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KILMAURS COMMUNITY COUNCIL

CONSTITUTION

 

l. NAME

The name of the Council shall be the Kilmaurs Community Council (hereinafter

called "the Council ").

 

2. AREA Kilmaurs District

 

3. EAST AYRSHIRE COUNCIL COMMUNITY COUNCIL SCHEME 1997

References to various clauses and annexations of the scheme contained within this Constitution shall refer to the East Ayrshire Council Community Council Scheme 1997.

 

4. OBJECTIVES

(a)The objectives of the Council shall be to promote the well-being of the community resident in Kilmaurs (hereinafter called "the area ") by ascertaining, coordinating and expressing to the local authority, to other public agencies and other interested bodies, the views of the community, and by taking such act ion in the interests of the community as appears to be expedient and practicable. (b) The Council shall be non-political and non-sectarian.

 

5. MEMBERSHIP

The Council shall consist of 16 members elected in accordance with Clause 9 or coopted in accordance with Clause 11(g). All Members, except those ex officio, shall be Electors in the area of the Council.

 

6. ELECTION

 

Frequency

The whole Council, other than ex officio Members, shall retire every three years (Clause 10(2)) [or other such shorter period as may be specified in the Constitution (Clause 11(c)].

 

Method of Election

The Community Council shall arrange a meeting for Local Government Electors for the purposes of electing Community Councillors (Clause 1O(2)(b))and shall, at least 21 days prior to the date of the meeting, cause a public notice to be inserted in the local press and exhibited on public notice boards in the area, giving particulars of the meeting and inviting Local Government Electors for the Community Council area to attend (Clause 1 0(2) (c)). Written nominations for Election of Members to the Council shall close seven days prior to the date of the Election (Clause 10(2)(d)),and the Election shall be carried out in accordance with the Rules (Annexation III).

 

Casual Vacancies

The Council shall fill casual vacancies by Election or co-option (Clause 11(g)(I)). Members co-opted to fill casual vacancies shall be entitled to vote. The Council may also co-opt other persons for other purposes as it deems appropriate. Such persons shall not be entitled to vote (Clause 11 (g)(ii) ). East Ayrshire Council shall be notified promptly of any co-option to  the Community Council.

 

 

Ex Officio Members

East Ayrshire Councillors for the area of the Council or any part of it, shall ex officio be Members of the Council, but shall not be entitled to vote.

 

7. MANAGEMENT

Annual General Meeting and other General Meetings

(a) Once in each year, in the month of April the Council shall convene an Annual General Meeting of the Council which all persons aged eighteen and over, living in the Council area, whose names appear on the relevant Electoral Registers, shall be entitled to attend, for the purposes of receiving the Annual Report of the Council and the annual audited Statement of Accounts; and wherever necessary, of voting on proposals to amend this Constitution. The Council may from time to time, call Extraordinary General Meetings for the purpose of considering matters of particular interest or importance.

(b ) Extraordinary General Meetings may be called by a written request signed by not less than 50%of the Members.

(c)  The Council shall meet on the first Tuesday of the month [or at least three monthly intervals (Clause I I (e))].

2(d)Four Members shall constitute a quorum for meetings of the Council in accordance with Clause 11(k): however three Members shall constitute a quorum at least one meeting in every four in accordance with Clause 11(i).

(e) When a Community Councillor fails to attend meetings for a period of six months, he or she shall cease to be a Member of the Council, unless prior approval of his or her absence is given by the Council (Clause 11(i)).

(f)The Council may invite to any or all of its meetings, and to meetings of its Committees or Sub-Committees, the Officers of East Ayrshire Council.

(g) The Minutes of meetings shall be taken by the Secretary. Minutes of the immediately preceding meeting of the Council shall be tabled at each meeting.

(h) Copies of all Minutes of meetings of the Council and of Committees and/or Sub-Committees thereof shall be approved at the next following meeting of the Council and shall be sent to East Ayrshire Council and shall be available for inspection by members of the public at a suitable place or places within fourteen days of the meeting of the Council at which such Minutes are approved.

 

Public Participation in the Work of the Council

(a) The Council may invite a member of the public to address any meeting of the Council, or a Committee or Sub-Committee thereof. (b) All meetings of the Council, and of Committees and Sub-Committees thereof, shall be open to members of the public, except that the Council or Committee or Sub-Committee, as appropriate, may, by resolution, agree to consider in private any items of business of a private or confidential nature, or when in the opinion of the Council, it would be in the community interest to do so.

 

Election of Office Bearers

At the first meeting of the Council following the occasion of Elections and appointments, the Council shall appoint a Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and such other Office Bearers as it shall from time to time decide. None shall hold the same office for more than three years in succession.

 

Committees

The Council may appoint such Committees as it may from time to time determine, and to regulate their duties and powers.

 

Control of Finance

(a)All monies raised by or on behalf of the Council shall be applied to further the objectives of the Council and for no other purpose.

(b )The Treasurer shall keep proper accounts of the finances of the Council in accordance with Clause 11(f).

(c) The Accounts of the Council shall be audited annually by the Director of Finance of East Ayrshire Council, and it shall be the duty of the Council to hand over to the said Director, such records and vouchers by 31 December each year as are necessary to permit such audit to be carried out. The financial year of the Council shall be 1 January to 31 December.

(d)An audited Statement of Accounts for the last financial year shall be submitted to an Annual General Meeting in April and shall be available for inspection at

 

Standing Orders

The Council shall have powers to draw up Standing Orders for the proper conduct of its meetings and of all Public Meetings which it calls.

 

Information to East Ayrshire Council

East Ayrshire Council shall be sent a copy of the Minutes of all meetings, the Annual Report, the Annual Financial Statement, list of names and addresses of Officer Bearers appointed at the Annual Meeting, names and addresses of co-opted Members and other relevant information, as the Council may decide.

 

Amendments to Constitution

Subject to the provisions of the Local Government Etc (Scotland)Act 1994 relating to the amendment of Community Council Schemes, any proposals to alter this Constitution must be delivered in writing to the Secretary of the Council not less than 28 days before the date of the meeting at which it is first considered, and such an alteration will require the approval of (a)a majority of Members of the Council present and voting at a Council meeting, notice of such meeting having been given in accordance with normal procedure, but not less than 14 days prior to the meeting in question and giving the wording of the proposed alteration; and (b)a two-thirds  majority vote of Members obtained by the same procedure as for Elections in Paragraph 6 of this Constitution, with the proposed alteration having been duly publicised at least 14 days in advance of the vote being taken.

 

8. TITLE TO PROPERTY

Property and other assets, belonging to the Council, shall be vested in the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, acting as Trustees on behalf of the Council.

 

9. DISSOLUTION

If the Council, by a majority, decides at any time that on the grounds of expense, or otherwise, it is necessary or advisable to dissolve the Council, it shall publicize throughout the area (e.g. by means of notification in the local newspaper and/or attachment to public notice boards) the terms of the proposed resolution and carry out normal procedures for informing the local opinion before putting the proposed resolution to a vote. If such decision be confirmed by a (majority)vote, the Council shall dispose of its assets as it sees fit and shall advise East Ayrshire Council accordingly. Where East Ayrshire Council have contributed to a Community Council asset by awarding a grant, ownership reverts to East Ayrshire Council.

 

10. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Where the membership falls below one half of the figure shown in Annexation I of the Scheme, or the attendance at four consecutive meetings fall below such figure, the Council is effectively dissolved. East Ayrshire Council may arrange for the Election or nomination of a new Council. Clause 10(i) of the Scheme shall apply to such Election or nomination as they apply to the initial Elections or nominations to the Council.

 

11. ADOPTION OF CONSTITUTION

This Constitution, after being agreed by the Kilmaurs Community Council was adopted at a Public Meeting.