Connecticut Police Work Dog Association

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CPWDA By-Laws

ARTICLE I

This association will be known as the Connecticut Police Work Dog Association.

ARTICLE 2 - OBJECTIVES

To unite and assist all law enforcement canine units within the State of Connecticut.

To establish a working standard for police work dogs in the State of Connecticut.

To provide educational material through publications, visual aids and training seminars.

To improve the image of the police service dog.

ARTICLE 3 - MEMBERSHIP

SECTION A: Regular Membership - Full membership in this association shall be open to any active or retired law enforcement officer from any military, state or municipal law enforcement agency or correction officer, who is or was a canine handler, trainer or canine unit administrator.

SECTION B: Regular Membership - Non-law enforcement personnel are eligible for regular membership by meeting the below requirements of this organization and providing documentation of same to the Executive Board of this association in resume form. The documentation will be reviewed by the Executive Board and the request for regular membership must be by a majority vote of the Executive Board.

1. Must presently be or have been a police service dog trainer for a law enforcement agency within the State of Connecticut.

2. Must have trained a minimum of three (3) police service dogs that have worked a minimum of two (2) years for a law enforcement agency within the State of Connecticut.

3. Must be recommended in writing by a regular member of this association who is a full time law enforcement officer.

SECTION C: Associate Membership - All persons accepted for associate membership into this organization shall enjoy all privileges of a regular member, but may not hold or be nominated for the officers of president, vice-president, secretary or treasurer.

1. Any full time law enforcement officer from a police, correction or sheriffs department outside the State of Connecticut.

2. Any P.O.S.T. certified officer from within the State of Connecticut.

ARTICLE 4 - DUTIES OF DIRECTORS

SECTION A: No officer or member serving on a committee shall receive any salary or compensation for services rendered to the association. They may, however, receive reimbursement for out of pocket expenses incurred in the normal duties of conducting business for the association. A proper receipt must be forwarded to the Treasurer/Chairperson at the time request is made for reimbursement.

SECTION B: A maximum of two representatives from the same law enforcement agency may be elected to the Executive Board.

SECTION C: A representative from this organization shall, when practical, attend the yearly national Executive Board meeting of the North American Police Work Dog Association. The representative shall monitor the content of the meeting and report back to the Executive Board on any new training information, legal updates or certification changes on the national level. The association shall be responsible for the travel expenses of this trip, if there is available funds. The representative shall be the State Coordinator for Connecticut, appointed by NAPWDA, or in his absence the Assistant State Coordinator for Connecticut, appointed by NAPWDA

PRESIDENT

It shall be the duty of the President to call and preside at all regular and special meetings. He shall see that the By-laws and all rules and regulations are respected and obeyed. He shall cast the deciding vote in case of a tie. He shall appoint committees and may designate their chairperson. He shall appoint the following committees; Membership, Newsletter, Grievance, Election, Accreditation and any ad-hoc committee necessary to conduct the affairs of the association. He shall appoint, pro tempore, officers in the event of absences. He shall perform such other duties as are usual and incidental to the office of President. He is a member ex-officio of all committees except the election committee.

VICE PRESIDENT

The Vice President shall actively assist and support the President in his duties and shall be President Pro-Tempore in the absence of the President, during which time the Vice President shall assume the duties and responsibilities of that office. He shall be required to attend, wi'th the President, all hearings, committee meetings, conferences, et cetera, to which the President is required or expected to attend on behalf of the membership. He shall act as liaison between the President and chairpersons of the committees. In event of a vacancy in the office of President during the elected term, he shall succeed to that office for the remainder of the designated term.

SECRETARY

It shall be the duty of the Secretary to accurately record the proceedings at meetings, read the minutes of previous meetings, and all communications. He shall call the roll of officers and note absences. He shall communicate and correspond with all persons and organizations both within and outside the association relative to the Executive Board business. He shall receive all monies in the absence of the Treasurer.

TREASURER / MEMBERSHIP CHAIRPERSON

It shall be the duty of the Treasurer/Membership Chairperson, to collect all monies due to the association, giving receipt thereof, he shall keep a suitable ledger of record for same. He shall deposit all monies of the association in a designated bank. He shall render statements in detail at each meeting of the association, showing receipts and disbursements in full to date, and the monies in the treasury. He shall draw all checks or other obligations authorized by the President, Vice President, and Executive Board and attested to by the Secretary. The account ledger as well as all papers shall be open for inspection and examination by the Executive Board. He shall not lend or invest any funds except when duly authorized by the Executive Board. The Treasurer/ Membership Chairperson shall keep record of all members, the standing of each and their date of admission, expiration and/or termination from the association. The Treasurer/Membership Chairperson shall be an elected office and is a member of the Executive Board with full voting privileges. The Treasurer/Membership Chairperson shall be responsible for mailing membership cards and dues notices.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

The board of Trustees shall consist of (3) three regular members; a one-year trustee, a two-year trustee and a three-year trustee. One regular member shall be elected as an alternate trustee, this term shall be for one year. The board of trustees shall act as agents of the Executive Board in all financial transactions between the committee and all other institutions and individuals. They shall, in conjunction with the Treasurer/Membership Chairperson, have custody of all finances, which shall be deposited in a reliable institution. The Treasurer/Membership Chairperson and at least one Trustee, shall, for each year ending December 31^st, contract the services of a certified public accountant for a reasonable fee, to prepare an annual audit and report. The alternate member of the board of trustees shall attend all meetings of the executive board and shall in the absence of a regular member, act in his/her place. The board of trustees can request an audit of all books, accounts, funds, etc; of this association or any committee that collects and or disburses funds of this association, not less than once each year at any time said board has shown just cause to believe such audit is warranted.

ARTICLE 5 - ELECTIONS

SECTION A: All candidates for office shall be nominated at the general membership meeting during the first monthly meeting of December, prior to an election year. At that time, the judge of elections will accept mail-in nominations. Mail-in nominations must be accompanied by:

1. Written permission by the nominee.

2. The signature of the regular member making the nomination.

SECTION B: A special lined envelope that is marked "OFFICIAL BALLOT" will be used by the member to return the ballot to the judge of elections. Only ballots received in the special, lined envelope will be counted. Any signature or note written on the ballot that would identify the voter will cause that ballot to be considered invalid. Any envelope that is opened before being received by the elections committee will be declared invalid.

SECTION C: OFFICIAL BALLOT envelopes will contain a serial number, starting with number 1, though the total number of regular and associate members eligible to vote on the state mailing list at the time of mailing. Names of nominees on the ballots shall be placed in alphabetical order for each office.

SECTION D: OFFICIAL BALLOTS in the envelope will be mailed back to the judge of elections postmarked no later than one month after nominations. The judge of elections will check the serial number and signature on the envelope against the list provided to him/her by the Treasurer/ Membership Chairperson, ensuring that only one envelope with the same number is received.

SECTION E: The judge of elections will hold all OFFICIAL BALLOT envelopes unopened until meeting with the election committee, at the next regular meeting.

SECTION F: The current President will appoint a committee of three members, not involved in the election. One of the three members will be appointed judge of elections. The committee will open the envelopes and not unfold the ballots. The envelopes will be discarded and the ballots will then be unfolded and counted, the committee will attest to the correct total. The ballots will be kept a reasonable amount of time.

SECTION G: A plurality of votes cast elect.

SECTION H: Newly elected officers shall take office at this meeting.

SECTION I: The elected term for President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer / Membership Chairperson will be two years.

SECTION J: The terms for the Board of Trustees shall be found under Article 4 and nominations will be accepted during the first monthly meeting in December of the election year for each trustee position.

ARTICLE 6 - OATH OF OFFICE

Officers will repeat after me and say, using your name where I do mine:

"I _______________ having been duly elected an officer of this association in the presence of Almighty God and this company assembled, do hereby solemnly and sincerely promise that I will, to the best of my ability in word and deed, without fear or favor, faithfully and honestly, and with strict impartiality, carry out as an officer of this association, the principles of this association."

Now, by the power vested in me as installing officer on this occasion, I do hereby declare the officers elect legally installed and qualified to enter upon the discharge of their duties for the year ending December 31, 20__, or until their successors are duly elected and installed.

ARTICLE 7 - MEETINGS

A quorum shall exist of the majority of the Executive Board present.

The President shall call at least two regular meetings of the Executive Board during the calendar year. He/she shall set the dates for such meeting with the approval of the majority of the Executive Board.

There shall be at least one meeting every four months, and at least one association-training workshop annually.

Meetings shall be conducted according to parliamentary law. Robert�s Rules of Order, newly revised, and shall be the guideline for conducting all meetings. All Executive Board members shall be notified adequately in advance as to any and all, meetings.

ARTICLE 8 - BY-LAWS

Amendments, additions or deletions: It shall be the duty of the by-laws Committee, which shall be consist of three members appointed by the President, to codify all proposed changes, additions or deletions to the By-laws. All proposed changes must be submitted in writing to the by-laws Committee. The by-laws Committee shall present the final form to the Executive Board with recommendations. The executive board shall review the modifications as submitted and vote to accept or reject the by-laws as submitted.

ARTICLE 9 - DUES

SECTION A: The yearly dues of the association will be $25.00. Dues will be collected on January 1st of each year. A renewal membership application will be mailed to every member in the winter newsletter. "NEW' memberships received on or after October 1st will be applied to the membership year starting January 1st of the following year. A $10.00 late fee will be charged for �renewal memberships� postmarked later than February 1^st of each renewal year.

SECTION B: After receiving and recording the date of payment and amount, the Treasurer/Membership Chairperson will deposit such monies in the appropriate bank designated to hold association funds. Yearly membership cards will be mailed out and signed (stamped) by the president of the association. All members needing an association mailing list shall contact the Secretary or Treasurer/Membership Chairperson.

SECTION C: Lifetime dues are $125.00. This covers the lifetime of one K-9 handler team. The benefit of a lifetime membership would be for those teams that have more than 5 working years. In the event a K-9 is retired early the balance may be applied to the new team. The fee is non-refundable. The lifetime option can save money for many handlers and relieves you or your PD from having to make the dues payment every year.

ARTICLE 10 - SERGEANT AT ARMS

The President shall appoint one member Sergeant at Arms. It shall be his/her duty to preserve order at all meetings, prevent unauthorized persons from attending meetings and perform other duties as may be directed by the presiding officer.

ARTICLE 11 - RULES AND REGULATIONS

Any member desiring the privilege of the floor shall rise and address the chair.

No member shall speak unless recognized by the chair.

No questions can come before the meeting unless properly moved and recorded and declared upon for discussion by the chair.

Any member may call for "ayes" and "nays" on any question, which each member present shall be required to answer to his name on the roll, unless excused by the chair.

A motion to consider must come from a member who votes with the majority when the motion to re-consider was taken.

When a point of order is raised by any member, a person having the floor shall take his/her seat until the point is decided by the chair, when, is proper, he/she may resume his/her remarks.

No subject laid on the table shall be taken up again during the same meeting unless it was so understood when disposed of.

Any member may appeal to the association from the decision of the chair when the question shall be stated thus: "Shall the decision of the chair be sustained?".

It shall be decided by a majority of votes cast.

ARTICLE 12 - IMPEACHMENT

Any officer or member may be removed for any violation of the provisions of the By-laws or for any personal conduct that may bring discredit upon the association.

Charges for the impeachment of any officer or member may be initiated by any two members in good standing or a grievance committee appointed by the President and shall be presented in writing to the Grievance Committee chairperson; The accused member or officer will be given a copy of the charges against him/her. If the Grievance Committee ascertains that there is enough evidence to warrant a hearing, the accused member will be notified of the meeting at which the hearing will be held, not less than thirty days prior to the hearing date. The accused shall be given the right to present evidence in his/her behalf at this hearing.

The Grievance Committee will then decide if the accused is innocent or guilty of the charges and present a recommendation to the Executive Board. If the accused is, in fact, found guilty the Executive Board will decide his/her penalty. If it is decided the charges warrant impeachment, with a majority vote of the Executive Board present, the accused officer shall be removed from officer and the accused officer or member shall never hold an office in the association.

ARTICLE 13 - CODE OF ETHICS

SECTION A: The application for membership shall provide that the applicant, if elected, agrees to abide by these By-laws and all rules adopted by the Executive Board. He/she further agrees to abide by the Code of Ethics.

SECTION B: No member shall act in any manner prejudicial to the association or the best interests of the association. In any exhibition or workshop, no member shall conduct himself/herself otherwise than in accordance with the highest traditions and standards of fair play and good sportsmanship. No member shall use the name and/or logo(s) of the association in any advertising or for any commercial purpose. No member shall display the name and/or logo(s) of the association in any way other than that approved by the Executive Board

1. This section prohibits the use of the name and/or logo(s) of the association in conjunction with, but not limited to, kennel/business names or names of members of the association whose intention, either implied or explicit, is to enhance their standing or reputation for either the selling, breeding or otherwise providing police work dogs and/or related products to prospective buyers by "advertising" that they, the sellers, were members of the association.

2. Any member wishing to use the name and/or logo(s) of the association in some particular manner may apply to the Executive Board for relief. The application must be in writing and shall include a sample of the intended use. The Executive Board, after making its considerations, will have the final say.

SECTION C: Any member, in good standing, may prefer charges against any other member for alleged misconduct in violation of the above Code of Ethics. Such charges must be in writing signed by the complainant, setting forth the facts upon which the charges are based in a concise and summary manner. It shall be filed with the GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE CHAIRPERSON. The complainant must agree to appear and furnish full evidence in support of the charges if requested to do so. The Grievance Committee will then proceed as described in Article 12.

SECTION D: Disciplinary action may include the temporary suspension of privileges, censure, expulsion or any other appropriate action.

SECTION E: If the Executive Board finds that a member in preferring charges against another member did so for spurious reasons or out of improper motives and if the charges are wholly false and without proper foundation, then the Executive Board may, if it desires, take appropriate disciplinary action against the complainant.

SECTION F: No disciplinary action shall be taken against a member, be he/she the complainant or the accused, unless the member shall have been afforded the opportunity of a hearing before the Grievance Committee.

SECTION G: Every member shall be presumed innocent of misconduct, and disciplinary actions shall be taken against a member only if he/she is found guilty of misconduct by evidence that is clear, precise and indubitable.

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