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101 - Area Chapter Requirements
102 - Committees
103 - Expenses: Lodging, Meals, Mileage
104 - Reimbursements
105 - Lodging for Conference Meetings
106 - Voting Procedures
107 - Responsibilities: Area Chair
108 - Fiscal year
109 - Membership Term
110 - Annual and Automatic Audit
111 - Quarterly Audits
112 - Meeting Minutes
113 - Executive Board Meetings
114 - Dress Code
115 - Conduct
116 - Alcoholic Beverage Consumption
117 - Parliamentarian
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SOG: 101
AREA CHAPTER REQUIREMENTS:
The Area Chairperson or Secretary Treasurer must submit the quarterly report to the Executive/Treasurer. This shall contain minutes of meetings, activities, etc.
The Area Chairperson shall attend the Board of Directors meetings, or send an alternate. Absences will be dealt with as outlined in the Bylaws Article V(B).
SOG: 102
COMMITTEES:
All committee appointees shall attend all meetings of their committee, unless excused by the committee chairperson or an alternate is sent. Where the committee is a State committee, and the appointed person cannot attend, the alternate will attend and the President of the W.F.I.A. shall be notified. Failure to follow this procedure will result in the replacement of the committee member.
Committee members shall be required to present reports at the next Board meeting following their committee meeting(s). If the committee member is unable to attend the Board meeting a report shall be forwarded to the President prior to the Board meeting.
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SOG: 103
EXPENSES:
This SOG pertains to ALL association representatives, including but not limited to the Executive Board and Board of Directors.
(1) LODGING:
Reimbursement for lodging will only be approved if you leave your departing destination before 6:00 AM or will not be able to return to your home destination until after 8:00 PM.
Prior approval of the President, or in his/her absence, the 1st Vice President must be acquired before a trip requiring lodging reimbursement takes place.
For the good of the association, it is encouraged that you extend the 6:00 AM - 8:00 PM time frames, within reason, so that lodging reimbursement is not required.
Upon receiving prior notification of an upcoming lodging expense, the President may elect to send an association representative that resides in a closer location to the meeting or activity.
Lodging reimbursement not to exceed $100.00 plus tax per night, unless granted approval by the Executive Board.
(2) MEALS:
Breakfast reimbursement is not to exceed $ 10.00.
Lunch reimbursement is not to exceed $ 15.00.
Dinner reimbursement is not to exceed $20.00.
Executive Board Members shall have the discretionary authority to approve a higher amount due to the variety of costs among various locations.
(3) MILEAGE:
For the good of the Association and to eliminate mileage reimbursement, members traveling to meetings or other Association activities should try to utilize a municipal vehicle.
The President must give approval for mileage reimbursement before the expense is incurred and the President may elect to send a closer Association representative.
Approved mileage reimbursement will be at the current federal rate.
All reimbursed expenses must be incurred directly involving Association activities. Expenses will be reimbursed from your home to the meeting or activity location and return to your home. No expenses will be reimbursed for any other non-association activities incurred on the dates of Association activities.
(4) Conference Costs:
Conference registration costs will be waived for any Executive Board member or Board of Director member in attendance while representing the Association provided they do not have unexcused absences from scheduled Board meetings throughout the year.
[By-Laws Article V (C)].
1) Conference registration costs will be waived for the Conference Committee Chairperson.
2) Conference registration costs will be waived for other members of the conference committee based on consensus by the President, 1st and 2nd vice-presidents and the committee chairperson. Such list shall be presented to the Board for consideration.
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SOG: 104
Reimbursements:
All requests for reimbursements that follow approved guidelines, shall contain signed receipts for all expenses and an approved voucher form. In the case of mileage reimbursement, a written and signed statement shall be submitted. These requests will be submitted to the Executive/Secretary Treasurer for approval and payment. Reimbursement requests shall be done in a timely manner.
(1) AREA CHAPTER EXPENSES
All reimbursements for Area Chapter activities up to $250.00, must be requested on an approved voucher, with signed receipts attached. Requests must be submitted on a monthly basis to the Executive Secretary/Treasurer.
Expenses covered by the Association for Area Chapters shall include items such as; postage, stationary, envelopes, telephone calls, or any other use as the then elected Area Chairman sees fit to promote the Association. Any request for reimbursement for items not in those categories will require approval of the President, and/or Executive Secretary/Treasurer. The Executive Secretary/Treasurer will deny all requests for reimbursement if the required quarterly expense reports have not been submitted. [By-Laws Article IV (F) (2) (d)]
(2) EXPENDITURES BY BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE BOARD
All expenditures exceeding $500.00 shall be approved by the Executive Board at either a regularly scheduled board meeting, or if necessary, an emergency meeting can be called by the President.
All expenditures exceeding $500.00 shall have two signatures. These will be of the President, and Executive Secretary/Treasurer.
The Executive Secretary/Treasurer shall assign a purchase order number for all purchases over $100.00. This will be forwarded to the President..
These expenditures are for items not found in any other parts of the SOG’s.
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SOG: 105
LODGING FOR CONFERENCE MEETINGS:
(1) PRE-CONFERENCE MEETINGS
Only key Executive Board and Board of Directors members or Committee members should arrive the night before the first day of the annual conference, i.e. (President, Executive Secretary/Treasurer, Conference Committee Chairpersons). These key members shall be the only room and meal expenses reimbursed for arriving the evening before the conference begins. The President shall give prior approval for any of the above Pre-conference expenses. The hosting facility shall be notified in advance of the names of those members that will be covered in this guideline.
(2) CONFERENCE ROOMS
Due to the number of Area Chapters and number of Board members, as of this date, the Association will not reimburse any Board member for their room during the Annual conference, for any reason, with the following exception:
1) Room expenses only will be reimbursed to an Association member that instructs a class at the annual conference. Reimbursement will be for the number of days that the member actually instructs.
2) Room expenses shall be reimbursed to the Conference Committee Chairperson for the duration of the conference. Other members of the conference committee may be reimbursed for room expenses based on consensus by the President, 1st and 2nd vice-presidents and the committee chairperson. Such lists shall be presented to the Board for consideration.
3) One nights lodging will be provided to the Wears and Novelties Chairperson, or their designee, to allow for set up.
Complimentary rooms shall be assigned to the President, Executive/Secretary Treasurer, and guest presenters. All other complementary rooms must be approved by the President prior to the conference and the host facility should be notified in advance of the conference.
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SOG: 106
VOTING PROCEDURES:
(1) ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Voting at all elections shall be done by secret ballot. Only members holding a current membership card may submit a ballot. All nonmembers and members not eligible to vote (for whatever reason) shall be asked to leave the room during the election process. The marked ballots will be placed in the ballot box after a member shows his/her current membership card to the designated ballot taker. The numerical results of the election shall not be disclosed, only the winner. In the event of a tie, a second vote shall be taken immediately following the rules above.
(2) ELECTION OF AREA CHAIRPERSON
Voting for Area Chairperson, Vice Chair and Treasurer shall be done after October 1st but not later than December 31 of each year.
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SOG. 107
RESPONSIBILITIES:
(1) Executive Board and Area CHAIRPERSON
All Board of Directors (Area Chairpersons) and Executive Board members shall report their presence to the President and/or Executive Secretary/Treasurer at the Annual conferences.
Each Board of Directors member (Area Chairpersons) and Executive Board members will be required to assist in the functions at the Annual conference when requested by the Conference Facilitator(s) and/or Chair(s).
All Board of Directors (Area Chairpersons) and Executive Board members shall wear the Association name badge when attending the Annual conference.
The President, Executive Secretary/Treasurer, Conference Facilitator(s) and the Conference Chair(s) shall review all mailings for the Annual conference before they are sent to the membership.
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SOG: 108
FISCAL YEAR:
The fiscal year shall run from January 1st through December 31st.
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SOG: 109
Membership Term:
Annual membership shall run in conjunction with the fiscal year. Membership dues will become due each October 1st.
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SOG: 110
Association Audits:
(1) Annual Audit
An outside, independent audit shall be required annually, or when required by either the Executive Board or the Association as a whole during an annual business meeting. The accounting firm to perform the audit shall be chosen by the Executive Board. This audit shall take place at the end of the fiscal year, as soon as feasible. This audit shall be prepared for presentation at the annual business meeting if possible.
Members of the Audit Committee shall do an internal audit as early as possible, before the outside audit is done, in order to provide information to the outside auditor.
(2) AUTOMATIC AUDITS
An automatic audit shall be done when there is no financial report available. This audit can be performed by either the Association Audit Committee, or an audit firm, as directed by the Board of Directors and/or the Executive Board.
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SOG: 111
QUARTERLY AUDITS:
Each Area within the State Association shall perform an audit of their available funds, expenses and receipts on a quarterly basis. Such audits shall be completed on forms provided by the Association and returned to the Executive Secretary/Treasurer on a timely basis at least once each quarter to be eligible for reimbursements.
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SOG: 112
MEETING MINUTES:
The minutes from all meetings shall be mailed out to all Board of Directors and Executive Board members within four weeks of any meeting.
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SOG: 113
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETINGS:
The Executive Board shall meet at often as is necessary . These meetings can be either in person, or by way of a telephone conference call.
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SOG: 114
DRESS CODE:
All members of the Executive Board and Board of Directors, the Recording Secretary and the Parliamentarian, shall wear a sport coat, blazer, or suit at all Association functions. This includes the Annual Conference.
Exceptions to this would be for Executive Board and Board of Directors meetings, area meetings or any other non-formal meeting.
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SOG: 115
CONDUCT:
(1) PROFESSIONALISM
All members of the Association shall work to enhance the professionalism of the Association by recognizing differences amongst people and respecting those differences when representing, attending or participating in Association sponsored events.
Members shall conduct themselves in a professional manner and shall not conduct themselves in any manner, which is overtly offensive or could be deemed offensive to bring discredit or shame to the Wisconsin State Fire Inspectors Association.
(2) GIFTS AND OTHER COMPENSATION
All members of the Association are expected to conduct themselves in an ethical manner, excersing integrity in terms of the decisions they make in selecting, giving, receiving, and reporting the cost of membership gift or other form of compensation. The following guidelines shall apply:
1) Gifts or Compensation Valued at Less Than $50 - If a member knows or has reason to believe that the gift has a value of $50 or less, then they may accept the gift or compensation without any additional approvals, so long as the member can, in good faith, assert that their judgement with respect to business dealings with the third party are not impaired.
2) Gifts or Compensation Valued at Greater Than $50 - If the member knows or reasonably believes that the value of the gift or compensation is more than $50, the member must notify the Executive Board of the Association. The Executive Board will determine if the acceptance of the gift or compensation does or does not give rise to a conflict of interest and therefore under the circumstances, is or is not permissible. If the gift or compensation is deemed acceptable, then the Secretary of the Association shall document the receipt of the gift or compensation along with any terms or conditions under which the gift or compensation is accepted.
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SOG: 116
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONSUMPTION:
The use of alcoholic beverages during any Executive Board and/or Board of Directors meetings shall be limited to one. No alcoholic beverages shall be consumed during any conference business hours. This pertains to all Executive Board and Board of Directors members.
SOG: 117
PARLIAMENTARIAN:
The Parliamentarian shall be a regular member in good standing appointed to an indeterminate term by the President and confirmed by the Board of Directors.
The Parliamentarian shall:
1. Be a non-voting member of the Board of Directors.
2. Have a working knowledge of the Association’s By Laws.
3. Have a working knowledge of the SOG’s.
4. Become familiar with Robert’s Rules of Order (most current printed edition).
5. Be present at Board meetings, General Business Meetings, or as directed by the President.
The position shall be entitled to reimbursement expenses as outlined in SOG: 103 and SOG: 104.
The Parliamentarian shall be required to wear their name badge as outlined in SOG: 107 and adhere to the dress code as outlined in SOG: 114.
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Wisconsin State Fire Inspectors Association