COLLEGE HEIGHTS ESTATES ASSOCIATION (CHEA)
CONSTITUTION
As of 8/20/2007
The nine Articles of this Constitution delineate the general rules governing the
overall affairs of the College Heights Estates Association (CHEA), located in the area generally known as College Heights Estates in Prince George's County Maryland.
ARTICLE I. Name of the Organization.
The full and official name of this organization is the "College Heights Estates Association". Within this document, this organization will be identified as CHEA.
ARTICLE II. Purpose and Goals.
The primary purpose of CHEA is to serve and promote the interests, safety, health and welfare of the community.
Community, as used above and elsewhere in this document, denotes not only the tangibles of land, houses and people within College Heights Estates, but also intangibles such as community spirit, neighborliness and friendship that characterize a strong, concerned community.
In support of these overriding purposes, there are several ancillary goals:
A.
CHEA seeks to promote a caring community of friends and neighbors helping each other, within clusters of blocks and throughout the community.
B.CHEA supports and challenges an informed citizenry to become active in civic affairs.
C.CHEA collects and disseminates information on issues of importance to the community, and provides a forum for their discussion.
D.CHEA represents the position of its members before governing bodies, and elected and appointed officials at all levels of government.
E.CHEA upholds and promotes the principles of good government at all levels, while remaining a non-partisan, non-profit and non-sectarian association.
ARTICLE III. Membership and Dues.
A.Active Members are dues-paying residents of College Heights. Two Members may be active from one household.
B.Membership will run from January 1st thru December 31st of the calendar year.
C.Each active member has one vote and is eligible to hold an Office and/or Board position.
D.Annual dues will be recommended by the Board of Directors (See Article V) and approved at the Annual Meeting of the general membership (defined in Article VII).
ARTICLE IV. Officers and Board Members.
A.The following Officers and Board members are elected annually by the membership: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, at-large Board members. The four officers are also Board members.
B.The general duties and responsibilities of the Officers and at-large Board members follow:
The President:
1.Is the official representative of CHEA in meetings and in written or verbal communication with outside individuals, groups and officials.
2.Is responsible for the overall financial welfare of the association, as well as its rate of progress towards fulfilling the purposes and goals.
3.Calls, presides over and prepares the agenda for meetings of the
Board of Directors and of the general membership.
4.Appoints Officers and Board members, with the approval of the
Board, to fill all vacancies between annual elections.
The Vice President:
1.In the absence of the President, acts on his or her behalf.
2.In the event of a vacancy, succeeds to the office of President and a new Vice President is elected at the next meeting of the general membership.
The Secretary:
1.Is responsible for both internal and external CHEA communications.
2.Maintains the official records (other than financial records) of CHEA.
Treasurer:
1.Handles all financial accounts for CHEA.
2.Maintains the official financial records of CHEA, listing revenue, expenditures and current balances in all financial accounts.
3.Maintains and updates a roster of all active and supporting Members.
At-Large Board Members:
1.Represent points of view and interest of the active membership
in all CHEA Board of Director meetings.
2.Represent CHEA Board of Directors at meetings and events that are external to CHEA.
C.If an Officer or Board member fails to carry out the duties of the position, the Board of Directors may remove the individual through a two-thirds vote.
D.All Officers and Board members must be residents of College Heights Estates and be active Members of CHEA.
ARTICLE V. Board of Directors.
A.The Board of Directors is the governing body of CHEA between meetings of the general membership. This group will consist of the President, the Vice President, the Secretary, the Treasurer and multiple at-large Board Members.
B.Meetings of the Board of Directors will take place at the discretion of the President.
C.A quorum of the Board of Directors represents half of the members of the Board, plus one. No official business may be transacted without a quorum.Each member of the Board in attendance has one vote. A majority vote decides an issue.
D.The Board of Directors will operate under all provisions contained in the CHEA By-Laws. Modification to the By-Laws may be made, in conformance with the By-Law Provision for Changes and Amendments.
E.No CHEA member or group may give testimony or present CHEA views without authorization by the Board of Directors.
ARTICLE VI. Annual Elections.
A.The President, upon consultation with the Board of Directors, may appoint an ad hoc committee to run the election.
B.Nomination and election of Officers and Board members takes place at the annual meeting of the general membership. Any active Member may nominate candidates for office.
C.All elections with more than one candidate will be by secret ballot. If there is more than one nominee for any single office, successive ballots will be taken, eliminating the nominee with the least votes on the previous ballot, until a nominee receives a majority of the votes cast.
ARTICLE VII. General Membership Meetings.
A.An Annual Meeting of the general membership will be held once each year, at a time and place designated by the Board of Directors. Each active member has one vote. At a minimum, the following items will be on the meeting agenda:
1.Nomination and election of Officers and Board members.
2.Approval of the annual dues.
3.Approval of an annual plan and budget.
4.Approval of any By-Law changes.
5.Review of the past year's activities.
B.Special Meetings of the general membership may be called by the Board 0f Directors. During these meetings, each active Member has one vote.
C.All meetings of CHEA are open to all College Heights Estates residents. Only active Members may vote on issues.
ARTICLE VIII. Parliamentary Rules.
A.In formal meetings, when necessary, Robert's Rules of Order acts as rules of procedure for CHEA meetings.
ARTICLE IX. Changes and Amendments.
A.Changes and amendments to the CHEA Constitution must be approved by two-thirds of the Board of Directors and by a two-thirds vote at the next annual or special meeting of the general membership. Members must receive written notification of the proposed changes at least 14 days before the general membership meeting.
COLLEGE HEIGHTS ESTATES ASSOCIATION (CHEA)
BY-LAWS
The five Provisions of these Bylaws, which supplement the Articles contained in the Constitution, delineate the rules governing the operating affairs of the College Heights Estates Association. Within this document, this organization will be identified as CHEA.
PROVISION I. Annual Audit and Report.
1.Each year, the President shall appoint an internal Audit Committee which shall report to the annual meeting of the general membership (as defined in the Constitution). This committee will review the financial records of CHEA.
PROVISION II. Dues.
1.The Board of Directors (as defined in the Constitution) will develop and recommend the annual dues.
2.Full annual dues are to be paid by all active Members (as defined in the Constitution). A Member who has failed to pay dues is not eligible to vote, and if a Member remains delinquent, that person is removed from the active membership roll.
3.Annual dues are to be paid at the time that an application for new membership is requested. A prospective Member who has failed to pay dues is not eligible to vote.
PROVISION III. Committees
1.The work of the association is, in great part, conducted through a grassroots network of volunteers within the CHEA membership. All committee and group volunteers must be active Members of the association.
A.Standing Committees: These are regular committees that provide for the on-going functions and growth of CHEA.
a.Standing committees may be established by the President for an indefinite period of time.
b.Standing committees must be approved by a majority of the Board of Directors and may be abolished with a two-thirds vote.
c.Chairpersons of standing committees are appointed by the President, with majority approval of the Board of Directors.
B.Ad Hoc Committees: These are short-term committees that may be established by the President and serve until completion of the specific short-term goal.
a.The establishment and chairing of ad hoc committees does not need Board of Directors approval.
b.The President must notify the Board of Directors when he/she establishes an ad hoc committee.
c.Ad hoc committee chairpersons may attend meetings of the Board of Directors, but they cannot vote on issues decided by the Board of Directors.
PROVISION IV. Operations.
1.For all bank accounts, both the President and the Treasurer should be authorized signatories. However, only a single signature from one of these two will be required on banking transactions.
PROVISION V. Changes and Amendments.
Changes and amendments to the Bylaws of the College Heights Estates Association (CHEA) must be approved by two-thirds of the Board of Directors, and by a majority vote at the next meeting of the general membership.
