Elected Board Members

Ryan Smith, President

Tim Manning, Vice President

Lisa Hester, Treasurer/Secretary

 

BI-LAWS

Effective April 7, 2009

Article 1 – Purpose and Mission

A)     The purpose of the Association is to promote friendship and unity between law enforcement agencies and between law enforcement officers.

B)     Our mission is to uphold our duties as law enforcement officers while we uphold the Association purpose. We will do this through community involvement with the intensions of gaining a personal relationship with our neighbors and co-workers.

 

Article 2 – Discrimination

A)     The Association will not discriminate against anyone on the grounds of race, sex, religion or national origin,

B)     Even though some Association members hold rank within their respective departments, all members are treated as equals within the Association. However, as a courtesy, please respect any rank or title that someone may hold within their department.

 

 

 

Article 3 – Membership Requirements

A)     To become a member of the Association, at least one of the following criteria must be met:

1.       You are an active duty sworn law enforcement officer working for a law enforcement agency within Martin County, N.C.

2.       You are a reserve officer sworn with a law enforcement agency within Martin County, N.C.

3.       You are a former sworn law enforcement officer of an agency from within Martin County, N.C. and you are now retired in good standing.

4.       You were an active member of the Association prior to April 7^th, 2009 and you do not qualify under any of the above requirements.

5.       You are a civilian and have not met any of the above criteria; who has been voted in as a member by the Association and must meet the following requirements.

                                                                          i.     You must be a person of good moral character and be willing to perform in accordance with our bi-laws.

                                                                        ii.     This person must also be a resident of Martin County, N.C.

1.       Procedures – For a civilian to become an Association member, an active member of the association must submit a pre-nomination form (MCLEOA #10) to the president for review by the Association. This form will include the name of the member wishing to make the nomination and a brief description on why you think this person would be beneficial as a member of the Association and why they have said they wanting to join. The pre-nomination form must be submitted to the Association President at least one day prior to the next regular business meeting. Both the member nominating and the member seconding the nomination must be present at the meeting. If both are not present, the motion will be tabled until the next regular meeting. The nominee may attend the meeting but will be asked to leave prior to any vote or decision. After the nomination form is read, the officiating board member will open the floor for any comments or discussion. After the floor is closed, the officiating board member will ask the nominating member to make his official nomination and then ask for a second. Once the motion has been made, the Association will then vote. The nominee must receive the majority vote in favor to become a member. The officiating board member will inform the nominee. If the nominee is approved for membership, the nominee must pay their annual dues to complete the process.

 

B)     All members will be classified into one of two categories

1.       Active members – Members who have paid their membership dues in accordance with Article 6 of these bi-laws. Active members have voting rights and will be invited to all functions the Association may hold.

2.       In-Active members – Anyone who has not paid their membership dues in accordance with Article 6 of these bi-laws but are eligible for membership under Article 3A1, Article 3A2, Article 3A3 or Article 3A4. Inactive members may attend regular meetings only, not including special meetings. Upon their attendance, they may spectate only and have no voting rights. Inactive members will not receive official invitation to any functions of the Association but will be made aware of the events and encouraged to become an active member. Inactive members or non-members may assist with any fundraiser or any other working event if approved by the Association. Inactive members do not have access to the firing range. A civilian member will not gain inactive member status and must go through any process to become a member once again.

 

ARTICLE 4-Officials/Elections

A)Officers – The Association will have a board of Officials for the purpose of helping maintain the Association as a whole. The Board of Officials will include the following:

1.       Association President – The president is responsible for ensuring that the Association meets it’s stated purpose and mission. The president helps coordinate and oversees events, function and fundraisers. He/she officiates any business meeting and assists other officials in completing any tasks as needed. The president does not have voting rights unless his/her vote is needed to decide on an issue that has been declared a tie.

2.       Association Vice-President – The vice-president is also responsible for ensuring that the Association meets its stated purpose and mission. The vice-president is an assistant to the president and is responsible for overseeing the president’s duties in his/her absence. The vice-president does have voting rights. The only time the vice-president cannot vote is if he/she is overseeing the president’s duties because of their absence. The vice-president is also responsible for overseeing any special committees.

3.       Association Treasurer/Secretary – The treasurer/secretary is also responsible for ensuring that the Association meets its stated purpose and mission. The treasurer is responsible for all financial transactions. The treasurer will be responsible for keeping accurate and updated financial records, making bank deposits, writing checks and issuing receipts. The treasurer will also make available to any Active member any banking records so desired for review. The treasurer will also report at every regular business meeting a brief summary of the Associations financial report. The secretary will keep records of any event function and meeting as well as record minutes for that meeting. The secretary does have voting rights.

***Treasurer and Secretary position consolidated by majority vote at regular business meeting in June of 2010.***

B)Requirements to become an officer – To be an officer with the Association you must meet the following requirements:

1.       You must have an active membership with the Association.

2.       You must be a sworn law enforcement officer and meet the requirements set forth in Article 3a1 or Article 3a2.

 

C)Terms of Office – All office terms will follow the calendar year (January-December). Each office will have a term of one year. There are an unlimited number of terms an officer can hold. An officer may be re-elected into his/her current office or another office by the Association. An officer can only hold one office at any time. If an office becomes open prior to the end of a term, an election will be held at the next regular business meeting to fill that position. The elected member will immediately fill that position for the remainder of the term. The office will be open for elections again at the end of the original term.

D)Elections – Elections for positions as an officer will be held during the regular business meeting in December prior to the end of any term. Any new officers will take office during the first regular meeting of the new year. A member must receive the majority vote to be elected. All election votes will be taken by secret ballot to ensure the privacy of members voting decisions. Early voting will be offered to any active member who cannot attend the meeting. Early ballots will be accepted by the Association secretary and will remained sealed until the December meeting.

ARTICLE 5-Property

A)     Any property of the Association will not be used at anytime for personal gain without authorization of the Association. If any type of property is donated to the Association, it will remain property of the Association unless the disposal is approved by its member.

ARTICLE 6-Dues

A)     The Association will collect dues from its members. The amount is currently twelve dollars ($12) a year per member. Dues will be collected at the start of the calendar year. Each member must pay his/her dues in order to keep an active membership. The dues must be paid by the next regular business meeting after a member receives notice or his/her membership will become inactive. If someone becomes a member of the Association during the calendar year, the amount will remain twelve dollars ($12).

ARTICLE 7-Ammendments

A)     These bi-laws may be amended by the Association during any business meeting. The amendment will take effect immediately if a majority vote present in favor was received. It is the responsibility of the Association President to update the bi-laws and provide that to the Association Secretary for record keeping and dispersal to the members.

ARTICLE 8-Firing Range Use

A)     The Association affords the use of the firing range to all active members and one guest. A guest however cannot be someone who is eligible for membership under Article 3a1 or 3a2. Each member should check the association calendar online at http://calendar.yahoo.com/mcleoa  to make sure that the range is available. The firing range may be rented or reserved by contacting the association president. The range if rented will be billed to the renter at a cost of twenty five dollars ($25) per day. The range can be reserved for training through Martin Community College for law enforcement training at no cost. Unless reserved or rented, the range is available. The association may also reserve the range for fundraising events or projects. Anyone renting the range for a use other than firearms training must submit a letter to the Association. The letter will be presented at the next regular business meeting for approval. If a conflict develops over the ranges availability, the president will resolve the problem using the (THE RANGE IS FOR TRAINING) motto. If the problem still exists, a special meeting will be called to resolve the problem. All members using the range shall follow the range rules attached.

ARTICLE 9-Commitees

A)     At anytime, the Board of Officials may start a committee to help with any type of function or assist with a business portion of the Association. The start of any committee will be discussed at the next regular or special business meeting. At that meeting, volunteers will be sought for appointment to the committee.

B)     Volunteers will be appointed to committees by the Association Vice-President.

C)     The Association Vice-President will oversee all committees.

D)     Board of Officials may volunteer for a committee as well. The Association President and Association Vice-President are encouraged to attend any committee meetings to offer guidance and be a resource.

ARTICLE 10-Use of Association Funds

A)     Association funds may only be used with the approval of the Association. The Association treasurer will be responsible for dispersing those funds. The treasurer may disperse funds without approval of the Association only for business purposes (I.e. ordering checks, postage for mailings or recurring bills). However, the treasurer must give knowledge of the dispersal to the Board of Officials and document any funds disposal.

ARTICLE 11-Notice of Information of Rights

A)     Any active member can request to review any business or financial documents or any other record kept by the Association at any time. To request any review, the member must see the Association secretary or treasurer dependent upon the information being sought. No active members will be denied access to any association records.

ARTICLE 12-Member Dismissal

A)     If at any time a member acts in a manner that threatens the integrity of the Association or commits an offense that is in violation of the NC General Statues other than minor traffic offenses, that member may have his/her membership revoked.

B)     If a member feels that another member should have his/her membership revoked, that member may discuss his reasons with the Board of Officials and not publicly during a business meeting. The Board of Officials will review the complaint during an executive board meeting.  If it is determined to be a viable complaint, a special business meeting will be called to determine what steps should be taken and if the member should have his/her membership revoked. The member may attend the special meeting and express his/her opinion and offer comments. However, the member will be asked to leave during the decision process. The Association President will be responsible for informing the member of the outcome.

C)     The loss of certification due to revocation or suspension by a sworn law enforcement officer will cause immediate dismissal from the Association.

D)     Any member who has had their membership revoked will receive a refund of any dues paid for the year.

ARTICLE 13-Attendance

A)     As law enforcement officers, our schedules vary significantly day to day. The Association President will make every effort to diversify the scheduling of any event, function or meeting with the intent of including all members.

B)     As scheduling will be difficult, attendance will not reflect anyone’s membership. However, a member should make every effort to assist the Association if an event or functions requires assistance.

ARTICLE 14-Acting Under Association Name

A)     At no time will any member use the name of the association or use their membership status as means for personal gain. If the Association name or your membership status is used for reasons such as donations or contributions, any donation or contribution becomes property of the Association.

B)     At no time will nay member use the name of the Association or use their membership status as means to gain anything for their department. As affiliated with Article 14a, any donation or contribution given in association with the Martin County Law Enforcement Officer’s Association name will become property of the Association.