The objects of this Association shall be to watch over and protect the interests, rights, and privileges of Municipal Corporations and Town Boards; to take action in relation to any subject, or legislation, affecting such bodies; to procure legal opinions on matters of general interest to municipalities and Town Boards, and to promote the efficient carrying-out of local government throughout the country by Municipal Councils and Town Boards.

The Association shall undertake test cases. The committee shall decide whether any test case proposed to be under taken is of a nature affecting municipalities or Town Boards generally. The cost incurred in connection with a test case shall be provided by the members of the Association pro rata, on the annual subscription basis, but the amount of such costs shall not exceed £100 in any one year.

The executive is empowered to take the necessary steps towards establishing and maintaining a Dominion library of municipal works of reference; to receive papers of interest on special subjects relating to municipal government for submission to conference; compile and collate statistics, and take such other steps as are deemed necessary for the dissemination of useful knowledge amongst the municipalities and Town Boards represented on the Association.

All municipalities and Town Boards who subscribe to the funds of the Association at the rates mentioned below shall be members of the Association, and shall have the right to vote at meetings thereof. Such annual subscription, which shall be for a period ending on the 30th November in each year, must be paid in or before the month of January in each year, and the right to vote shall not be exercised at any meeting of the Association unless the subscription due shall have been previously paid.

The President shall be appointed annually by the Conference. He shall have a deliberative as well as a casting vote at all meetings of the Association, and the committees thereof. In the absence of the President, the meeting of the Association or committee shall appoint a chairman, who shall also have both a deliberative and a casting vote.

Meetings of the Association shall be held annually, but should urgent business so require, the committee may call a meeting at any time.

Each municipality shall appoint its delegate to attend the meeting of the Association, and each delegate present at any meeting shall have one vote, provided always that all municipalities whose population is 10,000 or over shall have two delegates. Provided further that a delegate shall have one vote only notwithstanding that he may represent more than one municipality.

When any member wishes to bring any matter before the meeting of the Association for opinion or action, such member shall forward a statement to the Secretary, who shall, if the same has been approved by the Executive Committee, place it on the order paper along with any other subject which the President may require the meeting to consider.

At any meeting the Association shall have power, should the majority of members present approve of such a course, to consider any business not introduced as provided by Rule 8.

The report of the proceedings of all meetings of the Association shall be printed, and a copy forwarded to each member.

At the annual meeting of the Association, five vice-presidents and an auditor shall be elected; also an executive committee, consisting of nine members, who shall retain office until their successors are appointed. Two of such members shall be representatives of Town Boards. The President and vice-presidents shall, ex officio, be members of the committee, and shall be members of the next succeeding Conference, subject to Rule 7 as to basis of voting.

Should any member be absent from three consecutive meetings of the executive committee without an apology satisfactory to the committee, his seat may be declared vacant by the committee, and the committee shall have power to fill such vacancy. The committee shall also have similar power in case of the resignation or death of any member.

The President shall have power to call meetings of the committee whenever matters of consequence require it. Five members of the committee shall form a quorum, and at the meetings of the committee all business brought forward by any member shall be considered.

Before each meeting of the committee the Secretary shall forward to each member thereof a notice of the date of the meeting, together with a list of the matters to be brought forward at such meeting.

The committee shall commence business as soon after the time stated in the notice calling the meeting as there is a sufficient number of members present to form a quorum, such quorum to be formed within half an hour of the time named for holding the meeting.

The correspondence with the committee shall be conducted through the Secretary, who, in conjunction with the President, shall have power, when a meeting of the committee cannot be arranged, to take the written opinion of each member thereof by means of correspondence, and to take action upon opinions expressed by the majority in the same manner as if a meeting had been held.

The President’s report of the proceedings of the Association that have taken place since the last Conference, and an account of all expenditure by the executive committee in connection with the work of the Association shall, until otherwise ordered, be placed before the executive committee at least one month before the holding of the Conference.

All moneys belonging to the Association shall be paid into such bank as the executive committee from time to time appoints.

No moneys shall be drawn out of the bank except by the authority of the committee or the President, and all moneys shall be paid by the Association in cash or by cheque signed by the Secretary, and countersigned by any member of the executive committee.

Cheques payable to the order of the Association may be endorsed by the Treasurer for and on behalf of the Association.

The executive committee shall appoint an emergency and legislative committee, consisting of the President and such of the members of the executive committee and of the delegates to the Conference for the time being resident in or near Wellington as the executive committee shall select. The duty of this committee shall be to watch legislation and other matters affecting municipalities, and to take such action thereon on such occasions as the committee may think that immediate action is necessary. Meetings of this committee may be convened by the President on such notice as can conveniently be given.

When any member desires to have a legal opinion, it shall forward a case stated to the Secretary. The Secretary shall lay the case before Counsel to the Association for his opinion of the case, and the case and opinion so given shall be printed, and a copy thereof forwarded to each member, the cost of the opinion being borne by the general funds.

The officers shall be (1) Secretary and Treasurer, (2) Counsel, who shall from time to time be appointed by the executive committee, which shall have power to fix the remuneration of such officers.