The Community Council agreed to updated Terms of Reference for the Newsletter Group, which are below and may be altered at any time.
Benarty (Community Council) Newsletter Committee
Terms of Reference
Purpose
The committee is established by Benarty Community Council for the purposes of providing the Benarty area with a newsletter. The purpose of the sub-committee is to produce a regular newsletter for the Benarty area by gathering information, news and advertising and presenting it in a single format for distribution within the Benarty area, either by electronic form, physical form or both.
Membership
There will be a minimum of three members and a maximum of ten. The membership shall be no less than three voting members of the Community Council. Membership can be increased by co-opting other people within the community for specific tasks, such as editing, formatting of newsletter, printing and distribution of the newsletter, collecting and collating content and collecting and collating advertising, plus additional miscellaneous task including online work. The sub-committee will elect a chair and secretary from the Community Councillors. All others will be ordinary committee members and all are entitled to vote. No person may hold both offices at the same time.
Decision making
Decision making shall be by agreement, although the Chair will have the final say in disputed matters. To conduct business the quorum shall be three. All members will have a vote, chair can have a deciding vote in the event of any tie. Matters voted on must be recorded in minutes. Voting for any item, procedure, or motion shall be by show of hands at a meeting, counted by the Secretary, confirmed by the Chair and the amount for and against noted in minutes.
Meetings
This committee shall decide its own schedule. The sub-committee will meet a minimum of three times per calendar year but will determine its own schedule at the first meeting and provide this schedule in writing to the Community Council. Minutes will be approved at the next sub-committee meeting and made public thereafter, by publishing online and made available at Benarty library. No ad hoc meetings may be called. Meetings are open to members of the sub-committee and community councillors. Meetings are for conducting the business of producing a newsletter, from initial setting up to agreement on layout design and content, then production of newsletter. It is understood that work on the newsletters may be required to be conducted out with meetings.
Finance
The sub-committee may set up and run a bank account for funding and paying of bills. The sub-committee may request funding from external bodies for activities in relation to the newsletter. The sub-committee may charge for advertising within the newsletter. Records of spending and income are to be kept. The sub-committee may agree any contributor/editorial remuneration at their first meeting, subject to approval by the Community Council.
Reporting and monitoring
Reports and updates will be made to all Community Council meetings. Minutes will be forwarded to the Community Council.
Additional
Out with these terms the Committee will be free to pursue the production of the newsletter as they see fit.
Review
The sub-committee may be reviewed by the Community Council on an annual basis or at the discretion of the Community Council.
