The Association has been working on updating the rules and the following is the latest version (13/06/2013)
Please peruse at your leisure!
OTAGO MARITIME VHF ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED
THE RULES OF THE OTAGO MARITIME VHF ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED
1. Name
2. Interpretation
3. Objectives
4. Membership
5. Subscriptions
6. Resignation
7. Expulsion
8. Officers
9. Committee (including Delegates)
10. Committee Meetings
11. Annual General Meetings
12. Special General Meetings
13. Quorum
14. Voting
15. Chairperson
16. Secretary
17. Treasurer
18. Repeater Trustee
19. Financial Reviewer
20. Honorary Solicitor
21. Bank Accounts
22. Investments
23. Borrowing Powers
24. Payments to Members
25. Common Seal
26. Notices
27. Bylaws
28. Alterations to Rules
29. Winding up
END
1. Name
The name of the society shall be:
OTAGO MARITIME VHF ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED
2. Interpretation
In these rules, unless the contrary appears, “Association” means the Otago Maritime VHF Association Incorporated; “committee” means the committee appointed under these rules; “year” means the financial year of the Association which shall extend from the 1st day of April in any year until the 31st day of March in the succeeding year; “resolution” means a decision approved by a majority of those present and voting at a general or committee meeting; and “writing” includes email. The committee’s interpretation of these rules shall be final.
Words imparting the masculine gender shall include the feminine gender and words imparting the singular shall include the plural and vice versa.
3. Objectives
The objectives of the Association are as follows:
(a) To establish, control, administer and maintain for the use of members a maritime VHF radiotelephone service in the eastern coastal waters of Otago.
(b) To facilitate and encourage, in the interests of safety, the use of VHF radiotelephones by the users of small ships, boats and other water craft;
(c) To meet community needs for search and rescue operations and training and other such events as the committee agrees to support.
(d) To establish rules, regulations and agreements for the use of the Association’s network by members and other interested parties.
(e) To acquire by purchase, lease, hire, exchange, gift or otherwise and to sell or otherwise dispose of, lease, let, lend, mortgage, charge or otherwise deal with any real or personal property and any rights or privileges which the Association shall think necessary for the purpose of attaining its objectives;
(f) To act in co-operation with any other organisations with mutual interests for the promotion of these objectives.
(g) To contract with, employ, or otherwise secure the services of, any person or persons for the purpose of carrying out any of these objectives;
(h) To raise money for the purpose of carrying out these objectives;
(i) To do such things as are incidental or conducive to the attaining of the above objectives.
4. Membership
The Association shall consist of such persons or organisations as are admitted to membership according to these rules. The entitlement of membership shall be to make use of the Association’s repeater network.
An application for membership shall include the details required by the committee, an undertaking to observe and abide by the rules and objectives of the Association, and payment of the appropriate subscription. The applicant shall then be deemed to be admitted to the Association unless or until such application is rejected by a majority of the committee at its next meeting.
There shall be five classes of membership:
(a) Recreational members, being the users of vessels and/or shore radiotelephone stations for recreational purposes.
(b) Commercial members, being the owners and users of vessels and/or shore radiotelephone stations for commercial purposes. This class of membership allows different operators on the member’s vessels and/or shore stations to use the network.
(c) Member Organisations, who may be clubs, societies, institutions, or any groups of people with an interest in the Association's services. A member organisation shall be entitled to operate a base station for its members and other persons participating in its activities, using the Association’s repeater network.
(d) Honorary members, who may be nominated and elected by the committee at its discretion. Such members shall have all the privileges of membership except the right to vote at meetings.
(e) Life members, who may be elected following nomination and the passing of a resolution at a general meeting. Such members shall have the full privileges of membership.
5. Subscriptions
All members other than honorary and life members shall pay annual subscriptions of such sums as shall be fixed by resolution at the annual general meeting in each year. Subscriptions for commercial members with more than one vessel may be set per vessel.
6. Resignation
Any member may resign from membership by giving to the secretary notice in writing to that effect and such notice shall take effect immediately, but any such resignation shall not release the member from payment of any subscription due.
7. Expulsion
The committee may expel from membership any member willfully disobeying any of these rules or guilty of any conduct rendering him unfit in its opinion to be a member, provided that before expelling any member the committee shall call upon such member for an explanation of his conduct and shall hear what he may wish to say in his defence.
8. Officers
The officers of the Association shall consist of a chairperson, vice-chairperson, secretary, treasurer, and repeater trustee, all of whom shall be elected at the annual general meeting. The officers elected shall hold office until the conclusion of business at the next annual general meeting, unless they resign earlier. Any casual vacancy may be filled by the committee appointing another member to the position vacated.
9. Committee (including Delegates)
The affairs and business of the Association shall be controlled by a committee comprising the officers and a maximum of six other members elected from the financial members of the Association, and up to four delegates from member organisations, who may appoint them at the invitation of the committee. Such delegates shall be members of the Association Their names and contact details shall be supplied in writing by the secretaries of those organisations to the secretary. Delegates shall have the right to attend, speak and vote at all meetings of the Association until the next annual general meeting.
Committee meetings may also be attended by other members of the Association, who may speak but not vote. Delegates and non-committee members may be asked to leave the meeting if the committee so decides.
The election of officers and committee members shall take place at the annual general meeting and only members shall be entitled to vote thereon. The members of the committee shall hold office until the next succeeding annual general meeting. Any casual vacancy on the committee may be filled by the committee appointing another member to the position vacated.
10. Committee Meetings
Meetings of the committee shall be held at such intervals as shall be considered by the chairperson to be necessary, or at the request of two other officers or committee members, and at least seven clear days’ notice of such meetings shall be given by the secretary either verbally or in writing. However, an emergency meeting may be held on short notice if the chairperson or acting chairperson so decides. Committee meetings may be held in person or by electronic means.
11. Annual General Meetings
The annual general meeting shall be held before the end of October in each year, for the purposes of the presentation of the annual reports and financial accounts for the past year, election of the officers, financial reviewer, honorary solicitor and committee for the ensuing year, and considering such general business as may be brought before the meeting. Not less than seven (7) clear days’ notice in writing of such meeting shall be given to all financial, honorary and life members.
12. Special General Meetings
A special general meeting of the Association may be convened as the committee sees fit, or on receipt of a written request signed by not less than ten (10) members, in which case the meeting shall be called within 21 days of the receipt of such request. The same notice of such a meeting shall be given to all members as for the annual general meeting.
13. Quorum
At any meeting of the committee four (4) members and at any general meeting eight (8) members shall form a quorum.
14. Voting
(a) Voting at all meetings other than for the election of officers shall be by voice unless a show of hands or secret ballot is demanded by a majority of those present.
(b) The chairperson at all meetings shall have a casting vote.
15. Chairperson
If present, the chairperson or the vice-chairperson shall preside at any committee or general meeting of the Association. In the event of neither of these officers being present at a meeting a chairperson shall be elected by those present at such meeting.
16. Secretary
The secretary shall ensure that an up-to-date record of all minutes of the Association and a register of the names and addresses of all members is kept, shall attend to the general correspondence of the Association, and shall forward to the Registrar of Incorporated Societies and the Charities Commission such notices and returns as they shall require. Records may be kept in electronic form.
17. Treasurer
The treasurer shall deposit all monies received into the Association’s current bank account, keep a list of financial members and such books of account as the Association may require, and shall prepare any financial statements as the law may require, to the end of each financial year. Such accounts and statements shall be reviewed and presented to the Association for approval at each annual general meeting.
18. Repeater Trustee
The repeater trustee shall act as the duly authorised agent of the Association for the purpose of applying for such licences and/or permits as may be necessary to enable the Association to fulfill its objectives.
19. Financial Reviewer
The Association shall at the annual general meeting elect a person to review the financial accounts of the Association. This person shall not be a member of the committee. Any vacancy occurring in this office during the year may be filled by the committee.
20. Honorary Solicitor
The Association may at the annual general meeting elect an honorary solicitor. Any vacancy occurring in this office during the year may be filled by the committee.
21. Bank Accounts
The committee shall have full control of the funds of the Association and may make such arrangements as it deems advisable for the opening of bank accounts in the name of the Association and shall from time to time authorise any three members of the committee to operate on such accounts. All cheques or other negotiable instruments required to be signed, made or endorsed for or on behalf of the Association shall be signed by at least two of such members provided that any cheques or other banking documents lodged to the credit of the Association’s bank accounts, may be endorsed by one such member.
22. Investments
Any funds belonging to the Association may be invested in such forms of investment as the committee sees fit.
23. Borrowing Powers
The committee shall have the power to borrow such amounts and on such terms as it thinks fit and to give security for the repayment of sums so borrowed and interest thereon.
24. Payments to Members
No member of the Association or any person associated with a member shall participate in or materially influence any decision made by the association in respect of the payment to or on behalf of that member or associated person of any income, benefit, or advantage whatsoever. Any such income paid shall be reasonable and relative to that which would be paid in an arm’s length transaction (being the open market value). The provisions and effect of this clause shall not be removed from this document, and shall be included and implied into any document replacing this document.
25. Common Seal
The common seal of the Association shall be kept by the secretary and shall be affixed to any legal document, instrument, deed, writing or other paper which has been adopted pursuant to a resolution of the committee, in the presence of the secretary and two other members of the committee.
26. Notices
Every notice required to be given under these rules shall be delivered personally, posted, or emailed. It shall be deemed to have been received by the person to whom it was addressed, on the day of receipt (if delivered personally), the day following posting (if posted) or on the day following emailing (if emailed).
27. Bylaws
The committee shall have power to make bylaws or regulations in furtherance of the objects of the Association not being inconsistent with these rules or any of the rules or regulations governing the operation of maritime radio services and such bylaws or regulations shall be binding upon all members.
28. Alterations to Rules
No new rule or alteration of a rule shall be made except by a resolution passed at a general meeting of the Association. Seven clear days’ written notice of any such meeting, containing copies of the proposed new rule or alteration of a rule, shall be given to all members.
29. Winding Up
A majority of the members present at a meeting convened for the purpose may resolve that the Association be wound up as from a date specified in such resolution, in accordance with the provisions of the Incorporated Societies Act 1908. If upon the winding up or dissolution of the Association there remains after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities any property whatsoever, the same shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the Association but shall be given or transferred to some other charitable organisation or body with objects similar to the objects of the Association, or to some other charitable organisation or purpose within New Zealand.
END
Registered this……….day of ……………..etc.
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DRAFT REVISION OF THE RULES: 13th June 2013
