Lee Manor Society Constitution
- The name of the Society shall be the Lee Manor Society.
- The objects of the Society shall be to maintain and enhance the character of the Lee Manor area in the London Borough of Lewisham and its surroundings and to encourage residents and others to take an interest in their neighbourhood.
- The Society shall have a committee consisting of a Chairman, Deputy Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer and up to four other members.
- The committee shall be elected at an annual general meeting to be held once in each year not more than four months after the end of the financial year and shall hold office until the next annual general meeting and shall be eligible for re-election.
- All persons resident or working in Lee Manor and its surrounding area shall be members of the Society and shall be entitled to attend the annual general meeting and to vote on any motions which may be presented to the meeting.
- Nominations for the committee shall be presented to the Secretary seven days before the date of the annual general meeting. Committee members shall reside in the Lee Manor and surrounding area. The committee shall have power to co-opt other members to serve on the committee as required up until the next annual general meeting.
- The committee shall have the power to maintain a bank, building society or post office account, as necessary, and to invest the Society’s funds in any other manner they may in their discretion think fit. Any such funds invested may only be withdrawn on the signature of two of the officers of the Society and may be used only for the purposes of, or incidental to, the objects of the Society.
- The Treasurer shall keep such records as may be necessary to enable the accounts of the Society to be drawn up annually. The financial year shall be from 1 August until 31 July of the following year. The accounts of the Society shall be audited and presented to the annual general meeting by the Treasurer, drawn up for the period commencing with the day following the date to which the previous years accounts were drawn up. The accounts shall be available for inspection at the meeting and copies will also be
available. - The committee shall appoint an independent auditor who is not a member of the committee.
- Public notice of the annual general meeting shall be given in the area at least 14 days before the date of the meeting.
- Upon notice being given to the Secretary, signed by a minimum of 10 members (which may include committee members), the committee shall convene an extraordinary general meeting, to take place within 28 days of such notice being received. Notice of any motion to be presented to the meeting shall be given to the Secretary at the same time as the request for the meeting and shall be publicised in the area at least 14 days before the date of the meeting.
- Amendments to this constitution may only be proposed at an annual general meeting or an extraordinary general meeting. Any proposals to alter the constitution must be presented to the Secretary at least seven days before the meeting at which they are to be proposed and must be approved by a majority of members present and voting at the meeting.
- All members of the Society shall be entitled to attend and speak at Society meetings. Such meetings shall be held at least eight times a year and notes from the meetings shall be published on the Society’s website
- The committee shall meet from time to time to discuss Society business. At least two meetings will be held per year, in addition to the annual general meeting. A quorum of at least three members of the committee must be present to take decisions. All members of the Society shall be entitled to attend and speak at committee meetings with the permission of the committee. The committee reserve the right to exclude persons other than the committee for any part of any meeting if the majority of the
committee present decide this to be necessary or desirable. The proceedings of committee meetings will be minuted and posted on the Society’s website - The Society shall be dissolved on a majority vote at any annual or extraordinary general meeting at which at least 20 members are present and thereupon any residual funds or assets belonging to the Society immediately before its dissolution shall be given to a deserving local organisation or organisations.
- It shall be the duty of every member who is in any way directly or indirectly interested financially or professionally in any item discussed at any meeting of the society (including any meeting of any committee or sub-committee) at which he or she may be present to declare such interest and he or she shall not discuss such item (except by invitation of the chairman) or vote thereon.
Formally adopted at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on 13 June 2018