BICC - Brockville Independent Computer Club

Constitution

BICC Constitution

ARTICLE #1 - NAME AND OBJECTIVES
ARTICLE #2 - MEMBERSHIP
ARTICLE #3 - OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
ARTICLE #4 - SPECIAL COMMITTEES
ARTICLE #5 - DUTIES OF OFFICERS
ARTICLE #6 - ELECTION PROCEDURES
ARTICLE #7 - FINANCE
ARTICLE #8 - CONDUCT
ARTICLE #9 - BY-LAWS
ARTICLE #10 - DISSOLUTION
APPENDIX 1 - ASSET POLICY
APPROVAL
CHANGES

ARTICLE #1 - NAME AND OBJECTIVES

1. The name of this organization is the Brockville Independent Computer Club, hereafter known as BICC.

2. BICC Objectives:

Provide an environment where members can expand their computer knowledge.
Promote the most effective methods of using internet.
Encourage members to help each other solve their computer problems.

3. The goal of the general meetings and use of BICC's internet Web Site is to carry out the BICC objectives within the limits of the BICC By-Laws.

ARTICLE #2 - MEMBERSHIP

1. Membership is open to anyone interested in the objectives of BICC. A person is considered a member upon paying the dues in full. Once the dues have expired, a person is no longer a member.

2. All members may vote on motions at any General or Annual Meeting.

3. BICC reserves the right to expel members convicted of abusing BICC funds or property, or of breaking BICC By-laws, as determined by the Executive Committee

ARTICLE #3 - OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

1. The Officers shall consist of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Publisher, Resource Manager, and Technical Resource.

2. The Executive Committee shall consist of the elected officers.

3. All officers shall be considered voting members.

4. A quorum for executive meetings shall be a majority of the officers.

5. No officers shall be compensated for any work performed for BICC.

6. The officers shall be elected at the Annual Meeting each January and take office at the following monthly meeting.

7. Outgoing Executives are expected to help incoming Executives with the transfer of responsibilities during the first month.

8. Candidates for President must have served on the Executive Committee for at least one year. Candidates for other offices must have been a BICC member for at least a year.

9. The Executive Committee shall have the power to manage all operations and functions of BICC as resolved at a General or Annual Meeting except to amend the constitution or By-Laws, and appoint auditors.

10. The Executive Committee shall have the power to discipline members, and is responsible for the safe keeping of BICC money and property.

11. The Executive Committee shall fill by appointment any vacancy occurring during the year on the Executive Committee, subject to a vote of approval at the next General Meeting.

12. Officers absent from three consecutive Executive Meetings, or five consecutive Executive and/or General Meetings, without just cause, may be replaced if a resolution to that effect is passed by the Executive Committee. The member will cease to hold office upon being notified.

13. That the immediate past President be an ex-officio member of the Executive Committee for the following year(s), and has an open invitation to attend all Executive meetings, provided that he or she is a current member in good standing.

ARTICLE #4 - SPECIAL COMMITTEES

1. The Executive Committee may appoint any BICC members to form a Special Committee to take up any matter concerning BICC.

2. Each Special Committee shall elect its Chairperson unless one has been named by the President or Executive Committee. If the Chairperson is not present at a meeting, the committee can elect a Chairperson for that Meeting.

3. The Chairperson of a Special Committee shall have the power to add other members to their committee as required.

4. A majority of any Special Committee forms a quorum.

5. Special Committees wishing to raise funds for the purpose of their Committees must place their plans before the Executive Committee for approval.

6. The meeting minutes and/or reports of Special Committee meetings should be in writing and include:

The Chairperson's name or the acting Chairperson's name.
Any issue that was taken to a vote and the vote tally.

ARTICLE #5 - DUTIES OF OFFICERS

1. The President shall chair the meetings, maintain order, and ensure the By-Laws are followed. When there is an equal division on any question, the President shall cast the tie-breaking vote. The President will call any required meetings that are not pre-scheduled.

2. The Vice-President will chair the meeting in the absence of the President. If both are absent, a chairperson will be chosen by the Executive Committee for that meeting.

3. The Secretary shall:

Record minutes of the Annual, General and Executive meetings and store them in the place agreed upon by the Executive Committee.
Maintain files of all correspondence.
Have available at all meetings, copies of any pertinent minutes and correspondence.
Give each new member a copy of the BICC Constitution and By-Laws.
Provide documents to members as may be required from time to time.
Maintain a list of all BICC property.

4. The Treasurer shall:

Keep records of all financial transactions including the credits and liabilities of BICC.
Deposit all funds into the BICC bank account.
Ensure that all cheques are signed by two of the three signing officers.
Have all records open to inspection at all times.
Prepare an up-to-date balance sheet as often as requested.
Collect the membership dues and issue completed Membership Cards.

5. The Caterer/Attendance Person shall:

Care for the attendance record to register attendance and e-mail address.

E-mail a copy of the attendance record to the Treasurer and Web Master following each meeting.

Make and care for the name tags. The tags are updated following each meeting on the advice of the Treasurer.

Purchase a variety of canned drinks. Take about 30 to each meeting to be put out on the table for the meeting break. Remove the empties following the meeting.

Try to act as greeter to each new member.

Note: The executive committee decides what refreshments are served at meetings. As a rule, it is an assortment of "cold" canned soft drinks.

6. The Webmaster/Programmer shall:

Coordinate all updates to the website (upload the pages).
Review existing web pages from time to time for possible update and improvements
Design the theme and colour scheme of the entire website.
Do the layout and graphics for the web pages.
Work with the Technical Resources executive to ensure the pages include the necessary script.

Note: The executive committee decides on the content of the website.

7. The Technical Resource Person shall:

Maintain club equipment as required.

Write the necessary scripts and programs for the website.

Provide technical expertise.

8. The Media Contact Person shall:

Ensure that appropriate free notices of general meetings are placed in every media outlet in the area every month (e.g. - print, radio, TV, and Community Access on cable)

Look for new ways to promote the club in the media.

Implement the media related ideas approved by the executive committee.

ARTICLE #6 - ELECTION PROCEDURES

1. Prior to the Annual meeting, the Executive Committee may decide to appoint a Committee to select from the membership a suitable candidate for each office and gain their written consent to run for office. Prior to open nominations from the floor, the chairperson of this committee shall nominate the candidates and explain the reasons for choosing each one.

2. Nominations from the floor will then be open. To stand for office candidates must qualify according to the constitution and By-Laws of BICC, and must be present or have given prior written consent to stand for the office to which the person is nominated. Anyone nominated for office has the right to decline immediately.

3. Prior to the election, all candidates shall be given a chance to address the membership and answer questions from the floor.

4. All elected positions shall be determined by majority vote and all votes shall be by closed ballot.

5. If there are more than two candidates for an office and none receives at least 51% of the total votes cast, the candidate with the least number of votes shall withdraw from the election and the voting shall continue until one candidate receives a majority of the votes.

ARTICLE #7 - FINANCE

1. The financial year is from the 1st of March, to the end of February of the succeeding year.

2. Membership renewals are due on March 1st of each year. New members joining after the beginning of the fiscal year will pay a pro-rated amount. Members must update arrears for the fiscal year to attend any meetings. Arrears of more than one year because of non attendance at meetings entitles the person to re apply as a new member.

3. Any changes to the annual dues structure or collection arrangements, require prior approval by the membership.

4. At their discretion, the Executive Committee will have the authority to allow guests and prospective members to attend one or more meetings without having to apply for membership.

5. The records of BICC shall be audited at the end of the financial year by an auditor appointed by the membership at the annual meeting. The auditor need not be a chartered accountant. Duties of the auditor are:

Scrutinize the BICC records for irregularities.

Prepare a report containing any irregularities found and any suggestions for the good of BICC.

The audited financial statement and report shall be presented at a general meeting by the Auditor or Treasurer within 90 days of the end of the financial year.

6. All payments shall be made by cheque and signed by two of three BICC officers authorized by the Executive Committee.

7. All expenditures outside of the normal operating expenses shall be approved by the membership. This includes the purchase of additional equipment and software. Approval requires a simple majority of the members present at a general meeting.

8. Property purchased or acquired by BICC shall be held in BICC's name.

ARTICLE #8 - CONDUCT

1. Members shall not use BICC's name, acronym or logo in any advertisements, without the express permission of the BICC membership.

2. Any member may make financial, written contributions to BICC, but once done, such contributions become the property of BICC.

3. Software contributions may have ownership legally transferred to BICC.

4. Loud, abusive or foul language is not permitted during BICC meetings.

5. Members must obey the rules of the venue where BICC meetings are held.

7. Members shall not hold private discussions during meetings, or raise subjects unrelated to BICC meetings, such as politics and religion.

8. All complaints pertaining to specific individuals must be made in private or presented to the Executive Committee in writing. This will ensure that General Meeting time is not used to discuss private concerns that can best be resolved in an Executive Committee meeting. A written reply to the complaint will be presented to the member. Notice will be given if discussion is required at a General Meeting.

ARTICLE #9 - BY-LAWS

1. All changes to the By-laws shall be approved by the membership in the following manner before they take effect.

Any proposed addition, deletion, or change shall made in writing and signed by the member submitting the proposal.

Notice of the proposal will be given at least one General Meeting before it is discussed and put to a membership vote.

The proposal shall also be sent by email from the Secretary to all members.

To enact the amendment two-thirds of the votes must be in favour of the proposal.

ARTICLE #10 - Dissolution

1. BICC can only be dissolved with the written consent of nine-tenths of the existing members.

2. Upon dissolution, all BICC property shall be donated to a public institution or non-profit organization involved with promoting knowledge of personal computers and their uses. The recipients shall have no direct or indirect connection with any of the members who gave their written consent to dissolve BICC.

APPROVAL

This constitution was unanimously approved by the membership at the general meeting on June 8, 1994.

Present were:

Bill Thuot - President

John Desmarais - Vice President

Don Wall - Secretary

Gerald Fetter - Treasurer

Darek Iwanski - Librarian

Bill Cooper - System Operator

Members - 17 including executives

CHANGES

General Meeting of March 8, 1995: ARTICLE #7 Item 1.
Prior to this, everyone's dues become payable as of March 1st each year.

General Meeting of June 14, 1995: ARTICLE #1 Item 1.
Prior to this, BICC's name was "Brockville Independent Compatible Club".

General Meeting of March 13, 1996: ARTICLE #2 Item 1.
Prior to this, membership was available for BBS only at a reduced rate.

Annual Meeting of February 10, 1998: deleted all functions related to the BBS and Sysop.
Prior to this, BICC operated a Bulletin Board System (BBS).

General Meeting of October 9, 2001: ARTICLE #7 Item 2.
Between March 8, 1975 and this meeting, membership renewals were due one year from the date a person joins .

General Meeting of November 13, 2001: ARTICLE #7 Added Item 4.

General Meeting of December 11, 2001: ARTICLE #7 Added Item 3.
Original items 3 & 4 and subsequent items were renumbered accordingly

Annual Meeting of January 14, 2003: ARTICLE #5 Added Items 5 thru 9.
Deleted original items 5 & 6 (Publisher & Librarian)

General Meeting of April 12, 2006: Added APPENDIX 01 - Laptop Policy

General Meeting: ARTICLE #5
Deleted Web Artist, combined duties with Webmaster and Technical Resources
Modified Catering/Attendance duties
Added Projector to Appendix 1

General Meeting of February 10 2010: ARTICLE #3 Added Item 13.
To allow some continuity in the Executive.

General Meeting of February 10 2010: ARTICLE 9.1c Revised wording.
Members notified of Motions by email rather than website posting.

APPENDIX 1 - Brockville Independent Computer Club Asset Policy

BICC Notebook Computer: Asset Tag: HW1001
Description: Dell C640 Pentium 4, 2.0GHz Notebook Computer

Epson Projector: Asset Tag: HW1002

Section 1
LIABILITY

1.1 The user agrees to assume any liability for the repair or replacement of the hardware borrowed in case of loss due to theft, damage, negligence or misuse. Damage to equipment and peripherals will be based on the cost of repair or
replacement.

1.2 BICC is not responsible for loss of data, or personal injury resulting from use of the borrowed equipment.

1.3 The Certificate of Authenticity will remain affixed to the laptop and its loss or misuse will be the responsibility of the user.

Section 2
MAINTENANCE

2.1 The Resource Manager or a BICC designated person will perform all hardware or software maintenance. Addition to, or substitution of, existing hardware is not permitted without prior Executive approval.

Section 3
USE

3.1 The laptop will only be signed-out to prepare for a presentation at a BICC meeting or a BICC SIG meeting.

3.2 The Resource Manager is in charge of lending the laptop. The Sign-in/out form will be used, and records kept in good order.

3.3 Any BICC Member signing-out the laptop according to this policy is encouraged to obtain the laptop on or after the 3rd Friday of the month from the Resource Manager.

3.4 The BICC Member signing-out the computer is responsible for:

legal liability of software installed during loan period.

all accumulated internet software, downloads, and data collected while the computer is signed out. This applies to applications, and data such as JPG pictures, MP3 music, video, etc.

following the rules of general care, responsibility and use as stated under Section 6.

3.5 The user will remove any software used for a presentation and return the computer to the Resource Manager by the 3rd Tuesday of the month. A complete system purge will then take place, and any software or data not saved by the user will be lost and deemed unrecoverable.

3.6 Direct all questions of a technical nature to the Resource Manager.

Section 4
INSTALLED SOFTWARE

4.1 Freeware, Free Open Source software - installed/used according to the license agreement of the respective software.

4.2 Commercial, Shareware, Trial software - Only licenced, or trial software is to be installed/used according to the respective software’s EULA.

Section 5
DISPOSAL OF ASSET

5.1 The Laptop is an asset; therefore, in case of the dissolution of the club, the Laptop will be disposed of according to the club dissolution clause in the BICC Constitution.

Section 6
CARE AND USE

6.1 While laptop computers are made to withstand the rigours of portable use, they are delicate electronic equipment and require certain care to insure proper operation. BICC provides the following guidelines to help get the maximum from
the laptop computer.

Place the computer in its collapsed or folded position any time that it is moved.

Do not connect or disconnect a device not meant to be hot-swapped unless the computer and the device are turned off. If in doubt contact the Resource Manager.

Since the laptop computer contains a magnetic hard disk, do not expose it to any magnetic fields that could damage the contents of the hard disk.

Do not eat food while using the computer. Open drinking containers are strictly forbidden near the laptop.

Do not place objects on top of the computer while it is open or closed.

Keep the laptop disconnected from an electrical power source, telephone service or wired-LAN during a storm, or if a storm is imminent.

April 2006