Bylaws
Membership Fee .
Bylaws
5
Article i / Membership
Article I goes into one particular aspect of membership : the fee ( or “ due ”) that each person is required to pay to be a member .
Membership Fee .
The initiation fee shall be three ( 3 ) dollars .
The annual fee shall be three ( 3 ) dollars , payable in advance on or before July 1st of each year .
As the names suggest , the initiation fee is paid once when a member joins the NJCL , and the annual fee is paid every year .
Why the broad title ?
Despite Article I only dealing with membership fees , it ’ s given the much more general title of “ Membership ”. Why not name this article “ Membership Fee ”?
One benefit is that a broad name makes space for future amendments . If something else membership-related gets added to the Bylaws , it can neatly go into Article I without having to rename it .
Another way to think of it is that this Bylaws article is an extension of the Constitution ’ s Membership article ( Constitution Article III ). By that logic , it makes sense for this Bylaws article to have the same name .
How do I do it ?
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If you have fees , always include the deadline and the exact amount to be paid in your constitution or bylaws .
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Writing the fee in word ( e . g ., “ three ”) and number ( e . g . “ 3 ”) form can help prevent the fee from possibly being misread .
Δ Fees should be subject to change if the membership votes to change them , unless there ’ s some serious reason otherwise .