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Constitution and Registered Charity
status The Society is governed by a Constitution which was initially
approved at the Inaugural Meeting on February 2001, and modified at the AGM
the following year. In July 2002, it
was submitted to the Charity Commission as part of the Society's application
for Registered Charity Status, and on 6th September of that year, this was
granted, the Society being entered on the Commission's Central Register with
the Register No of 1093736. As a result of registration, the Society benefits
from the Inland Revenues GIFT AID scheme, whereby it can recover the
equivalent of the tax paid on the subscriptions of many of its members The Constitution can only be further amended by a properly
convened General Meeting of members, and amendments will only become
effective once they have been accepted by the Charity Commission Constitution Adopted 18 February 2001 and last amended on 26 May 2002 [1] NAME The name of the Society shall be 'The Liverpool History
Society', hereinafter called 'The Society'. [2] OBJECTS AND POWERS The objects of the Society shall be to [2.1] promote and
encourage interest in, and the study of, the history of Liverpool and its
environs, chiefly by means of regular meetings and publications, but also by
visits and support of local organisations with compatible aims. To achieve that object it may [2.2] obtain, collect
and receive money, funds, books and artefacts by way of subscriptions,
contributions, donations, sales and any other lawful activities, for the
purposes of the Society. [2.3] disburse or
otherwise dispose of such money, funds, books and artefacts in pursuit of any
lawful activities which promote the purposes of the Society. [3] MEMBERSHIP [3.1] The Society
shall have five classes of membership, namely [3.1.1] Ordinary, which shall be open to any person over the
age of 18, [3.1.2] Joint, which shall be open to any two persons
eligible for Ordinary Membership living together at the same address, [3.1.3] Life, which shall be open to any person eligible for
Ordinary Membership, who shall pay, in one lump sum, the equivalent of
tentimes the rate of annual subscription pertaining at the time of
application for such Life Membership, [3.1.4] Student, which shall be open to any person over the
age of 12 and under the age of 18,
and to any person, regardless of age, undergoing a course of full-time education, [3.1.5] Corporate, which shall be open to any organisation,
society, museum, library school or college. [3.2] Subject to the
agreement of a General Meeting of members, Honorary Life Membership may be
granted to any person in recognition of
their exceptional contribution to the life and work of the Society. [3.3] All persons and
Corporate Bodies in membership are deemed to have agreed that, under the
provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998, the Committee may maintain lists
of members in electronic form, on the strict understanding that they will be
used only for the purposes of administering and fostering the work of the
Society and at no time sold or passed to any commercial organisation [4] SUBSCRIPTIONS [4.1] The subscription
year shall run from 1st April until 31st March of the following year, but for
anyone joining after 1st January in
any year, the first subscription will cover the period until 31st March of
the following year without extra cost. [4.2] Annual
subscriptions shall become due on the first day of April each year. Members
whose subscriptions are not paid by the start of the Annual General Meeting
shall forfeit their right to vote. Members whose subscriptions are twelve
months in arrears shall be deemed to have resigned their membership. [4.3] The rates of
subscriptions for the different classes of membership of the Society shall be
such sums as may be recommended
by the committee and approved by a simple majority vote at the Annual General
Meeting. Until otherwise decided, the annual subscriptions payable by the
various classes of membership shall be: Ordinary
10.00 Joint £ 15.00 Life
£ 100.00 Student £ 5.00
Corporate £ 25.00 [5] VOTING RIGHTS [5.1] All paid-up
members over the age of 18 years in classes [3.1.1 to .4] above have the
right to vote, in person but not otherwise, at Annual & Extraordinary
General Meetings of the Society. [5.2] Corporate
Members shall be entitled to two votes, which shall be exercised, in person
and not otherwise, only by representatives nominated by that Corporate Member
to act on its behalf, and notified, in
writing, to the Secretary of the Society, or by a similarly notified
substitute. [6] BUSINESS OF THE SOCIETY The business of the Society shall be conducted by an
Executive Committee, the membership of which shall comprise [6.1] the officers of
the Society, namely a Chairman (or Chairwoman), a Treasurer, an
Administrative Secretary, and a Membership Secretary, together with [6.2] not more than
eight of the total paid up membership of
the Society. 7]
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE – APPOINTMENT,
MEMBERSHIP & PROCEDURE [7.1] Every officer
of the Society and member of its committee shall be elected at an Annual
General Meeting, and shall serve for a period not exceeding three years. In
order to achieve continuity, the committee shall, if necessary, arrange for
one-third of its overall number to resign each year, but any officer or
member so resigning shall be eligible to stand for re-election at the next
AGM. [7.2] Candidates for
election as either Officers of the Society or representative members shall be
recommended by the existing Committee or nominated by other members in
writing. Such nomination shall be duly proposed and seconded, and bear the
candidates’ acceptance of nomination,
and sent to the Secretary of the Society not less than ten days before the
AGM. [7.3] The Committee
shall meet as often as necessary, and not less than quarterly. No meeting
shall be quorate unless five members, at least two of whom are officers of
the Society, be present throughout. [7.4] In the absence
of the Chairman or Chairwoman, those present shall appoint one of their
number to chair the meeting on that occasion. [7.5] All elected
members of the Committee, except those co-opted under para 8.4 below, shall
have one vote. In the event of a tied result, the Chairman shall have a
second, casting, vote. [8] EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE - POWERS AND DUTIES The Committee shall have authority and be responsible for [8.1] the general
management and direction of the funds and affairs of the Society and shall
devise and execute such a programme
of events as it shall deem appropriate to the achievement of the Society’s
objects. [8.2] It may pay the
whole or part of the reasonable and proper out-of-pocket expenses of any Member of the Society incurred in the
execution of any properly authorised
function or duty on behalf of the Society. [8.3] The Committee
shall have power to fill casual vacancies in its membership by co-option of
any members of the Society and such co-options shall be valid until the next
AGM [8.4] The Committee
shall also have power to co-opt not more than three additional persons, who
need not necessarily be members of the Society, to serve as observer or
advisory members of the Committee.
Such co-opted members shall not
count as part of the Committee’s
quorum. [8.5] The Committee
may, at its discretion, appoint from among its membership one or more
sub-committees, of such size and with such terms of reference as it sees fit,
to deal with specific tasks or projects appropriate to the work of the
Committee & the Society. [8.6] The Committee
shall have power to suspend or exclude any officer or member without apology. |
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Liverpool History
Society |
