Constitution of Exeter LETSConstitution of Exeter LETS
editing in progress
1. NAME: The name of the organisation is Exeter Local Exchange Trading
Scheme, or Exeter LETS, also referred to as "the LETS" or "the scheme" in this
Constitution.
2. AIMS & OBJECTIVES
2.1 To develop and encourage the experience of community and sustainability
through the establishment of a Local Exchange Trading Scheme.
2.2 To stimulate the creation of practical, economic, educational and social
benefits by and for its members and the people of the community of London.
2.3 To contribute to the development and knowledge of how to manage LETS successfully.
2.4 To support the principles and practices of mutuality, kindness, co-operation, and innovation.
3. MEMBERSHIP
3.1 Membership of the LETS shall be open without prejudice to any individual
or organisation sympathetic to the aims of the scheme, subject to any restrictions
or conditions (eg geographical) that may be applied by the Committee.
3.2 Membership shall be dependent on (a) the payment of membership fees, in
sterling and/or local currency renewable annually or otherwise at the discretion
of the Committee and (b) by the applicant's endorsement of the Members Agreement
and this Constitution.
3.3 The LETS follows an equal opportunities policy and does not discriminate
on the basis of age, ability, gender, orientation, culture, race or wealth.
It is non-sectarian and non-party political and will not affiliate to any party
political organisation.
4. LEGAL STATUS
4.1 The LETS is an unincorporated members' club of
people willing to trade amongst themselves.
4.2 The LETS runs under the auspices of LETSlink UK's national and regional
networks and aims to abide by its technical and ethical guidelines.
5. ORGANISATIONAL BASIS 5.0 The Management of the LETS
is initially carried out by a Steering Group or First Committee consisting
of the initiating group members. They agree whether to and when to set up an elected
Committee when members who are prepared to stand for election come forward, at which
point they will arrange and publicise to members a first Annual General Meeting
and decide the procedure for voting. Members of the Steering Group are not barred
from being elected to the Committee.
5.1 The rights and authority of The
LETS are vested in all members, who delegate that authority to a Committee,
to act on their behalf to ensure that the tasks of running the LETS are effectively
carried out and the organisation operates according to LETSlink guidelines.
5.2 The Committee, consisting of members other than those involved in
the day-to-day management of the scheme, should ideally include well-connected
persons of good standing in the community. Their responsibilities are identified
by the traditional roles of Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, plus other roles
as appropriate, which may include a Vice-Chair. Its functions are:
(a) To advise on the funding, management, organisation, expansion and direction
of the scheme.
(b) To act as a member liaison and support group, reviewing proposals, opinions,
advice and complaints received from all members.
(c) At least one Committee member will normally attend meetings of any sub-groups,
and report to other members of the Committee any matters of concern.
(d) The Committee will also advise on or take responsibility for outreach to
local and national organisations.
(e) To maintain the financial viability of the LETS in terms of both national
and local currency, including power to raise (sterling) money by appropriate
means for the purpose of promoting and operating the Scheme, and having an oversight
of budgets in local currency.
(f) To Establish and maintain a fair and workable set of Rules, also called
the Members Agreement.
(g) Members of the committee provide an annual report including notice of the
AGM. They may take on particular governance roles or outreach on behalf of the
organisation. They may also act as, or appoint a Management Group or "Core Group".
5.3 The Management Group reports on a regular basis to the Committee,
and undertakes the executive management of the schemein the interests of the membership
as a whole including including: (a) Maintaining an up-to-date list of all members.
(b) Recording accurately members' transactions and supplying accounts.
(c) Publishing directories. (d) Communicating with the membership and taking note
of their opinions. (e) Organsing social events for members, plus public meetings
and other outreach efforts, to ensure that good connections are maintained with
the local community.
5.4. Members of the Management Group may adopt individual
roles, such as coordinator, administrator, directory editor, membership secretary
and events organiser, according to their particular resources and talents.
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5.5. They may adopt appropriate tools, including online software, to maintain maximum
efficiency in carrying out the above tasks. 5.6. They may meet up from time to time,
for liaison or training purposes, otherwise maintaining contact by phone and email,
or by access to an online system. 5.7. They may request occasional support from
other members, and may co-opt others as the need arises.
6. DEVELOPMENT of THE ORGANISATION (a) One or more Administrators
may be appointed by the Committee in order to carry out the administrative and
technical work necessary, especially if the organisation increases in size.
These individuals will report to and advise the Management Group, or the Committee,
as appropriate. (b) Local Organisers may be appointed by the Committee
in order to delegate some of the work of membership across a wider geographical
area, and may be involved in managing area hubs, local branches, or neighbourhood
groups. These individuals will report to the Committee, with a multi-tasking job
description, and in turn they may be authorised to form a working group around
them to delegate tasks, as the volume of membership grows. (c) Project
Administrators may be appointed by the Committee in order to manage particular
areas of activity, and supervise the disbursement of local currency to reward
voluntary activity on the project. These individuals will report back at regular
intervals, and in turn they may be authorised to form a working group around them
to delegate tasks, as the project develops. (d) Mediators may also be
appointed is to assist in any cases of dispute between members, or between members
and to ensure the accountability of the Management Group to the membership. This may
develop into a Mediation Group, to include at least two (ideally three) people, who
will meet from time to time as necessary.
7. COMMITTEE MEETINGS
7.1 The Committee shall arrange and determine the timing and frequency of its meetings.
This will normally be at least every three months, and more frequently at the outset.
7.2 They will publicise their meetings in advance to all members.
7.3 The Committee shall keep a record of all its meetings, and once they have been
cleared by those present, will make them available to all members within a month
of the meeting. 7.4 Committee meetings are open for any member to attend and
make a contribution, but not to vote. 7.5 The quorum shall be a majority or
five members of the Committee, whichever is smaller. 7.6 Any Committee member
who is absent from three consecutive meetings without good reason or notice will
be deemed to have resigned their position, and if so deemed, shall be notified to
that effect. 7.7 The Committee may co-opt new members given the consent by
majority vote of the group. Members so appointed hold office only until the
following AGM, but are eligible for re-election at the meeting. Members may also be
appointed for a shorter trial period. 7.8 The Committee may appoint Advisors
who are not members. Advisors are not eligible to vote. 7.9 At least one member
of the Management Group and one Mediator shall also normally be present and empowered
to vote at Committee meetings.
8. DECISION MAKING PROCESSES
8.1 Membership entitles each holder to one vote at general meetings.
8.2 The members at the AGM shall appoint a Chair, Secretary, Treasurer plus a
Vice-Chair and such other officers as have been established by precedent to serve
for the period until the next AGM. 8.3 Nominations are invited before the start
of the AGM. Any member in good standing is eligible for election at the AGM.
8.4 Consensus shall be preferred means of decision-making, failing which votes are
taken. 8.5 Members of the committee will agree amongst themselves what decisions
may be made in the course of carrying out their normal duties, which shall be
subject to a group decision, and which should be referred to the membership as a
whole, if not already provided for in this constitution. 8.6 Members of the
committee will determine the roles or sub-groups needed to carry out their functions,
and will report these to the membership, together with minutes of the meeting,
within a month of the election having taken place.
9. GENERAL MEETINGS
9.1 The Committee shall organise an Annual General Meeting (AGM) once in every
calendar year. 9.2 The Committee shall arrange Extraordinary General Meetings
(EGMs) at either the request of their own meeting, or within three days, at the
request of at least four members of the scheme. 9.3 Fourteen days notice of
the AGM, or seven days notice of an EGM, shall be given to members, together with
the main agenda item/s and an invitation to submit further items for the agenda
if appropriate. 9.4 The quorum for general meetings will be at least two thirds
of the Committee and five other members. If the meeting is inquorate the Committee
will call for another meeting within one month. If the second meeting is inquorate
they will nevertheless proceed to conduct the business.
9.5 Membership entitles each individual holder to vote at any General Meeting.
In the case of organisational memberships, the vote is no extra voting right is given
to the organisation, and their vote is conveyed by a single representative.
10. FINANCE 10.1 Any monies received in the name of the LETS
shall be held in an account at such bank as the Committee shall decide from time
to time and in accordance with instructions from a general meeting. The Committee
shall decide from time to time which signatories can be accepted for financial
transactions with the bank.
10.2 Annual Subscriptions to LETSlink UK will be paid out of the the LETS account
at the rates currently set by the national organisation, to include membership,
plus domain name hosting and management, and website hosting, as appropriate,
and may include a tithing of membership fees.
10.2 The LETS is a not-for-profit organisation. No member shall derive any
sterling financial benefit from the scheme, other than the payment of reasonable
expenses. 10.3 Any member who carries out an activity on behalf of the scheme
will not be held personally liable for reasonable debts, and will be entitled
to be indemnified from the LETS funds provided that such payment is in
accordance with accepted practice or rules of thumb, and that no payment shall
be made, or obligation entered into, which cannot be met from the balance of
funds held by the scheme. Payments from the LETS funds for special activities
or projects will normally be agreed by the Committee in advance, and exceptionally
may be approved retrospectively.
10.4 Members may be paid reasonable wages in LETS units for administrative work
carried out in agreement with the relevant LETS budget, and will submit claims
for approval before payment is made. Individual members of the Committee may
have access to particular budget accounts in the system to make such payments.
10.5 No member may be paid in local currency to attend meetings, unless specifically
otherwise authorised by the whole Committee. 10.6 A copy of the most recent
statements of accounts (in both the sterling and LETS accounts) shall be made
available at Committee meetings, to any member on request, and an annual statement
of both accounts shall be presented at each AGM.
11. CHANGES TO THE
CONSTITUTION
11.1 Any changes to this constitution can only be made at an AGM after consultation
with LETSlink at national level, who may wish to recommed similar changes to
other groups. If the change has arisen from a problem arising, they may, as an
alternative to changing the constitution, be able to advise on another way of
solving it.
12. WINDING UP, TRANSFERS, OR MERGERS
12.1 In the case of serious problems arising, such as system failure, or failure
to administer any branch of the scheme, any member may seek help from the
Committee or Administrator, who will attempt to provide assistance to the
organisers in post. If the difficulties cannot be resolved within the current
committee structure, the Committee will circulate all members inviting
feedback, and nominations for management roles, and inviting them to attend
an EGM. 12.2 Following the EGM, voting papers will be sent to all
members to decide the future of the scheme, such as continuing with more
support, merging with another organisation with similar aims, or winding up
altogether. The scheme can only be wound up by a two thirds majority vote of
the membership by ballot, the results of which shall be available at a further
EGM, giving 14 days' notice. 12.3 If the LETS is to be wound up,
those members with accounts in debit to a significant extent (the amount to be
decided by consensus at the meeting) will be given a reasonable period of time
in which to repay the bulk of their debit to the membership. Members whose
balances are significantly in credit will be identified and efforts made to
assist them in balancing their accounts. 12.4 At the end of this period,
details of all individual account-holders and their remaining balances will be
transferred to other schemes of the members' choice, or held in a national
membership pool, pending a new organisation being established with the support
of the LETSlink UK network.
12.5 After settling all sterling debts
and obligations, any remaining property shall be transferred to the LETSlink UK
network, or in the absence of this organisation, to the regional or its
successor organisation, failing which another organisation with similar aims.
Draft as at 26/5/2021
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