(PROPOSED) CLUB CONSTITUTION 2025/26

Name

The name of the Club shall be “Dalgety Bay Astronomy Club”.

Objectives

To promote and advance education and interest in the science of Astronomy and to provide facilities for the encouragement and pursuit of Observational Astronomy.

Membership

There are five classes of membership as follows:

Name Description

Student Members under 18 years old or students in full time education.

Full Standard membership.

Family One or two adults, and up to two children under 18 years of age, all resident at the same address.

Senior Retired members.

Honorary Members invited by the committee to enjoy free membership for services rendered.

The committee shall have the power to decline Membership applications from persons who

● have not previously been members, or

● whose memberships are currently lapsed due to overdue subscriptions, or

● who have been disqualified and not subsequently rehabilitated.

Subscriptions

A person shall become a member of the Club on payment of the appropriate Subscription and this Membership shall run for 12 months from the date of payment. After 12 months the Membership shall lapse, unless a further Subscription payment is made.

Payment of the appropriate Subscription shall permit members to attend Club Meetings free of charge, and access the Club’s restricted Facebook group.

Non members are permitted to attend Club Meetings upon payment of a £2 fee, but will not have access to the Club’s restricted Facebook Group, or be able to attend General Meetings.

Officers

The Club will be managed by its Committee. The committee shall consist of at least five Club Officers, as follows:

● Chair

● Treasurer

● Secretary

● Two Officers Without Portfolio.

All Club Officers must be Members of the Club. No one person may hold more than one post. Financial signatories of the Club must be aged 18 or over. Other Club Officers must be aged 16 or over.

The committee shall be elected annually at the AGM of the Club.

A vacant Committee post may be filled:

● by the Committee, for up to three months, or

● by an AGM or EGM

To ensure consideration, Nominations for Committee Membership shall be submitted in writing and be in the hands of the Secretary before the start of the GM. Nominations can also be submitted during a GM, but their acceptance shall be at the discretion of the members in attendance,

The Committee shall meet as required. Four Committee members must be present to form a quorum. The committee shall be empowered to create and dissolve sub-committees for any purpose and may co-opt onto such sub-committees additional members other than the Committee Members.

A simple majority shall decide those elected. If there is a tie for any post the issue shall be decided by further votes. Postal votes or proxy votes are not eligible. The committee elected shall take office from the date of the AGM to the date of the following AGM.

Disqualification Of a Club Member

A Club Member whose actions bring the Club into disrepute can be disqualified from membership of the Club. The decision will be made by the Committee. The Club Member in jeopardy may ask another Member of the Club to accompany them at the Committee meeting when the decision is to be made. Disqualified Members may be rehabilitated, if so resolved, at an AGM or EGM.

Disqualification of a Committee Member

Any Committee Member who

● fails to attend three consecutive Committee Meetings, or

● allows their Club Membership to lapse through non-payment of subscriptions may be required by the Committee to resign.

If a Committee Member is disqualified as a Club Member, they shall automatically lose their Committee post also. Rehabilitation as a Club Member will not automatically restore them to their former Committee post, but it shall restore their eligibility to be nominated for election to the Committee whenever such an election next takes place.

Committee Records

The minutes of all Committee meetings will be kept by the Secretary. Any sub-committee minutes will be handed to the Secretary after each meeting.

General Meetings

A General Meeting (GM) is either an Annual General Meeting (AGM) or an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Club.

General Meetings are the only meetings of the Club that can endorse changes to the Constitution. Proposed changes must be notified to all Club Members 14 days prior to the AGM or EGM.

Each Member of the Club, with the exception of Family Members under the age of 14, shall have one vote in the ballot for each motion at a GM, provided that they have been a Member for not less than three calendar months prior to the date of the GM. (For clarity, Student Members under 14 may vote, Family Members under 14 may not.)

Persons not meeting the above requirements shall not be entitled to vote at the AGM or EGM. (Exception: At the first (Inaugural) AGM, all persons present shall be entitled to vote.)

Annual General Meeting

The AGM of the Club will be held annually, in April or May, at a time and place agreed by the committee.

All members shall have at least 14 days Notice (as defined in Methods of Notification below) of the AGM.

Extraordinary General Meeting

The committee may call an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to discuss any matter and shall be bound to do so on receiving a request signed by not less than 25% of the Membership. Such a request must be sent to the Secretary stating the reason for the meeting. The meeting shall take place within 28 days of receipt of the request.

All members shall have Notice (as defined in Methods of Notification below) of the EGM:

● at least 7 days in advance (if no Constitution changes are proposed), or

● at least 14 days in advance (if it is proposed to change the Constitution or wind up the club)

All matters may be decided on a majority vote, with the exception of Constitution changes and winding up, which require a two-thirds majority of those present.

Methods of Notification

Notice of a General Meeting must include the date, time, place and Agenda of the meeting. Notice is deemed to have been given by

● the posting of Notice on the club website, and

● sending Notice either by email to the Member's last known e-mail address or by post to their last known postal address.

Finance

All monies shall be banked in the name of the Club.

Withdrawals shall be by one of the following methods

● Cheque bearing a signature of one of the three registered signatures.

● Bank transfer

● Card payment

● ATM withdrawal

All recommendations and requests for expenditure shall be approved by the Committee before being incurred.

To ease the running of the Club, withdrawals below £50 can be made by one of the registered signatories without the need to raise a Purchase Order. This is provided that a written record of agreement by the committee is maintained – normal committee communication mechanisms, such a messaging application is sufficient for this.

Withdrawals above £50 shall require raising a Purchase Order which must be signed by at least two of the three registered signatories.

At the AGM the Treasurer shall present a Balance Sheet of the income and expenditure account of the Club, this to be subsequently audited by one Honorary Auditor appointed by the committee.

The Auditor may or may not be a Club Member, but must not be a Committee Member or living at the same address as a Committee Member.

Bye Laws

The Committee shall be empowered to make such Bye Laws as they consider necessary for the management and running of the Club. Such Bye Laws must be submitted at a General Meeting for ratification.

Winding up of the Club

The club may be wound up by a two-thirds majority decision at a General Meeting. Should the Club be wound up for any reason the assets of the Club will be donated to the Federation of Astronomical Societies, or such other established astronomical organization as the GM shall resolve.