Constitution | Lisgar Residents' Association

LRA Constitution

LISGAR RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION

CONSTITUTION

DIRECTORY OF ARTICLES:

PREAMBLE

ARTICLE 1: NAME OF ORGANIZATION

ARTICLE 2: MISSION STATEMENT

ARTICLE 3: OBJECTIVES

ARTICLE 4: LISGAR RESIDENT’S ASSOCIATION BOUNDARIES:

ARTICLE 5: MEMBERSHIP

ARTICLE 6: EXECUTIVE AND OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION

ARTICLE 7: AGM NOMINATION AND ELECTION

ARTICLE 8: MEETINGS

ARTICLE 9: CONFLICT OF INTEREST

ARTICLE 10: MEMBERS CODE OF CONDUCT

ARTICLE 11: AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE 12: RULES OF PROCEDURE

ARTICLE 13: CONFLICT RESOLUTION per MEMBERS COMPLAINTS:

ARTICLE 14: DISSOLUTION:

ARTICLE 15: PRIVACY POLICY:

ARTICLE 16: POLITICAL AFFILIATION

PREAMBLE

The original Constitution was adopted on November 20, 1992. It was amended on March 24, 1993; March 25, 1995; and September 29, 1999; and July 29, 2022. It incorporates the previous amendments, makes further revisions, and supersedes the previous version.

ARTICLE 1: NAME OF ORGANIZATION

The name of this organization shall be known as the Lisgar Residents’ Association. In this document referred to as the "Association."

ARTICLE 2: MISSION STATEMENT

The mission statement shall be to advocate for the betterment of community living for all residents of Lisgar through protection and promotion of the community.

ARTICLE 3: OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this Association shall be to inform the membership of issues concerning their community through public meetings and printed and electronic material.
To lobby governments for better community health and safety.
To advocate on behalf of the community on issues relating to community esteem.
To hold/sponsor community events in order to promote a growing sense of "community" and to do this whenever possible with the city and ward Councillor.

ARTICLE 4: LISGAR RESIDENT’S ASSOCIATION BOUNDARIES:

East of: Highway 407

West of: Tenth Line West

South of: Highway 401

North of: Britannia Road

(Amended October 19, 2011)

ARTICLE 5: MEMBERSHIP

The LRA has 2 levels of membership.

MEMBERS: Residents registered with LRA, that are 18 years of age and over and live within the Lisgar Resident Association boundaries are members and have a voice and one vote at the AGM and any general membership meeting.
ASSOCIATE MEMBERS: Eligibility for Associated Membership shall include businesses, landlords, service providers, elected officials or any other organization or individual as deemed so by the Executive. An Associated Member, 18 years of age and older can attend meetings, have a voice, but no vote.
Eligibility for membership shall include all residents within the "boundaries." Exceptions will be:

No member will remain on the executive if running for public office. They must step down
No elected City of Mississauga official may hold an elected position and they have no vote on matters or issues.

ARTICLE 6: EXECUTIVE AND OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION

The LRA maintains a minimum of five (5) and a maximum of fifteen (15) voting EXECUTIVE at large.
At the first Executive meeting following the Annual General Meeting, the Officer positions of:

President,

Vice-President,

Secretary,

Treasurer

Fundraising Chairperson

Committee Chairpersons

shall be elected from among the newly elected Executive.

Additional committees may be created as required by the Association and/or the Executive. Their chairperson(s) shall be on the Executive.
The duties of the Officers of this Association are:

The affairs of the association shall be managed by the executive

Elected executive shall hold their position for 1 year unless convicted of a criminal offence or running for political office at which time they must resign.

5.1 The President shall

be the Chief Executive Officer of the Association and shall preside over all meetings. The President, or his/her designate, shall represent the Association in all official capacities. The chair of the meeting shall adhere to the mission statement and objectives of the association and honour the will of the executive
have signing authority with the Treasurer, the Secretary, and the Vice-President. Two authorized signatures will be required on all cheques.
have authority to authorize expenditures not in excess of

$100.00 without the approval of the Executive.

5.2 The Vice-President shall assume the duties of and exercise the powers of the President in his/her absence or in the interim of replacing the president

5.3 The Secretary shall be responsible for

maintaining all available hard copy records, correspondence, documents and books with the exception of the financial records kept by the treasurer.
the accurate recording of the Minutes of all meetings.
the preparation and circulation of Draft Minutes and Agendas

two (2) days prior to any meeting.

the preparation of all other documents of the Association as deemed necessary by the Executive.
Distribution of said minutes with 10 days of the conclusion of executive meetings
presenting each new board member with a copy of the current constitution or direct them to the online version on the LRA website

5.4 The Treasurer shall

maintain an account with a Canadian chartered bank, in the name of the association, for all financial transactions. All payments shall be made by cheque and signed by two (2) designated signing officers
be in charge of all monies and accounts in the name of this Association and maintain a file of all receipts and disbursements.
be responsible for the accurate reporting on the accounts at all meetings.
be responsible for quarterly written reports to be submitted to the Executive.
submit a Treasurers report at the AGM noting the past years financial activities along shall sign and endorse all cheques together with the President,

5.5 Vice-President.

1. is responsible for chairing the Fundraising Committee meetings

and all activities and reports of that committee;

2. shall be responsible for the accounting of all monies related to fundraising

3. shall receive financial reports from the Chairpersons of all Committees as

determined by the Executive

5.6 The Chairpersons(s) of each Ad Hoq Committee shall report to the Executive on a regular basis on the activities of their respective committees. Ad Hoq committees may be created to deal with a specific issue and then dissolved.

5.7 The Past President shall serve for one year following his/her last year of service as President, retaining all Executive privileges, and assisting the board when requested. He/She does not have to reside within the boundaries of Lisgar to serve.

6. Processes for administering the Executive.

Resignations or removal prior to the end of the term may be filled by the executives with a member in good standing until the next AGM and the end of the term.

2. Any executive absent for three (3) consecutive meetings without notification or sufficient cause may cease to be an executive

3. All executive/officers are honorary and volunteer positions. No remuneration shall be offered or will be accepted

ARTICLE 7: AGM NOMINATION AND ELECTION

1. The AGM shall preferably be held annually in October with an expectation to be held no later than the end of November of each year.

2. Voting will be by ballot unless it is deemed by the president a show of hands is suitable

3. The President shall cast the deciding vote in the event of any tie

4. All candidates for the Executive, other than Past President, shall be nominated at or before the Annual General Meeting for the following year. A maximum of fifteen (15) members shall be elected as Executive of the LRA at a duly called Annual General Meeting. Nominations may be received from the floor of the meeting at which the elections are being held, provided that the nominee is present and is prepared to accept the nomination or has previously indicated his/her willingness to the President or Secretary to stand for election. Any members may be nominated.

5. Elections are by a majority vote by the membership at a meeting of the Association. The position of Past President is Ex-officio.

6. The term of office for the Executive, who are not officers shall be from the Annual General Meeting election date to the election held in the following year. Officers shall remain in office until their replacement is elected by the Executive.

7. In the event that any Officer is unable to complete his/her term of office, a replacement shall be elected by the Executive for the balance of his/her term.

8. Elected Officials (Municipal, Regional, Provincial, and Federal) are exempt from holding an Executive Position.

ARTICLE 8: MEETINGS

The executive shall meet a minimum of 3 times annually and these meeting are open to the public. In addition, the executive may have any number of closed meetings per year.
Executive meetings shall be held at the call of the President, or any two members of the Executive.
Ad Hoc Meetings shall be held at the call of the President or all other members of the Executive.
All members of the Executive must be notified of an Ad Hoc meeting at

least 48 hours (2 days) in advance of the date of the Ad Hoc meeting, and must be notified at the same time of the agenda of the meeting.

Where circumstances warrant such action, the President may canvass members of the Executive by telephone, email and/or social media in order to obtain a consensus.
Quorums:

1. A Quorum for an Executive meeting is achieved when a majority (50% plus one) of its members are present
2. The quorum for the AGM shall be 12 members with a minimum of 4 executives.

ARTICLE 9: CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Every officer on the Executive of the

Association who has, directly or indirectly, any interest, financial or otherwise in any contract or transaction to which the Association is or is to be a party shall declare their interest in such contact or transaction at the next meeting of the Lisgar Residents Association (LRA) Executive. They shall at that time disclose the nature and extent of such interest to the extent to which such information is within their knowledge or control. The Executive member shall abstain from voting on the issue in question. Membership in another City-recognized resident or ratepayers group constitutes a conflict of interest and will cause a person to cease to be an Executive member of the Association.

ARTICLE 10: MEMBERS CODE OF CONDUCT: All members agree to abide by the Code of Conduct and any breaches of the code will result in the suspension of membership until such time as the matter can be heard, in full, by a meeting of the Executive.

Adhere to the Ontario Human Rights Code as amended
Respect and protect the confidentiality of information received in the course of meetings and activities
Declare any potential conflicts of interest and, when necessary, refrain from related discussions and voting on same.
Treat fellow members with respect, courtesy, honesty and fairness, and have proper regard for their interests, rights, safety and welfare
Not harass, bully, or discriminate against fellow members
Act ethically, with honesty and integrity, in the best interests of the association at all times.

ARTICLE 11. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION: The constitution may be

amended at any membership meeting of the Association provided that:

The Amendment is promoted within the boundaries 7 days prior to the vote being called on the amendment.
The Amendment is approved by at least two-thirds of the voting members present at the meeting in which the vote is called.

ARTICLE 12: RULES OF PROCEDURE

In the event of any procedural conflicts, the President shall use Robert's Rules of order as the basis for the resolution of such disputes

ARTICLE 13: CONFLICT RESOLUTION per MEMBERS COMPLAINTS: From time to

time, the Lisgar Residents Association (LRA) Executive may receive a complaint regarding our public events, community initiatives or social media outreach. The LRA Executive is committed to responding to any member or associate member in a fair and respectful manner. For expediency, minor queries will be responded to in a timely manner in writing – whether privately through written letter or publicly through social media. For more serious queries, such as conflicts of interest, breach in code of conduct, or financial issues, the concern will be investigated by the LRA Executive and a written response formulated, with the City of Mississauga being included in the response.

ARTICLE 14: DISSOLUTION: the association may be dissolved by 2/3rds of an

executive vote in favour of dissolution

In the event this Association is dissolved, all of its remaining assets, after payment of liabilities, shall be offered to, in the following order:

- - The City of Mississauga Recreation Division, Parks, Forestry & Environment Division, or it’s successor for the betterment of the environment of the LRA as it pertains to its boundaries;
  - The Dam Youth Drop-In;
  - Eden Food Bank

ARTICLE 15: PRIVACY POLICY:

By completing our registration form via paper or online, if you live in Lisgar, you are registered as member of the Lisgar Residents' Association. You are therefore entitled to all of the membership privileges of the Lisgar Residents' Association, including but not limited to voting at the Annual General Meeting and any special meeting(s) of the membership.
If you provide an email address, you are granting permission for the Lisgar Residents' Association to contact you. You can withdraw your membership at any time. Your personal information will not be shared with LRA Members, other than the LRA Executive for administrative purposes, unless your permission is obtained. The city may ask us for membership information for the purposes of the Community Group Registry Program and should they we will ask your permission to do so first.

ARTICLE 16: POLITICAL AFFILIATION

The association is a non-partisan organization and therefore does not endorse any specific candidate seeking public office.
The association will seek reasonable opportunities to provide members with appropriate non-partisan information about the candidates and important community issues so that members and the community may be able to makes informed decisions when electing a candidate to any public office