Notice of our 2024 Annual General Meeting

On November 6th at 7pm we are holding our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in The Langton to report back to our community about what we have been doing last year and to elect new officers.

We have done a lot this year, and it is always fun to look back and see what we did.

The positions that will be up for election are

• Chair
• Treasurer
• Secretary

Details of what is involved in these positions are shown below. If you want to stand for election please email info.fobb@gmail.com as soon as possible.

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Chair

Role:

The chair is the spokesperson for the organisation, representing and advocating for the aims and ambitions of FOBB, particularly within the organisations we work closely with. Their overall objective is to further the aims of FOBB following the aims of the mission statement.

Responsibilities:

• Chair monthly meetings, allowing participants time to share their ideas
• Ensure meetings have a chair and secretary to take minutes
• Where votes are taken a meetings, the chair makes the final decision
• Together with the secretary set an agenda, sign off minutes of previous meeting, ensure actions are completed or re submitted for future action
• Ensure sub groups report back to the main committee
• Ensure that health and safety is a priority, particularly at work parties, and that enough members are qualified to safely carry out tasks
• Ensure the group is covered by appropriate insurance
• Oversee, together with the treasurer and applicant, any grant applications made on behalf of FOBB
• Call the annual general meeting (AGM) in early November each year, giving one month’s notice.
• Call for nominations for all the officers – Chair, Treasurer and Secretary – ahead of the AGM.
• Produce, with the help of others, the annual report to be presented at the AGM on FOBBs achievements, events and contributions made to the local neighbourhood
• Keep and store copies of important documents

Treasurer

Role:

The treasurer oversees the general finance of FOBB.

They ensure FOBB spends its money correctly, pays its bills, keeps accurate accounts and does not get into financial difficulties. All expenditure has to be agreed by the chair and secretary and passed through the treasurer before monies are paid out. Monies are only paid out after receipts have been received by the treasurer.

Responsibilities:

• Record and track income, keeping remittance advices
• Accurately record expenditure and keep receipts
• Keep separate budgets for grant income (restricted expenditure), keeping an account of expenditure from the grant for report purposes, ensuring the grant is spent within the given time frame, and financial information is sent with any requested report
• Provide the chair and secretary with regular financial reports on balances and budgets
• Set an annual budget of income and expenditure. Where surplus income is not expected, call on the chair and secretary to make a planned expenditure for the year, taking into account pre-existing bills – for instance, insurance and web payments
• Reconcile accounts with bank statements to ensure accounts balance
• Keep accounts safe online, using a computer in the sole use of the treasurer
• Submit copies of the accounts to the chair and attendees of the AGM
• Write a Statement of Financial Affairs to accompany accounts
• Write a Treasurer’s Statement to briefly explain the financial position
• Keep up to date with new financial practices.

Secretary

Role:

Our secretary takes minutes at our meetings and communicates with our volunteers and supporters.

Responsibilities:

• Take minutes at our monthly meeting or find a replacement
• Send minutes to our mailing list within 2 weeks of the monthly meeting (or before) to allow actions to be completed
• Respond to emails in the FOBB inbox
• Manage our Whatsapp groups and the Mailchimp mailing list
• Make sure events and work parties are listed on our website
• Keep up-to-date contacts for organisations useful to FoBB, like owl and bat groups and invasive species experts
• Keep and store copies of important documents

Joint responsibilities with the chair:

• Agree the agenda ahead of monthly meetings
• Organise the annual general meeting (AGM) and advertise the date to volunteers, at least one month before the event
• Advertise the positions of chair, treasurer and secretary ahead of the annual general meeting. Call for nominations and facilitate a ballot at the AGM if there is more than one nomination for a position
• Sign off and keep record of the accounts provided by the treasurer at the AGM