2018-01-10_by-laws.pdf |
Sunday Assembly Gainesville (SAGA) By-laws
The following by-laws are hereby adopted and shall govern the structure, performance and operations of Sunday Assembly Gainesville (also hereinafter referred to as "the Assembly" or (SAGA), headquartered in Gainesville, Florida, USA, under the accredited auspices of Sunday Assembly International, London, UK.
Article 1: PURPOSE: To provide an active, supportive environment for the secular community.
Article 2: MISSION: To provide a venue dedicated to the furthering of the stated goals of Sunday Assembly International, "Live Better, Help Often, Wonder More."
Article 3: GOVERNANCE: The Assembly shall be governed by the Planning Committee..
Article 4 : MEMBERSHIP: Membership is open to all who support and participate in our purpose and mission.
4.01 Standing: A member shall be considered in good standing by having participated in a minimum of three Assemblies during the immediately preceding twelve month period.
4.02 Voting Member: Any member in good standing, not under censure, shall be considered a voting member.
Article 5: PLANNING TEAM : The planning team shall consist of the duly elected Officers and such adjunct members as deemed necessary to insure the operation of the Assembly. All officers and planning team members must maintain the "good standing requirements" as specified in Article 4 of this document. Adjunct members shall be subject to the same vetting and election process as the Officers. At no point shall any person or individual be granted a "life term" for any official position within SAGA.
Sunday Assembly Gainesville (SAGA) By-laws
5.01 Nominations and volunteers for offices shall be solicited at a designated
Assembly, announced to the membership in advance, to serve for the upcoming term.
5.02 Nominees and volunteers shall be vetted in accordance with the guidelines described in Sunday Assembly Gainesville’s "Policy and Procedures" manual.
5.03 Term of office shall be for the fiscal year (January through December).
5.03.01 PRESIDENT: The President is the chief executive officer of Sunday Assembly Gainesville and shall act as chair of the Planning Team. The President is a permanent member of the planning team.
5.03.02 VICE PRESIDENT: The Vice President shall act as the President in the President’s absence, and shall have such additional duties as determined by the President or the Planning Team. The Vice President is a permanent member of the Planning Team.
5.03.03 SECRETARY: The Secretary shall be charged with maintaining all legal record keeping requirements of the governing bodies. The Secretary shall also keep a record of the Planning Team meetings and business meeting proceedings and accurately record the attendees of these meetings. The Secretary is a permanent member of the Planning Team.
5.03.04 TREASURER:The Treasurer is the chief financial officer of Sunday Assembly Gainesville. The Treasurer shall be charged with filing and maintaining all the financial records required by the governing bodies, including, but not limited to all federal, state, and local governments The Treasurer shall also maintain and comply with all record keeping and financial requirements of the governing body or bodies of Sunday Assembly International. The Treasurer shall submit monthly financial reports to the Team. The Treasurer is a permanent member of the Planning Team.
5.03.05 ADJUNCT MEMBERS: The role and scope of Adjunct Members of the Planning Team shall be determined by a simple majority vote of the permanent members of the planning team. The position of any adjunct member shall be for a minimum of one year. The positions may be renewed on a yearly basis by the officers of the Assembly. If, during the course of an operational year, it is deemed necessary to add or replace an adjunct member, this shall be accomplished by a
Sunday Assembly Gainesville (SAGA) By-laws
simple majority vote of all Planning Team members. Positions created by this method shall be considered "pro- tem" until the next election cycle. The creation of any new positions shall be announced at the next regularly scheduled Assembly. Adjunct members of the Planning Team shall have full voting rights.
Article 6: MEETINGS
6.01 ASSEMBLIES: The Sunday Assembly Gainesville shall convene an Assembly at least once a month at a regular time, place and date set forth by the Planning Team. Additional or supplementary Assemblies may be convened when deemed appropriate by the Planning team.
Assemblies shall be conducted within the format recommended by the governing body of Sunday Assembly International.
6.02 BUSINESS MEETINGS: Any regular meeting of the Assembly can have a business meeting appended to the regular meeting by the Planning Team.
A minimum of one business meeting shall be conducted each year as described in the SAGA Policies and Procedures manual. All business meetings shall be open to all members in good standing of SAGA.
6.02.01 Notice of business meetings shall be given at least two weeks in advance of the meeting.
6.02.02 Notice of the meeting(s) shall include the specific purposes of each meeting. Notice of each meeting shall include the time, date, and place of each meeting.
6.02.03 A quorum for a business meeting shall be a simple majority of the planning team that includes a minimum of three officers.
Sunday Assembly Gainesville (SAGA) By-laws
6.03 PLANNING TEAM MEETINGS: The Planning Team shall meet a minimum of once a month with additional meetings as required to ensure the quality of the Assembly programming and operations. The Planning Team may, from time to time, organize committees and teams to facilitate their work. The responsibilities of the Planning Team shall include but will not be limited to the following:
• Long range programming
• Preparation and distribution of meeting agendas
• Ensuring that all necessary advance preparations and arrangements for
activities of Sunday Assembly Gainesville are made in a timely manner.
Committee chair(s) and members do not have voting rights within the Planning Team.
6.04 MEETING PROCEDURES: All meetings shall be conducted using the procedures outlined in the Policy and Procedures manual adopted by the Planning Team. Standard voting shall conform to a simple "majority rules" format. However, any member may voice a "Formal Objection" to any specific issue and request the use of "Formal Consensus" as a means of resolution, as outlined in the currently approved "SAGA Policies and Procedures Manual".
Article 7: FINANCES
Short term obligations shall be paid for by money in hand. If we engage in any long term financial obligation (e.g. buying a building) this shall have a budget separate from the day-to-day budget and it shall be all-inclusive.
7.01 DEDICATION OF ASSETS: The properties and assets of the Organization are irrevocably dedicated to and for non-profit purposes only. No part of the net earnings, properties or assets of this Organization shall on dissolution inure to the benefit of any person, persons, or any member. On liquidation or dissolution, all remaining properties and assets of the Organization shall be distributed and paid to a non-profit of similar philosophy to be determined by the remaining members in good standing.
Sunday Assembly Gainesville (SAGA) By-laws
Article 8: CHARTER AND AMENDMENTS
8.01 DISTRIBUTION OF THESE BY-LAWS: These By-laws shall be maintained by the Secretary and reproduced on the Assembly website with no limitation to access. They shall also be included in any directory of contacts and may be included in other publications if formulated in such a manner that does not distort their meaning or intent.
8.02 ADOPTION AND AMENDMENTS: The procedure for the adoption of these By-laws and to implement any future Amendments is to present and make available the proposal at three consecutive regular Assembly meetings followed by a vote of all attendees in good standing after the third presentation. A simple majority vote shall be required to adopt the final version of the by-laws.
Amendments to the by-laws shall become incorporated only after a two thirds majority vote in accordance with the approved and current policies and procedures of the SAGA.