CONSTITUTION and BY-LAWS BERKS COUNTY FIREMEN's
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CONSTITUTION and BY-LAWS BERKS COUNTY FIREMEN'S ASSOCIATION of Pennsylvania Organized December 20, 1913 at Reading, PA CONSTITUTION ARTICLE 1. Name The name of this Association shall be "The Berks County Firemen's Association." ARTICLE II. Object The objects of this Association shall be the general improvements of the fire service throughout the County of Berks, to open discussions upon the best manner and means for the fighting of fires and for their prevention; to promote the organization of fire companies and fire departments in towns and villages now without such protection; to encourage fraternal friendship among firefighters, and to provide for and maintain a fund for the payment of benefits to its members. ARTICLE III. Membership Section 1. The membership of this Association shall be divided as follows: Active, Life and Honorary. Section 2. The Active membership shall be composed of two delegates, duly elected before the January meeting by the respective organizations in Berks County, such delegates, who, after becoming members as representatives of their Organizations, continue from their first admission to membership, as individual members, and others, who have served the probationary period, to comply with the laws of the Association relative to the payment of dues. Section 3. Life membership shall be conferred upon all ex-presidents, ex-secretaries and ex- treasurers of the Association, and all members who have retained membership for thirty consecutive years. Section 4. The Honorary roll shall be composed of those elected at an annual convention in recognition of some meritorious act in the interest of this Association, or that of the fire service in general. ARTICLE IV. Officers Section 1. The Officers of this Association shall be a President, a Vice President, a Vice President from each zone of the County (who shall be nominated at a caucus to be held by the -2- Delegates and Members of their respective Zone), a Recording Secretary, a Financial Secretary, a Treasurer, a Fire Marshall and three (3) Trustees. Said Officers, with the exception of two of the three Trustees shall be elected at the annual convention by a majority vote of the members present, to serve for a term of one year from the date of their election or until their successors are chosen and have qualified. The Trustees, one to be elected each year, shall serve for a term of three years or until their successors are chosen and have qualified. Section 2. At the same time there shall be elected a delegate or delegates and alternates to represent the Association in all organizations to which the Association is a member or may so become in the future with the exception of the Delegate to the State Firemen's Association. The duly elected President of this Association shall be the designated delegate to the State Firemen's Association convention. Section 3. If a vacancy occurs in any of the elective offices of the Association, the President, shall, within thirty days after such vacancy occurs, appoint a successor to serve the un-expired term. ARTICLE V. Committees The Standing Committees of this Association shall be the Executive, Law and Legislative and Auditing, whose term of office shall extend from the date of their appointment until the close of the Annual Convention following their appointment. The President shall have the power to appoint said Standing Committees which he shall do within thirty days after the Annual Convention, and shall also have the power to appoint such additional committees as may be necessary from time to time. ARTICLE VI. Meetings Section 1. The Annual Convention shall be held in the City of Reading, or adjacent thereto, as the Executive Board shall designate, on the last Saturday of January of each year. Section 2. There shall be held besides the Annual Convention - a convention on the last Saturday of October of each year, at such places as the Executive Committee shall designate. Failure to call such a Convention shall not dissolve the Association. Section 3. Special meetings may be called by the President, or at the request of the Executive Committee, or on application of twenty-five members or delegates of the Association. All calls for special meetings shall clearly state the business to be transacted at such meeting, and no other business shall be in order. -3- ARTICLE VII. By-Laws By-Laws for the government of the Association may be adopted by a majority vote of the members present at any convention and amendments made hereto by the consent of two-thirds of the members present in meeting. ARTICLE VIII. Amendments Amendments to this Constitution must be made at the Annual Convention of the Association and with a concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Notice of an intended alternation or amendment must be given at a previous meeting of the Association and must be presented in writing. -4- BY-LAWS ARTICLE 1. Membership Section 1. All fire companies or fire organizations located in Berks County shall be eligible to membership in this association. Any other fire companies or fire organizations located outside Berks County may be eligible if they serve Berks County. Section 2. Persons entitled to active membership under the Constitution of this Association, shall be admitted upon the credentials as hereinafter prescribed and the payment of annual dues. Section 3. Delegates to one convention may continue their membership as individual members upon payment of $4.00 (Beneficial Member), $3.00 (Non Beneficial Member) in consecutive years. Section 4. Any person in good standing with a Fire Organization and over 45 years of age may become a member of the Association as an individual member or delegate and pay the regular admission fee to become a member and yearly dues of $3.00 thereafter. They shall not participate in the Death Fund. Yearly dues shall be assigned to the General Fund. Section 5. Individual members appearing as the representative of their fire organization shall not lose their standing as individual members. Section 6. Life members shall be entitled to all the privileges of active members. Section 7. The annual dues for each Fire Company or Organization shall be $15.00 and shall be in the hands of the Financial Secretary before the day of the Annual Meeting, in each year, to gain recognition on the roll of members. This Organizational Dues shall be credited as follows: If one (1) Beneficial Delegate is submitted, $4.00 shall be credited to the Death Fund and $11.00 to the General Fund. If two (2) Beneficial Delegates are submitted, $8.00 shall be credited to the Death Fund and $7.00 to the General Fund. If one (1) Beneficial Delegate and one (1) non-Beneficial Delegate are submitted, $4.00 shall be credited to the Death Fund and $11.00 to the General Fund. If one (1) Non-Beneficial Delegate is submitted, the $15.00 shall be credited to the General Fund. If two (2) Non-Beneficial Delegates are submitted, the $15.00 shall be credited to the General Fund. Section 8. Fire Companies or Organizations in arrears with their dues shall be termed delinquents, and whenever they fail to pay the annual dues they shall not be entitled to participate in any meeting of the Association, and when they are in arrears for two (2) years, they shall be -5- notified by the Financial Secretary of their indebtedness and be served with an abstract of the Association’s law on delinquents. Upon failure to pay up the arrearage by the next convention, they shall be dropped from the roll of membership by the President in meeting. However the individual members shall be privileged to continue their membership in the Association, should their respective fire organization resign or be dropped from the rolls of the Association. Section 9. Any person in good standing in their Fire Organization either in the City of Reading or County of Berks shall be eligible to membership in this Association upon the payment of $4.00 provided the applicant does not exceed forty-five (45) years of age. Applicants over forty-five (45) years of age the fee shall be $3.00. Section 10. Fire companies after being chartered thru the local courts, may make application for membership in the Association. Any other fire organization may also make application for membership. Each application shall be investigated by the Executive Committee and upon approval they shall be elected to membership, and be assigned to the proper zone by the executive committee. Fire Company and Zone to be notified by the Executive Committee thru letter. No fire company shall become an active member of any zone until their acceptance and election to membership in the Berks County Firemen's Association. ARTICLE II. Nomination and Election of Officers and the Place of Next Meeting Section 1. Nomination of officers of the Association, and delegates to all organizations in which the Association holds membership shall take place at the meeting next preceding the Annual Convention each year. Section 2. If there is more than one nomination for any of the offices or delegates of the Association, the Recording Secretary shall, before the Annual Convention of each year, have ballots printed containing the names of each candidate nominated at the previous meeting and the office for which the candidate is nominated. This shall be the official ballot and shall be given to every delegate and member presenting a duly signed receipt for dues for the current year, or a delegate's credential card, at the annual convention. No additional nominations may be made at the Annual Convention. Where there is no opposition, the election shall be thru acclamation vote of the members present.