Fire Chiefs' Association of Massachusetts, Inc.

This is the current constitution and by-law including he amendments approved 15 August 2007

FIRE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION OF MASSACHUSETTS, INC.

CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE I

NAME AND PURPOSE

This organization shall be known as the "Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts".

The purpose of this organization is to further the professional advancement of the fire service; to serve as the recognized Fire Chiefs' organization for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and experience in the area affecting fire prevention, fire extinguishment, and the safety of life and property from fire; and to promote efficient fire administration.

ARTICLE II

CODE OF ETHICS

FIRE CHIEFS' ASSOCIATION OF MASSACHUSETTS

SECTION 1

We shall be dedicated to the concepts of effective fire protection by responsible fire chiefs and we believe that professional management is essential to the achievement of this objective.  We pledge ourselves to advance the science of fire service through training courses and other methods to meet the proper requirements of our profession.

SECTION 2

We recognize that the most important function of local fire departments is to serve the best interests of the community.

SECTION 3

We shall be dedicated to the highest ideals of personal character, honor and integrity in all public and personal relationships in order that fire chiefs may merit the respect and confidence of the community.

SECTION 4

We shall refrain from participating in any local election of the members of the employing executive body and from all political activities which may impair our performance as professional administrators.

SECTION 5

We shall handle all matters in our best judgment so that fairness and impartiality govern our decisions.

SECTION 6

We shall observe all of the provisions of the Constitution of the United States, the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and all applicable local statutes.

SECTION 7

We shall make known the risks to be anticipated, should the fire chiefs' professional recommendations be disregarded by others.

SECTION 8

We shall recognize the professional competence and the mutual dependence of all fire chiefs and we pledge cooperation to those professionals and agencies concerned with the improvement of fire protection.

SECTION 9

We shall never intentionally injure or embarrass the reputation or position of another fire chief.  We shall strive to protect and maintain the integrity of the fire service and our fellow fire chiefs.

ARTICLE III

QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP

SECTION 1

CLASS 1‑‑ACTIVE MEMBERS

Active members shall be:  Chiefs of Fire Departments, Acting Chiefs, Chief Engineers, Chiefs of Fire Districts, Directors of Fire Services as established by the Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, or any city ordinance or town by‑law, a Director of Community Safety or Fire Commissioner who was a former Fire Chief (subject to review by the Board of Directors) and out‑of‑state Fire Chiefs (excluding voting rights).

SECTION 2

CLASS 2‑‑LIFE MEMBERS

Any active member as defined in Article III ‑Section 1 ‑Active Member‑Class 1, who retires from active duty, has been a member of the Association for three years, and is in good standing, shall thereafter become a Life Member.  Life Members have all the privileges of Active‑Class 1 Members.  Out‑of‑State Fire Chiefs are excluded from voting rights.

Active members as defined in Article III‑Section 1 with less than three years as a member of the Association, to obtain Life Membership will require a two‑thirds vote of the Board of Directors.

Any member of this Association, who has held the position of President, shall automatically be given their “life” membership classification and be entitled to all the privileges of an Active-Class 1 member.

SECTION 3

                                                     CLASS 3‑‑ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Application for Associated Membership shall be submitted only by an Active Fire Chief who is a member of the Association in good standing.  All applications for Associate Membership shall be referred to the Board of Directors for their review and their recommendation, that is published in the MONTHLY NEWSLETTER and be voted on at the next regular meeting.  Applications acted upon unfavorably shall not be submitted to the general membership for election.  All applications so voted by the membership shall be reviewed each year by the Board of Directors.

Associate Members may not be considered by the Board of Directors if they have any affiliation with a Municipal or Private Fire Department within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The action taken by the Board on an unfavorable vote of an Associate Membership application shall be reported to the membership in the Board of Directors minutes at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Association.

Associate Members may attend business sessions of the Association but shall not have voting rights within the Association.

Associate Members presently on the rolls of this organization prior to the adoption of these amended By‑Laws may be exempted from the provision of Article III ‑ Section 3 ‑ Class 3 ‑ paragraph #2.

Associate Membership is for one person only. There may be more than one Associate member per company or organization, but each member must apply for membership and be voted on as an individual Associate member. (added 05-01-05)

The first Associate member of a company or organization shall pay the required annual dues fee. All other Associate members of the same company or organization shall pay fifty-percent (50%) of the required annual dues fee and have the same privileges as any other Associate member. (added 05-01-05)

SECTION 4

CLASS 4 ‑ HONORARY MEMBERSHIP

An application for Honorary Membership may be submitted by any Active Class 1 member on behalf of another person.  The application shall be automatically referred to the Board of Directors who shall act upon same.  Only those acted upon favorably by the Board of Directors shall be submitted to the General Membership for their vote.

An Honorary Member shall be a person who has rendered conspicuous service to the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts, Inc.  Honorary Members shall not have voting rights.

Applications from the State Fire Marshal; Deputy Fire Marshal shall be voted on by the Board of Directors for Honorary Membership and acted upon.  If the vote is favorable by the Board, it shall be submitted to the General Membership for their vote.

SECTION 5

SPECIAL MEMBERS

An application for special membership may be submitted by any Active Class 1 member on behalf of another person.  The application shall be automatically referred to the Board of Directors, who shall act upon same.  Only those applications receiving favorable action from the Board of Directors shall be submitted to the general membership for their vote.

Special Membership is for those persons who desire to be affiliated with the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts, Inc., but do not meet any other membership classification.  Special Members shall not have voting rights.

Applications from the Director of the Fire Academy: Director of Operations; Director of Fire Marshall Office; Director of Emergency Response; Director of Hazardous Materials Response; Section Commander of Fire & Explosion Unit shall be voted on by the Board as Special Membership, and acted upon.  If the vote is favorable by the Board, it shall be submitted to the General Membership for their vote.

Any other members of the Department of Fire Services may be voted on by the Board if they deem it necessary.

These members may attend business sessions of the Association but have no voting rights. When a position is vacated for any reason, the in-coming person shall be voted on by the Board and General Membership.

In the event any of these positions are held by a Life Member of this Association, they will retain their voting rights within the Association.

SECTION 6

NEW MEMBERS

Only Active‑Class 1 and Life‑Class 2 members may propose any new member.

ARTICLE IV

OFFICERS AND THEIR ELECTION

SECTION 1

The officers of the Association shall consist of a President, First Vice President, Second Vice President and a Secretary/Treasurer.

SECTION 2

The Board of Directors shall consist of 20 members, including the President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, Immediate Past President and one Director for each Fire District (15) as spelled out in Executive Order #437.  If a Fire District is unable to select a Director for the Annual Election, it will be up to them to select a Director from another district to represent them.

Among the duties of the board of Directors shall be determining eligibility for membership and the receiving, investigation and adjudication of complaints of violation of the Associations' Constitution and By‑laws.

SECTION 3

There shall be an Auditing Committee made up of three (3) members from the Board of Directors.  The President shall appoint the three-member committee no later than thirty (30) days after taking office.

SECTION 4

Nominations of Officers shall be made from the floor at the MARCH meeting; elections and balloting at the APRIL meeting and induction of Officers at the MAY meeting.  Whenever a single nomination exists for any office (no contest), a motion, and  "Have the secretary cast one ballot for the nominee" may be in order and if seconded, the nominee will be duly elected if the meeting concurs by vote.

SECTION 5

Officers, when elected, must be active members, in good standing from the State of Massachusetts. The Secretary/Treasurer position may be held by a Retired Fire Chief if he is duly nominated and elected by the membership. The Immediate Past President shall be an active member of the Association assuming said office after completing a full one year term as President.

SECTION 6

The term of office for the President, First Vice President, Second Vice

President, Secretary/Treasurer shall be one (1) year and should any of the elected officers voluntarily retire from their positions as Chief of a fire Department, while serving as an officer of the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts, Inc, upon request to and approval from a majority of the members of the Board of Directors present at a legally called meeting of said Board, shall continue in the office he is holding at the time of his retirement from the Fire Department until the next scheduled election of Officers.  Conversely, should an Officer of the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts, Inc. wish to withdraw from office to which he has been elected, at the time of his retirement as Chief of a Fire Department, he shall notify the President and the Board of Directors of his intent to withdraw.

The notice of withdrawal shall be accepted by the Board of Directors and upon accepting such notice, the Board shall take such necessary and appropriate action to appoint, elect or otherwise fill the vacant office.  All actions of the Board in the aforementioned matter shall be presented to the membership for ratification.

SECTION 7

No Officer of the Association who is serving the Association after having retired as Chief of a Fire Department, shall continue to serve in that capacity upon election to any public office.

SECTION 8

The Officers and Directors shall have charge and control of the management of the Association, including ways and means of carrying out its objectives and purposes, subject to the wishes of the members expressed at any regular meeting.

SECTION 9

The Board of Directors shall annually appoint a Governmental Affairs Director.  Selection shall be by a majority vote of said Board.

The Governmental Affairs Director shall submit to the Board of Directors a proposed budget not later than March 1st of each year.  The Board of Directors shall review said budget and forward it, together with their recommendation to the General Membership for action by them.  The Board, however, shall have the power and authority to authorize a supplement to a deficient budget when it is in the best interest of the Organization.  Transfers authorized in this manner shall be only made at a regular meeting of the Board and then by a majority vote of the same.

SECTION 10

Section 10 – Candidates for the elected positions of President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Directors, shall make their intentions known that they are a candidate for office by submitting their candidacy to the Secretary/Treasurer no less than ninety (90) days prior to the MARCH meeting for posting in the FCAM newsletter at least sixty (60) days prior to the MARCH meeting. Should there only be one candidate for an elected position and said candidate withdraws his/her name from consideration after the required submission date, the Board of Directors shall be allowed to reopen search for candidates.

                                                                        SECTION 11

Section 11 – The title of President Emeritus; Vice President Emeritus; Secretary/Treasurer Emeritus; or Director Emeritus can be awarded to a member who has served honorably as an elected official of the Association, and having made a significant contribution to the success and betterment of this Association while serving as an active member.

Emeritus members shall be nominated and approved by the Board of Directors and shall render service to this Association in an advisory and consultative capacity as is mutually agreed to by the Executive Board and the Emeritus or Emeriti Officer.  The Board of Directors will forward their recommendation for awarding Emeritus membership(s) to a monthly meeting where it will be read by the President and voted on by the membership assembled.

ARTICLE V

MEETINGS

A meeting of the Association shall be held on the third Wednesday of each month.  Notification, by mail, shall be made of the hour and a place and/or cancellation or rescheduling as shall be decided upon by the President, Officers, and Directors.

Special Meetings of the Active members may be called by the President or majority members of the Board of Directors for confidential matters of concern for these members only.

Meetings shall be in two separate parts, business and program. Attendance at business portion shall be limited to Active, Life and Associate members only.

All meetings shall require a quorum of thirty (30) active members present and voting.

ARTICLE VI

AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION

SECTION 1

Any alteration or addition to this Constitution shall be offered in writing at any regular meeting of the Fire Chiefs Association of Massachusetts and shall be forwarded to the By-law Committee for review where the proposed By-law alteration or addition shall be reported on by the By-law Committee at the next regular meeting.

            The proposed By-law alteration or addition shall not be acted upon until the membership shall have been twice (2 times) notified of the proposed amendment with not less than sixty (60) days notice prior to the meeting where the proposed amendment will be acted upon; provided however, not less than sixty (60) voting members are present at such meeting.

ARTICLE VII

DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

The President shall preside at all meetings of the Association, preserve decorum, decide questions of order, subject to Roberts Rules.  He shall be Chairman of the Board of Directors.

The First Vice‑President shall perform the duties of the President in his absence.  He shall be Chairman of such Standing Committees as approved by the President.

The Second Vice‑President shall perform the duties of the President and/or the First Vice‑President in their absence, and shall be Chairman of Committees approved by the President.

The President, 1^st Vice President, and 2^nd Vice President shall receive a stipend, as recommended by the Board of Directors and ratified by the membership at the Annual meeting in May. 

The Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of the business meetings, attend to all correspondence, and in general perform such duties as are done by such Officer.  He shall issue news releases for publication, as approved by the President.

The Treasurer shall receive all money due the Association, pay all bills when approved by the President, and once a year, or when called upon by a majority vote of the Board of Directors, submit a statement of the financial condition of the Association.

The Secretary/Treasurer shall receive such compensation as the Association, at the May Meeting, shall determine.

The Auditing Committee shall meet at such a date fixed by the President, but not later than one week before the June meeting, to examine the accounts of the Treasurer and at the June meeting report to the members the results of such audit.

The President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, and

Secretary/Treasurer shall serve as the grievance committee.

The Sergeant‑at‑Arms is not an elected office.  However, the President shall appoint a Sergeant‑at‑Arms at each meeting to check credentials and monitor the voting of the members.

The Immediate Past President will participate in all Executive level and Directors Meetings and shall have full voting rights. He shall perform such duties as assigned by the President.

ARTICLE VIII

STANDING COMMITTEES

SPECIAL COMMITTEES

The Standing Committees shall be made up of active members appointed by the President.  Such Committees shall include:

                     Program

                     Legislative

                     Civil Service

                     Public Safety‑Fire Prevention Rules and Regulations

                     Education and Training

                     Labor Relations

                     Constitution and By‑Laws

                     Arson

                     Building Code

                     Medical

Special Committees to be appointed by the President as needed.

ARTICLE IX

NON‑PAYMENT OF DUES

Whenever any member shall fail to pay his dues on or before August 1, for the current year, he shall be notified by mail of his indebtedness to the Association, and if it is not paid within thirty (30) days of said notice, the Treasurer shall so report to the Officers and Board of Directors, and they shall drop the name of such member from the roll of the Association.  Any member so dropped can be reinstated by paying his indebtedness to the Association.

Special assessments must be paid within three (3) months of the date of assessment, or the member shall be dropped form the roll and reinstated only when he pays his indebtedness.

BY‑LAWS

ARTICLE I

QUORUM

Thirty (30) active members shall constitute a quorum to transact business.  Seven (7) members shall constitute a quorum of the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE II

ORDER OF BUSINESS

1.    Reading of minutes of previous meeting

2.    Sickness and Distress

3.    Communications

4.    Applications for membership

5.    Reports of Standing Committees

6.    Reports of Special Committees

7.    Unfinished business

8.    New Business

9.    Remarks for the good of the Association

ARTICLE III

ANNUAL DUES

SECTION 1

Section 1 replaced 01/15/03                                                                                                          

SECTION 2

Any new member as defined under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution shall not be required to pay dues for the remainder of the fiscal year, providing that their predecessor was a member and was in good standing.

SECTION 3

Seventy‑five ($75.00) dollars of the Active Chief's Dues and thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents ($37.50) of the active Call Chief's dues shall be designated for the LEGAL DEFENSE FUND.  The Board of Directors shall set guidelines to assure that the monies in the LEGAL DEFENSE FUND shall be spent for their intended purpose.  Any request for utilization of the LEGAL DEFENSE FUND shall be presented to the Board of Directors who will investigate the appropriateness and make a recommendation at a regular or special meeting.  Funding will be approved by a majority vote of the Active Permanent and Call Chief's present.

SECTION 4

The Legal Defense Fund will be capped at One-Hundred Thousand dollars ($100,000.00) and all monies received over and above this amount will be directed to the General Fund of the Association.  (Section 4 added 03-21-01)

SECTION 5

That no monies, in access of $500.00 for any single item, shall be expended from the general fund of the Association at any monthly meeting, for any reason, without prior approval of the Board of Directors, however the general membership of the Association, may override the decision of the Board of Directors by a majority vote, providing the Secretary/Treasurer has sufficient funds in the Treasury to cover the expense. 

ARTICLE IV

MANNER OF ADMITTING MEMBERS

Applications for Active Membership shall be submitted to the Secretary and referred to the Directors who shall act on same and make their report at the next regular meeting.  Applications must be accompanied by the initiation fee of $25.00 for FY-2004, $30.00 for FY – 2005, and $45.00 for FY –2006 and signed by an active member or life member.  Applications for Associate Membership shall be handled in the same manner as above and shall be accompanied by the initiation fee of $25.00 for FY-2004, $30.00 for FY – 2005, and $45.00 for FY –2006 and must be signed by an Active or Life member.

If the applicant is found eligible he shall be voted on by the Association; and if there are enough majority votes in favor of his application, he shall be elected.

In case of Honorary Members, their qualifications must be stated in an open meeting by one of the active members.