Article 1 - Name

This association shall be known as the Municipal Internal Auditors Association of Ontario herein referred to as the association.

Article 2 - Purposes and Objectives

Section 1 

The purpose of the association is to provide a forum for those municipal employees engaged in or interested in auditing a municipality, local government services or those agencies and boards appointed by council.

Section 2 - The objectives of the association are:

To promote the interests of members in performing their mandated roles as well as other responsibilities to management.

To provide a technical forum where audit problems can be shared and advice on solutions given.

To communicate common municipal internal auditor interests and concerns and to make representations on behalf of the association to government agencies and other groups.

To increase members' expertise in performing reviews on municipal operations and presenting recommendations to municipal management, other municipal associations, or provincial ministries.

To initiate studies and reports on matters relating to municipal internal auditing.

To reply to proposals by other groups and senior governments on matters which relate to municipal internal auditing.

To develop and provide training and skill development for municipal internal auditors.

To provide a means whereby membership interests in cooperating with the external audit community can be acted upon, if desired.

To market and promote municipal internal auditing to other Ontario municipal organizations and officials.

Article 3 - Membership

Section 1 - Membership

Membership is available to those municipalities engaged in or interested in auditing municipalities, local government services or those agencies and boards appointed by council.

Section 2 - Members/Voting

The number of members from any one municipal organization is not limited. However, the maximum number of votes cast by members from any such organization on financial and official matters shall be limited to one.

Section 3 - Application to the association

Application for membership will be accepted and approved on receipt or

evidence of payment.

Section 4 - Termination

Any membership may be terminated for cause by a majority of the members present after the member in question has been notified of the proposed action and given one month in which to respond. Causes for termination of membership shall be actions detrimental to the objectives of the association, or non-payment of dues for more than one year.

Section 5  - Resignation

Members may resign by so indicating in writing to the Secretary.

Article 4 - Organization and Officers

Section 1

The Association shall elect a chairman, vice chairman, secretary, treasurer and program chairman at the annual meeting and these officers shall constitute the executive body of the Association.

Section 2

Candidates for any elective office in the Association must be eligible for participating membership at the time of the election.

Section 3

Officers of the Association may be re-elected for more than one consecutive term of office.

Section 4

Officers of the Association assume their official functions on the first day of January following the date of the annual meeting at which they are elected.

Section 5

Any officer may resign his office by giving written notice to either the chairman or the secretary.

Section 6

In the event of any office becoming vacant after the election of officers and before the next annual meeting, the executive shall have the power to appoint a member to hold that office until the next annual meeting except that, where the office of chairman becomes vacant, the deputy chairman shall automatically assume the office of chairman for the balance of the term.

Section 7

The executive may appoint ad hoc committees for any purpose consistent with the objectives of the Association and may appoint the chairmen of any such committees. All such appointments are renewable from year to year.

Section 8

The duties of the officers shall be:

Chairman - the chairman shall preside at all meetings, has overall responsibility for the objectives of the association and may appoint committees for any purposes consistent with those objectives.

Vice-chairman - the vice-chairman will perform the duties of the chairman in his/her absence.

 Secretary - the secretary shall conduct the official correspondence of the association, including notices of all meetings. The secretary will be responsible for retaining and maintaining all files belonging to the association, including all correspondence, all minutes of meetings, and a list of all members. Minutes will be circulated to the members prior to the next meeting.

Treasurer - The treasurer shall be charged with custody of the association's funds and with the responsibility for their proper disbursement, as directed by the executive. He/She shall be required to maintain appropriate records of all accounting and financial transactions and shall make these records available for audit purposes when required.

Prior to the first general meeting of the fiscal year, the treasurer will prepare a budget for the new year; and when directed by the executive, the treasurer shall make a full written report to the membership covering financial transactions of the association for the period since the last written report. When terminating office, the treasurer shall turn over all records and property of the association to his successor. The executive may authorize the bonding of the treasurer.

An audit will be done once a year or more frequently if required. At a duly designated annual meeting, the membership shall appoint an audit committee of at least two members from outside the executive for this purpose.

Program chairman - At the beginning of the fiscal year, the program chairman will develop a list of suggested topics and a program budget (if necessary) for submission to the executive. During the year, he/she will obtain speakers for each meeting. If any presenters are selected from outside the association, he/she will provide biographical material, and will be responsible for introducing and thanking any program speakers chosen.

Past chairman - The immediate past chairman shall act in an advisory capacity to the association.

Ad hoc committee chairmen - committee chairmen, as appointed by each executive will, upon appointment, be required to provide a written report at least annually to the executive in their area of responsibility. In addition, committee chairmen may be required to report at any executive or general meeting in their area of responsibility.

Article 5 - Officer Liability

No officer of the executive will be held responsible for acts, neglects, or defaults by other members.

Article 6 - Fees and Disbursement of Funds

Section 1

There shall be an annual membership fee for each member municipality as determined by the executive and ratified by the association. This fee shall be set for the next calendar year at the annual meeting.

Section 2

Both the chairman and the treasurer shall have signing authority for all cheques issued by the association.

Section 3

The treasurer shall be empowered to invest surplus funds of the association in suitable portfolios such as short-term certificates, guaranteed investment certificates, government bonds, etc.

Article 7 - Meeting and Voting Rights

Section 1

 General meetings of the association will normally be held periodically during the year. The annual meeting will be held in October. Additional meetings of the association may be held at the discretion of the executive. Each member shall have due notice, including an agenda, of all meetings at least ten (10) working days prior to the date of the meeting.

Section 2

Executive meetings will be held periodically on the same date as the regular meeting. Additional executive meetings may be held at the discretion of the chair.

Section 3

If neither the chairman nor the vice-chairman is in attendance at a meeting, the membership may appoint a chairman to serve for that meeting.

Section 4

The location of future meetings shall be as directed by a majority vote of the members present.

Section 5

Voting shall be decided by a simple majority of the municipal members present, subject to the provisions of Article 3, Section 2; Article 4, Section 3; and Article 7, Section 7: except that voting on matters concerning:

Termination of membership;

Election of officers; and

Amendments to the constitution; 

which require that at least one half of eligible voting members cast a recorded vote.

Section 6

A member may vote by proxy if that proxy is registered in writing with the chairman before the commencement of the meeting at which the proxy vote is to be cast.

Section 7

All voting shall be a show of hands unless otherwise decided by the members present. The chairman will only vote in the event of a tie.

Article 8 - Amendments to the Constitution

Section 1

The adoption of this constitution will require an affirmative vote of a simple majority of the members present, subject to the provisions of Article 3, Section 2; Article 4, Section 3; and Article 7, Section 7.

Section 2

Notice of amendments to the constitution must be made in writing by a member to the secretary sixty (60) days in advance of a general meeting. The secretary will issue any changes to the constitution to the membership thirty (30) days prior to a general meeting. 

Article 9 - Standing Rules