Constitution and By-Laws of the Rockingham County Law Enforcement Officers Association
Preamble
Whereas, in all well regulated societies, certain laws, and rules are adopted as necessary for the order thereof, we, the members of the Rockingham County Law Enforcement Officers Association, do adopt and mutually agree to support the following as our Constitution and By-Laws.
The Association shall conform with all New Hampshire statutes, rules and regulations governing its operation.
Article I - The Association
Section 1: The Association shall be known and designated by the title of the Rockingham County Law Enforcement Officers Association, hereinafter referred to as the Association.
Section 2: The primary objective of this Association is to provide a service to communities within the County of Rockingham that results in greater public safety. Such service may include, but will not be limited to, the promotion of educational programs to its members, and those undertaking law enforcement careers, while fostering the spirit of cooperation with and among all law enforcement agencies.
Article II - Membership
Section 1: The Association shall be comprised of Active, Associate, Professional and Honorary members.
An Active member shall include any full or part-time certified law enforcement officer, currently or formerly, serving with a law enforcement agency within Rockingham County. An Active member shall have voting privileges and be able to hold office.
An Associate member shall include any other employee, currently or formerly, employed by a law enforcement agency within Rockingham County not covered under the definition of an active member. An associate member shall have voting privileges and be able to hold office.
A Professional member shall include those persons who are not eligible for either active or associate membership but are qualified by training, experience or position to be members of the Association. An example of this type of membership may be, but not limited to, employees of law enforcement agencies of other counties or other states who reside in Rockingham County. A professional member shall not have voting privileges, nor shall that member be allowed to hold office within the Association.
An Honorary member shall include those members of the public who support and contribute to the objectives of the Association. An honorary member shall not have voting privileges nor shall that member be allowed to hold an office within the Association.
Section 2: Any person, before being admitted as an active member, shall file an application with the Secretary.
Section 3: An active member shall recommend a person for an associate membership and an application shall be filed with the Secretary.
Section 4: An active member shall recommend a person for a professional membership and an application shall be filed with the Secretary.
Section 5: New applicants shall be voted upon and accepted by the Executive Committee, with a report presented at the first regular meeting following acceptance.
Section 6: An active member shall recommend a person for an honorary membership and an application shall be filed with the Secretary. Said applicant and recommendation, in order to be granted, must first be approved by the Executive Committee and then voted upon and accepted by a majority of those present at the first regular meeting following the approval by the Executive Committee.
Section 7: The Secretary shall not accept any application for membership unless accompanied by full payment of the annual dues.
Section 8: With the approval of the Executive Committee, individual active, associate and professional members, upon reaching the age of sixty-five and whose membership has been sustained for the previous ten years, may be granted a life membership.
Article III - The Officers
Section 1: The officers of the Association shall consist of: President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary.
Section 2: The Association shall have an Executive Committee comprised of the elected officers, the immediate Past President, a parliamentarian, and four active or associate members elected at large by the membership of the Association.
Section 3: All officers and the four at large Executive Committee members shall be elected by the general membership.
Article IV - Election of Officers
Section 1: All officers and the at-large Executive Committee members shall be elected annually by the voting membership, whom is current in the payment of their dues, at the annual meeting held in December.
Section 2: Members holding the offices of the President and Vice President shall serve a one year term and may seek to be re-elected for consecutive terms.
Section 3: The four at-large members of the Executive Committee shall serve a one year term but may be re-elected to the committee.
Section 4: Vacancies shall be filled by appointment of the President, or if in the case of a vacancy in the office of the President, by an appointment recommended by, and approved by a majority of the Executive Committee.
Section 5: The candidates for election shall be presented to the voting membership by the Nominating Committee at the meeting immediately preceding the election.
Section 6: Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the annual meeting or if voting is done by a ballot, members shall be allowed to write-in candidates for the elected positions.
Article V - Meetings
Section 1: Five general membership meetings shall be held during the year. March, May, July-scholarship, September, and December-elections. The executive board may call a board meeting at any time during the year. All meetings shall take place on the third Thursday of each month except the December meeting shall be the first Thursday.
Section 2: The annual meeting shall be held in December.
Section 3: All meetings shall be held at a reasonable time and the attendance of the officers and Executive Committee members shall be determined by a roll call made by the Secretary.
Section 4: For purposes of conducting business of the Association at a general membership meeting, a quorum shall be considered any number of members present, who are current in the payment of their dues, at a meeting scheduled by the officers of the Association when the membership has been properly notified of such meeting.
Article VI - Dues
Section 1: Dues shall be due and payable within thirty (30) days of the annual meeting.
Section 2: Dues shall be in the following amounts; ten dollars ($10.00) for all active and associate members; fifteen dollars ($15.00) for professional and honorary members.
Section 3: Dues may be changed upon the recommendation of the Executive Committee with approval of the voting membership at the annual meeting.
Article VII - Suspensions and Terminations
Section 1: Members whose dues are delinquent by sixty (60) or more days may be suspended by the Executive Committee, provided, however, that a delinquent member shall be notified in writing thirty (30) days prior to such suspension.
Section 2: Members suspended under the provisions of Section 1 of this article shall be ineligible to participate in Association activities until they have paid their past due dues and are reinstated by a vote of the Executive Committee.
Section 3: Suspended members who fail to pay their dues in full within thirty (30) days from the date of suspension shall have their membership terminated by the Executive Committee.
Section 4: Members who have been terminated under the provisions of Section 3 of this article must reapply for membership as a new member and are subject to pay all dues in arrears.
Section 5: Any member who has been terminated, dismissed or asked to resign from their law enforcement agency, or has been convicted of an offense other than minor motor vehicle offenses, or who has had their certification revoked by the Police Standards and Training Council, may have their membership terminated from the Association by the Executive Committee.
Section 6: The Executive Committee shall review the circumstances surrounding the termination, dismissal, resignation, conviction or revocation of certification and render a decision as to the member’s status within thirty (30) days of said review. The affected member may, if they so desire, offer any information that they feel will assist the Committee in its decision.
Section 7: The Executive Committee shall, at the first regular meeting following the suspension or revocation of a member, report the action to the general membership.
Article VIII - Duties of Officers
Section 1: President: The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association and is responsible for all the duties incumbent upon the Chief Executive Officer of any similar organization, including but not limited to the following:
a. The general management of the affairs of the Association to include presiding over all meetings of the Association;
b. Calling special meetings as necessary;
c. Appointing a parliamentarian, who shall be a member of the By-Laws Committee, to serve during the President’s term.
d. The President shall act as the fundraising and donation chairman. He shall be responsible, with the assistance of the Treasurer, to direct all fundraising activities and review all requests for donations.
e. The President may not serve as a member of the Auditing Committee.
Section 2: Vice Presidents: The Vice President shall perform all the duties of the President in his absence.
a. The Vice President shall make a report of his activities at the general membership meetings, or anytime when requested to do so by the President.
b. The Vice President shall be responsible for keeping the roster of the membership for the Association and shall act as the membership chairman. He shall insure dues are paid as provided for in Article VI. Further, he shall take action as necessary pursuant to Article VII to collect unpaid dues.
c. The Vice President shall be responsible for providing and arranging the program and/or speakers for the monthly meetings.
Section 3: Secretary
a. The Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of all Association meetings, and shall issue at the direction of the President, all notices of meetings or other Association activities;
b. The Secretary may not act as a member of the Auditing Committee.
Section 4: Treasurer
a. The Treasurer shall have custody of all moneys and property of the Association;
b. The Treasurer shall receive all money and all dues for deposit in a bank designated by the Executive Committee;
c. The Treasurer shall pay all bills of the Association as authorized by the President
d. The Treasurer shall keep proper books of account in the name and form specified by the Executive Committee;
e. The Treasurer shall give a report at each regular meeting and an annual report, or whenever called upon to do so by the Executive Committee;
f. The Treasurer shall draw no funds from any bank or depository unless approved by the President or the President’s designate, and approve by a member of the Executive Committee;
g. The Treasurer shall assist the President with all fundraising activities and requests for donations.
h. The Treasurer may not act as a member of the Auditing Committee.
Article IX - The Executive Committee
Section 1: The Chairman: The Executive Committee shall be chaired by the incumbent President of the Association, who shall direct the affairs of the Committee as described herein.
Section 2: Committee Responsibilities:
a. The Executive Committee shall supervise all business of the Association not provided for in these by-laws.
b. The Executive Committee shall review the records of the Secretary once a year or as deemed necessary.
c. The Executive Committee shall direct an annual audit of the records of the Treasurer by an Auditing Committee appointed by the Executive Committee or by a professional auditor as determined by the Executive Committee.
d. A majority of Executive Committee members shall constitute a quorum at the meetings, provided all members are notified of the meeting.
e. The Executive Committee shall meet at least two times a year as deemed necessary by the Chairman of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall keep minutes of its meetings. After approved by the Committee, all minutes shall be made available by request for the general membership to review.
f. Members of the Executive Committee are required to attend all regularly scheduled meetings.
g. Members who are unable to attend an Executive Committee meeting may be excused by the Chairman, or in the absence of the Chairman, the Secretary, provided however, that such excuse must be obtained prior to the scheduled meeting.
h. Executive Committee members missing two consecutive meetings may be removed from the Committee upon the request of the Chairman, and then only be a majority vote of the Committee.
i. Executive Committee members removed under the provisions of this section shall be notified in writing by the Secretary, and any such vacancy may be filled by appointment as provided for in Article IV.
j. The Executive Committee shall have the power to vote to spend money, not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per request, during the period between regularly scheduled Association meetings when it would be impractical to defer such action until the next regular Association meeting. The Executive Committee shall report such action at the next regularly scheduled meeting.
k. The Executive Committee shall appoint members to the following standing committees: Auditing, By-Laws, Nominating, Scholarship and other Ad Hoc Committees as deemed necessary by the President.
Article X - Amendments
Section 1: Amendments to these by-laws shall be made at the Annual Meeting by a majority vote of the voting membership present.
Section 2: Proposed amendments shall be referred to the By-Laws Committee by any member at any time prior to September 1st in order to be considered at the Annual Meeting of the same year.
Section 3: The By-Laws Committee shall review the proposed amendments and present the amendments with the committee’s recommendations to the membership prior to being voted upon at the Annual Meeting.
Article XI - Association Rules
Section 1: Roberts Rules of Parliamentary Procedure shall govern when they do not conflict with this Constitution and By-Laws.
Section 2: Reservations shall be required for each monthly meeting of the Association by members wishing to attend and shall be made at least one week prior to the meeting. Members making reservations shall provide their name and meal choice to the Secretary. Any members failing to cancel a reservation at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the meeting shall be required to pay the per capita cost of the meeting to the Association. Exceptions to this requirement may be granted by a majority vote of the Executive Committee upon written request of a member.
Section 3: The maximum donation the Association may make to a non-law enforcement activity or organization shall be five-hundred ($500.00). However, more money may be approved in the following manner: a request for a greater amount may be made prior to a regularly scheduled meeting; the Executive Committee will discuss the request and make a recommendation to the membership; if a motion is made to move the greater amount of money to a vote, said vote shall be made at the general membership meeting; said motion shall pass only by a two-thirds vote of those members present. A representative of the requesting agency or organization may be required to attend the meeting and make a presentation.
Section 4: The maximum donation the Association may make to a non-member, who would otherwise qualify for membership under Article II, excluding honorary membership, shall be five thousand dollars ($5,000.00). However, more money may be approved by following the same process as outlined in Section 3 of this Article.
Section 5: The maximum donation the Association can make to any individual or group at one meeting shall be five thousand dollars ($5,000.00).
Article XII - Conflicts of Interest
Section 1: No officer or member of the Rockingham County Law Enforcement Officers Association (RCLEOA) may use his/her position or office to obtain financial gain or anything of substantial value for the benefit of him/herself or his/her immediate family or any other organization, public or private, with which he/she is associated. However, this paragraph shall not prohibit a local public official from using his/her office to obtain otherwise legal campaign contributions as permitted under New Hampshire state law.
Section 2: No officer or member of the Association shall disclose confidential information, financial or otherwise, concerning the property or affairs of the Association; nor, shall he/she use that information to advance his/her personal or family financial or private interest.
Section 3: No officer or member of the Association shall take any official action on behalf of the Association affecting a matter in which the officer or member, or a member of his/her immediate family, or a separate organization with which the officer or member is associated with and/or has a financial interest.
Section 4: No officer or member shall use his/her position as an officer or member of the Association in a way that produces or assists in the production of a financial benefit for the officer of member, or any member of the officer’s or member’s immediate family, or any organization with which the officer or member is associated.
Section 5: Any officer or member of the Association must announce a potential conflict of interest upon the occasion that the matter out of which the conflict arises is discussed or debated. This requirement shall exist even if the officer or member abstains from voting on the matter at hand. A conflict of interest shall be defined as any transaction in which an officer or member takes any action or makes any decision or recommendation that would create pecuniary benefit or detriment to that officer or member, his/her household or business with which they are associated.
Adopted November 1989
Revised September 1996
Revised December 2007
Revised December 2008
Revised January 2009
Revised December 2010
Revised December 2011
Reformatted for web Sept 2013Revised December 2020Revised December 2022