PAULTON COMMUNITY PLAN STEERING GROUP CONSTITUTION
Name
The name of the steering group shall be the Paulton Community Plan Steering Group, hereinafter referred to as the Group.
Purpose
The purpose of the Group shall be to:
(a) investigate and identify the support within the community for an action plan
(b) be a representative cross-section of the community covered by the action plan
(c) determine the scope of the action plan, and the means and content of any consultation techniques used
(d) investigate and identify sources of funding for the action plan process
(e) be responsible for planning, budgeting and monitoring expenditure on the plan process
(f) ensure all community stakeholder categories are consulted, especially those “hard to reach” groups or those thought to be socially excluded
(g) liaise with all relevant authorities and organisations to make the plan as effective as possible
(h) be responsible for the analysis of consultation results and the production and distribution of the final report. (This may be done specifically by the Group members or by an agreed outside
authority or organisation)
(i) identify priorities, costs and timescales for local action in the report, highlighting responsible authorities and organisations, and potential sources of funding
(j) report back to the Parish Council on progress, issues arising
and outcomes from the exercise
Membership
(a) the Group shall consist of up to 15 members
(b) any local resident or stakeholder, especially those representing a local group, may stand for election to the Group
(c) nominations for representatives to the Group can be made by any local stakeholder of any age
(d) all members of the Group shall be elected at an Annual Meeting open to the public
(e) no more than 3 members of the Group shall be members of the Parish council
(f) the Group may co-opt additional members at its discretion, so long as the total number of co-opted members does not exceed the number of elected members
(g) a member shall cease to be a member of the Group, having notified the Chairman or Secretary of his or her wish to resign
Officers
(a) at the first meeting each year following the public Annual Meeting, the Group shall elect a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, a Secretary, a Treasurer and a Publicity Officer
(b) the Group shall appoint an Auditor. (The Auditor shall not be a member of the Group)
(c) all other Group members shall have a specific role, to be agreed by the Group
(d) the Chairman and Vice-Chairman shall remain in office until successors are elected
Meetings
(a) the first open public Annual Meeting shall be held to ascertain those members of the community who wish to stand for election to the Group and those who will be members of the Group
(b) following the open public Annual Meeting, the Group shall hold regular meetings to discuss matters relating to the action plan process. These meetings shall be held every month, or
otherwise as required
(c) at the meetings, the Chairman, or if the Chairman is not present, the Vice-Chairman, or if neither are present, such other Group member elected for the purpose, shall take the chair
(d) the Secretary shall keep a record of meetings in a minute book, and circulate copies of minutes to members of the Group not more than 14 days after each meeting
(e) all matters shall be determined by a majority vote. In the case of equality of votes, the Chairman of the meeting shall have the casting vote
(f) the group may decide the quorum necessary to transact business – with a minimum of 5 members
(g) at the end of each meeting, the date, time and location of the next meeting should be agreed. Members of the Group shall be reminded in writing of the date, time and location of the next meeting, at least 5 days in advance. Notices of forthcoming meetings shall detail matters to be discussed
(h) the Group shall hold regular open public meetings to feed back to the community the progress that is occurring in the process. These meetings shall be advertised well in advance and highlight the matters to be discussed. At these meetings, the Group should provide an up-date of activities, a financial statement, a report on forthcoming activities and a report from
the Auditor.
Working groups
(a) the Group may appoint such working groups as it considers necessary to carry out the specified functions of the Group. Each working group shall have a nominated chair, but this
person does not have to become a member of the Group
(b) working groups do not have the power to authorize expenditure on behalf of the Group
(c) working groups shall be bound by the terms of reference set out for them by the Group
Finance
(a) the financial year shall run from 1 April to 31 March
(b) the Treasurer shall keep a book of accounts, report to each meeting of the Group and prepare an annual statement of accounts for independent audit
(c) members of the Group, and of any working groups, may claim back any expenditure which was wholly and necessarily incurred during the process of producing the Community Plan. This could include, but not necessarily be limited to, postage and stationery, telephone calls, travel costs, childcare costs. Such claims shall be supported, wherever possible, by receipted invoices
(d) the Treasurer shall draw up and agree with the Group
procedures for expense claims, including rates
Conflicts of Interest
Any member of the Steering Group who becomes aware of any conflict of interest, perceived or real, between the Steering Group and his or her own affairs, shall declare such conflict to the Steering Group at the earliest opportunity.
Such members shall absent themselves from Steering Group discussions and votes on any such conflict issues.
Changes to the constitution
This constitution may be altered and additional clauses added with the consent of two thirds of the Group present
Dissolution of the Group
(a) upon dissolution of the Group, any remaining funds shall be disposed of by the Group, in accordance with the decisions reached at an Extraordinary Meeting open to the public in the
area of benefit, called for that purpose
(b) the return of any unused funding given as grants to the Group may need to be considered if this was part of the condition of the grant
Community plan constitution v2 21/06/07