choose to stand for election or who are defeated candidates shall cease to be members of the Executive Committee from the date of the elections.
vi) The Executive Committee may co-opt any Vice President (who shall be entitled non-voting) and not exceeding three additional members in a non-voting capacity.
vii) Casual vacancies on the Executive Committee may be filled by the Chief Executive Officer calling for nominations from member councils of that District / Borough. If after three months there have been no nominations received, the Executive Committee will fill the vacancy through co-option from member councils in the respective District / Borough.
viii) All members of the Executive Committee retire together every four years after the local government election cycle but shall be eligible for re-election.
ix) In the event of there being insufficient members of the Executive Committee (eligible to continue in office following the May local government elections) able to form a quorum, then the President, Vice President(s) and Chairman would form an emergency committee with the power to conduct the day to day business until such time as the new Committee is elected.
(x) The Chief Executive Officer and such others as may be employed by the Association shall attend all meetings of the Executive Committee (unless specifically excluded by a majority vote of the Executive Committee) but may not vote.
(b) A quorum will be formed when one third of the total membership of the Executive Committee, who are entitled to vote, are present.
(c ) Any member of the Executive Committee may be asked to retire if the member has missed 3 consecutive meetings of the Executive Committee without submitting an apology acceptable to the Executive Committee.
(d) The Executive Committee shall at its first meeting in each year after the AGM appoint a Chairman and a Vice Chairman, who shall hold office until their successors are appointed. The Chairman and Vice-Chairman shall each respectively be eligible for re-election, but each subject to a maximum continuous period of five years in office. Whenever present, the Chairman shall preside at Executive Committee meetings, and the Vice Chairman shall perform the duties in the absence of the Chairman. If at any meeting both the Chairman and the Vice Chairman are absent, the Committee shall elect a Chairman for that meeting from among their own number.
(e) The Executive Committee shall meet as required, at least 6 times in a year, and at other times at the Chairman’s discretion when there is significant business to transact, and shall determine the broad policies of the Association in accordance with the Aims and Objects as set out in Section 2 above.
(f) The Chief Executive Officer shall give to every person entitled to receive the same not less than seven clear days' notice in writing of the time and place of meetings of the Executive Committee, specifying in such notice the business to be transacted.
(g) The Executive Committee shall have power to co-opt persons with specific expertise to sub-committees and working parties without voting rights, which may include members of the General Meeting, other than members of the Executive Committee; and to make rules for the transaction of the business to be undertaken at such meetings.
(h) The President, the Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee, by virtue of their office, may attend any sub-committee or working party in a non-voting capacity. A sub-committee or working party shall appoint its own chairman. A sub-committee or working party may be given power by the Executive Committee to co-opt from persons other than members of the General Meeting.
(i) The Executive Committee shall present an Annual Report to the AGM outlining the work of the Association in the previous year and setting out a broad programme of activities for the ensuing year.
(j) The Executive Committee shall provide for the conduct, management, control and administration of the affairs of the Association, and may take such steps, incur such expenses, acquire and dispose of such property as may be necessary for the discharge of those functions.
(k ) The Executive Committee shall make arrangements for the appointment of the Chief Executive Officer of the Association and enter into such commitments or arrangements and employ such staff and agents as may be necessary for carrying the policies of the Association into effect. The appointment of the Chief Executive Officer of the Association shall be subject to final decision by the Executive Committee.
(l) The job description and contract for those employed by the Association shall be devised by the Executive Committee and be agreed with the post holders before their appointment.
(a) The Financial Year for the Association shall be 1st April to 31st March.
(b) The Executive Committee shall oversee and manage the Association's funds, and shall recommend appropriate rules for the signature of cheques and authorities for other financial transactions as detailed in The Financial Regulations of the Association.
(c) No money shall be borrowed or lent by or on behalf of the Association without the Executive Committee’s approval.
(d) The Annual Accounts are to be prepared by an independent qualified accountant, and submitted to the AGM.
The accidental omission or failure to give notice of any General Meeting or any meeting of the Executive Committee, or of any sub-committee to any Member Council or person entitled to receive the same or the non-receipt of any such notice as aforesaid shall not invalidate the proceedings at any such meeting.
(a) At all meetings every matter requiring decision may be determined by voice, but such matter shall be determined by a show of hands if demanded, except in any case in which not less than one-third of the persons present and entitled to vote demand a ballot, when the voting on that matter shall be by ballot.
(b) The person presiding at a General Meeting, a meeting of the Executive Committee, or a sub-committee shall, in addition to being entitled to vote in the first instance, have a second or a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
The necessary travelling, mileage, subsistence and other incidental expenses as detailed in the GAPTC Expense Policy, of any members of the Executive Committee or appointed representative thereof attending meetings which will benefit the Association, shall be eligible to claim reasonable expenses:
(a) of the Council of the National Association and of any Committees or sub committees thereof;
and
(b) of any General Meeting (other than the AGM) of the Association, of the Executive Committee, and of any sub-committees thereof; may be met wholly or partly from the funds of the Association.
Any Member Council wishing to resign from its membership of the Association may do so by sending its resignation in writing to the Chief Officer on or before 31st December in any year, and the notice shall become effective from the succeeding 31st. March. Each Member Council shall continue to be liable for the payment of its subscription up to and including the date on which a notice as aforesaid becomes effective. Any such council would be deemed, by its resignation, to have also terminated its membership of the National Association and be no longer eligible for the benefits of membership of that body.
(a) Any alteration to, or amendment of, or addition to this constitution may from time to time be made at any General Meeting if approved by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the persons present and voting. No alteration, amendment or addition shall be made which is inconsistent with the constitution of the National Association for the time being in force.
(b) Notice of any motion for such alteration, amendment, or addition, other than a notice given pursuant to a resolution of the Executive Committee, must be given in writing to the Chief Officer of the Association in keeping with the arrangements made by the Executive Committee for submission of other motions for debate at an Annual General Meeting. Any such motion given pursuant to a resolution of the Executive Committee, shall be sent by the Chief Officer to the Honorary Officers, every member council and to each ex officio member and advisers of the General Meeting, at least twenty-one clear days before the meeting at which it is to be considered.