Policies & Procedures
A copy of the Annapolis Board of Trade By-Laws can be downloaded. A partial list of key points of interest are shown below.
Meetings
The required notice of a meeting shall include its agenda as well as the time and place. [Council, 13 February 2014]
A meeting cannot be called to order unless a quorum is present. Thereafter a quorum is presumed to be present unless a member raises it as a point of order. If it is established that there is not a quorum, previous business stands, but remaining business cannot be addressed unless a quorum can be re-established. [Council, 14 November 2013]
S 19 (1) of the Boards of Trade Act states that ordinary members may attend meetings of the council but may not “take part in any proceedings thereat”. Ordinary members should not therefore move, second or vote on any motion at a council meeting. Members of the council may ask the chair for a ruling if they believe that S 19 (1) is pertinent. [Council, 8 November 2012]
To expedite business, expenditures may be approved by vote of the council in the course of general meetings. [Council, 14 November 2013]
Membership and voting rights
Membership of ABoT is open to businesses and associations, etc., as well as to individuals. An applicant for membership can only be admitted by a two-thirds majority at a general meeting. To be in good standing thereafter, a member must pay the annual dues, which become payable on 1 March each year. The council may remove a member from the rolls if the dues have not been paid within three months. [By-laws 8 – 12, 14, 17]
Member businesses must nominate in writing an individual to represent them at meetings. An individual may therefore represent more than one member in good standing. In that case the individual has one vote for each member represented, and each shall be counted as present for the purpose of establishing a quorum. [Council, 13 February 2014]
For the purpose of calculating membership dues, 1760 hours of work per year is equivalent to one “employee”. [Council, 12 June 2014]
Dues for newly admitted members in the current year shall be pro-rated according to the number of months remaining from, and including, the month of admission to the end of the membership year, i.e. to the end of the following February. [Council, 13 November 2014]
This policy shall take effect from 1 March 2015. [General meeting, 10 December 2014]
Approval of activities by the council
Non-trivial activities proposed to the council shall not be approved in future unless they have a satisfactory budget for human as well as financial resources. [Council, 26 July 2012]
When the President judges that a matter requires resolution before the next meeting, a vote may be called by e-mail; the motion will be carried when approved by at least 51% of the whole council, i.e. by at least six members. [Council, 10 July 2014]
Approval of expenditures by the council
Following the adoption of an annual budget, the council shall consider a motion to approve in advance future expenditures contemplated within that budget as amended from time to time. [General meeting, 12 September 2013]
A petty cash fund shall be established under the control of the Treasurer, with a balance never to exceed $250. The Treasurer shall present to each meeting of the council a statement of expenditures from this fund not yet approved by the council, together with the corresponding receipts. The Treasurer shall replenish this fund in the amount of such of these expenditures as are approved by the council. [Council, 9 August 2012]
Henceforth the Treasurer shall provide each council meeting with a schedule of income and expenditures for approval by the council under By-law 35 (a). [Council, 9 August 2012]
The council shall name three members of the council, any two of whom may sign cheques or authorize payments made by any other means. [By-law 35 (d) and (e)]
Audit of financial statements
An auditor shall be appointed by the members present at the annual general meeting and they shall audit the books and the accounts of the board at least once in each year. [By-law 54]
The Treasurer shall submit an audited financial statement at the annual general meeting and at any other time required by the council. [By-laws 35 (b) and 54]
Vacancies and absences from the council
Vacancies on the council, and members of the council absent from three consecutive meetings, shall be reported to the next general meeting, which may elect replacements. [By-law 20]
Members’ privacy
Information pertaining to an individual member of the board shall not be released by the council without that member’s prior consent. The council may instead permit a request for information to be forwarded to members for reply at their own discretion. [Council, 21 February 2013]
Messages will not be forwarded to members of ABoT unless authorized by the council. [Council, 11 July 2013]
Affiliation
Certain benefits, such as group insurance, accrue to our members when ABoT is a member in good standing of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce. ABoT shall maintain its membership of the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce while members in good standing are taking advantage of those benefits. [Council, 13 February 2014]
Committees
An Executive Committee shall be formed, consisting of the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer; its mandate shall be to monitor execution of the council’s decisions and to make recommendations. [Council, 14 November 2013]
The committees are:
- Membership
- Tourism
- Finance
- Marketing
- Events
[Council, 10 April 2014]
Website
Current members will have privileges on the website not open to non-members. Membership fees become due on 1 March each year; those who have not paid by 1 June are delinquent and may then be removed from the rolls. [By-Laws 14, 17]
Those members who have paid their dues for the present or the previous year shall be deemed to be current members for the purposes of the website until 1 June of each year; those who have not paid for the present year shall then be removed from the list. [Annual general meeting, 20 March 2014]
