Draft Constitution

 

Name

 

The name of the organisation shall be the Easton-in-Gordano, Pill and Ham Green Community Forum (“the Forum”).

 

Purpose

 

The purpose of the Forum shall be to

1.      implement the Action Plan (“the Action Plan”) contained in the Parish Plan for Easton-in-Gordano, Pill and Ham Green 2006-16 (“the Parish Plan”).

2.      liaise between existing community groups, working groups set up specifically

to progress the objectives of the Parish Plan and the Easton-in–Gordano Parish Council (“the Parish Council”).

3.      act as a reporting point for such existing community  and working groups and to co-ordinate their activities where appropriate.

4.      identify sources of funding for the  implementation of the Action Plan.

5.      liaise with relevant local government and other public authorities and voluntary social and leisure organisations with a view to facilitating the implementation of the Action Plan.

6.      publicise projects and activities aimed at the implementation of the Action Plan and report to the community on the progress of the Plan.

 

Membership

 

Membership of the Forum shall be open to residents of the civil parish of Easton-in-Gordano and representatives of organisations located or operating within the Parish who have indicated that they wish to be involved in the implementation of the Action Plan.

 

A register shall be kept listing the names of the members of the Forum at any time. and entry of a person’s name on the register shall be evidence of that person’s membership of the Forum. A person may cease to be a member of the Forum at any time by giving notice to the Chairman or Secretary and on receipt of such notice that person’s name shall be removed from the register.

 

Members of the Forum shall undertake such specific tasks as may be assigned to them from time to time by the Forum.

 

Officers

 

The officers of the Forum shall be a Chairman, a Secretary and a Treasurer who shall be elected annually at a meeting of the Forum to be held in April of each year.

 

Meetings

 

The Forum shall hold an annual meeting in April and shall otherwise meet as frequently as may be required to achieve its purposes. At least five clear days notice of any meeting shall be given to members either in writing or by email.

Each member of the Forum shall be entitled to be present at any meeting of the Forum and to vote on any matter raised at any such meeting on which a vote is called for.

 

The Secretary shall keep a record of meetings, circulate minutes to members within 14 days of each meeting and publish such minutes and other information as the Forum may require from time to time.

 

Working Groups

 

The Forum may appoint such working groups as it considers necessary from time to time to carry out  tasks which the Forum has identified as essential to or consistent with the implementation of the Action Plan. Any such working group shall be comprised of members of the Forum nominated by the Forum and such other persons as the members of that working group consider appropriate. A working group shall meet as frequently as its members agree to  be necessary and shall nominate a spokesperson to report on its activities periodically to the Forum.

 

Such working groups shall be bound by any terms of reference prescribed by the Forum and shall not have power to enter into commitments or incur expenditure on behalf of the Forum.

 

Finance

 

The Forum will not hold funds directly and any grants or other moneys received for the purposes of the Forum from the Parish Council or other funding sources shall be held on the Forum’s behalf by the Parish Council.

 

The Treasurer shall keep a record of all moneys received and expenditure approved and shall liaise with the Clerk to the Parish Council to authorise the release from the funds held on its behalf by the Parish Council of such amounts as may be necessary from time to time to meet commitments approved by the Forum.

 

The Treasurer shall produce a statement of accounts to the annual meeting of the Forum.

 

Constitution

 

This constitution has been approved by the members of the Forum and may only be amended or varied with the consent of two thirds of the members of the Forum present and voting at a meeting of the Forum convened for that purpose.

 

Dissolution

 

The Forum may be dissolved at any time by a meeting of members of the Forum convened for that purpose at which a proposal to dissolve the Forum is approved by at least two-thirds of the members present and voting. On any such dissolution any unused   funds then held by the Parish Council on behalf of the Forum shall be returned to the sources from which they originated or where no source can be identified shall be applied by the Parish Council for the benefit of the community as the Council may consider appropriate.