CONSTITUTION OF WARD 9 COMMUNITY NEWS INC.
OBJECTIVES
1. To publish on a regular basis a newspaper to cover events and happenings of interest to residents of East Toronto and Scarborough West, Municipality of Toronto, Province of Ontario. The newspaper will at all times remain non-partisan and non-profit.
2. To distribute said newspaper to the residents and businesses of said East Toronto and Scarborough West on the basis that each household and business receive a copy free of charge.
3. To print news items and other articles and pictures submitted by community residents. Authors of rejected material may appeal the editor’s decision to the executive.
4. To solicit advertising for the aforesaid newspaper. The rates for advertising shall be determined from time to time by the executive in consultation with the advertising manager. Revenue from advertising shall be used against the expenses of publishing the newspaper.
5. To encourage volunteer community membership to support the organization.
6. To maintain a website to publish materials which appear in the printed version.
MEMBERSHIP
1. Any resident of the community where the newspaper is distributed, who is willing to support the aims and objectives of the organization, will be accepted into membership on payment of the current year’s fees and will be a member in good standing, and will be eligible to vote if in attendance at the annual and general meetings, as long as the current year’s fees are paid.
2. No member shall be under the age of sixteen.
3. No membership will be sold within seven days before the annual meeting.
4. All members of the distribution team, who have worked with the team for a minimum of six months in the year, shall be given an automatic membership in Ward 9 Community News Inc., for the current year. There are two provisos:
a) Where the distributor is under age, the membership will be in the name of a parent or guardian.
b) Only one free membership will be allowed per family.
OWNERSHIP
The newspaper is incorporated as a non-profit non-share capital organization with the officers holding the incorporated organization in trust for the members of the organization.
MEETINGS
1. The organization shall hold an annual meeting between May 1 and July 1 of each year to receive the financial statement and reports of the officers, to elect officers for the coming year, and to deal with any new business that comes before it.
2. The agenda shall be prepared by the executive and published in the Beach Metro Community News in the issue immediately preceding the meeting.
3. General meetings shall be held at the call of the president to deal with any business that may have come before the organization. The president must communicate this to the general membership at least four days before the meeting through publishing in the Beach Metro Community News.
4. General meetings shall be called on request to the president in writing by five or more members in good standing of the organization.
5. A quorum at general meetings and at annual meetings shall consist of any three elected officials plus members in good standing who are in attendance.
6. At the annual meeting the officers of the organization shall be elected for a period of one year. No person (except the treasurer) shall serve longer than two consecutive years in any one elected office. The term of elected officers shall commence at the adjournment of the annual meeting. The treasurer shall be allowed to serve any number of consecutive years.
7. A general meeting may be called, as stated in paragraphs 3 and 4 of this section, to replace any officer for any reason that the members present shall by majority vote agree on.
8. All meetings, with the exception of the annual meeting, shall be open to the public.
9. Failure of a director or officer to receive notification of meetings will not invalidate any proceedings taken thereat.
10. Directors and advisors are expected to attend all meetings of the Board. The place of a director or advisor shall be deemed vacant and such director or advisor shall not be eligible for re-election or re-appointment in the following year, if he or she has failed to attend one half of all meetings of the Board, regularly scheduled or called by the president, which are held in the year immediately preceding the meeting called for the election of directors or appointment of advisors.
OFFICERS
1. The following officers of the organization shall constitute the executive.
a) Past-president: The past-president shall lend aid and assistance to the president.
b) President: The president shall preside at all the meetings of the organization and shall carry out policies as determined by the membership in meeting.
c) Vice-president: The vice-president’s responsibilities shall be to assist the president and to promote the membership of the organization.
d) Secretary: The secretary shall keep records of all the official meetings of the organization. The secretary shall also maintain the archives of the organization.
e) Treasurer: The treasurer shall from time to time check the day-to-day financial records and books of the organization. On the basis of these checks, the treasurer shall also keep his own proper records and shall submit at the annual meeting an accurate statement showing all receipts and disbursements for the year.
2. Officers and special advisors shall be members in good standing and shall receive no regular monies from the newspaper revenue.
3. The directors, officer and special advisors of the organization are indemnified and saved harmless out of the funds of the organization except such costs, charges or expenses as are occasioned by the directors, officers, or special advisors’ own willful neglect or default.
4. Executive meetings of the newspaper shall include the editor, general manager and advertising manager. The three staff members have one vote among them, as designated by the chairperson, with the following exceptions:
a) When the elected officers deem it desirable to vote among themselves, they shall allow each of the above three staff one vote per person.
b) The staff shall not participate in or vote in matters concerning their salaries
5. The executive shall meet at least once each calendar quarter to review the business of the newspaper. A quorum at executive meetings shall consist of three elected officers and one staff member, as defined in the above section (editor, general manager or advertising manager).
6. At the option of the officers, executive meetings may be closed.
ADVISORY BOARD
1. When an officer of the paper has been involved with the Ward 9 Community News Inc. for at least four publishing years, and has a special area of expertise which the paper feels would be beneficial on an on-going basis, the executive (with the exception of the officer in question) may by a majority vote extend to that officer a place on the executive as an advisor without elected office.
2. Any person so placed would hold this position at the discretion of the executive and would serve as advisor until he or she, or the executive again by a majority vote, terminates the position by notice in writing, such notice to be effective immediately unless otherwise specified.
3. There shall never be more than two advisors sitting on the executive at any one time, and no advisor shall be allowed to vote on his or her retirement. Each advisor shall have one vote on the executive on all other matters.
EMPLOYEES
1. The executive shall decide, in the light of the paper’s financial situation, what employees shall be hired and what salaries shall be paid to them. It shall have the power to hire or discharge the employees on a majority vote of the executive. It shall, in consultation with the employees, determine such matters as allocation of duties and hours of work.
2. New staff shall be hired for a probationary period of six publishing months, during which time they can be dismissed by the executive with one week’s written notice. After six publishing months they become part of the regular staff, if the above dismissal procedure has not been applied.
3. If the work performance of a regular employee is unsatisfactory, the following procedure shall be followed:
Step One: A motion is passed by the executive that the executive discuss the situation with the employee, who is asked to improve within two months or employment will be terminated.
Step Two: If necessary, a motion is passed by the executive terminating Employment. Written and verbal confirmation will be given to the employee. The termination becomes effective within the minimum period required by law.
4. In the event of an appeal by the employee, and in all other areas, the codes and procedures of the Ontario Ministry of Labour shall take precedence over the above.
CONSTITUTION
1. Amendments to the constitution can be made at the annual meeting or at a special general meeting called by the executive.
2. Proposed changes to the constitution should be published in an issue of the Beach Metro Community News at least 14 days before the annual meeting.
ELECTIONS
1. Elections of officers shall be held at the annual meeting.
2. Nominations for officers of the organization shall be received in writing, addressed to the newspaper’s secretary, at least 14 days before the annual meeting. Nomination should be accompanied by a description of the nominee’s background with regard to the organization and the general community, together with the signatures of the nominee and the nominator. The names of those seeking office, together with a brief biography, will be published in the issue of the Beach Metro Community News immediately preceding the annual meeting, in order that the membership be able to weigh the merits of each candidate and vote accordingly. Notice of the final date for receiving nominations shall be published in the two issues immediately preceding that date.
3. Where more than one person is nominated for any office, the chairperson of the meeting shall count the ballots and declare the nominee receiving the most votes elected.
4. Where only one person is nominated for an office, the chairperson shall declare the nominee elected by acclamation and th4 secretary shall cast a single ballot to this effect.
5. Nominees for the board and nominators shall be members of the Ward 9 Community News Inc.
FINANCES
1. An annual membership fee of two dollars minimum shall be charged to each member. Members may give more than two dollars if they wish.
2. The membership fee may be changed at an annual meeting on resolution by a simple majority vote.
3. All cheques written against the funds of the organization must carry the signature of one elected officer and the signature of either the general manager, editor, or advertising manager.
4. The annual financial statement should be published in an issue
