The International Association of Lions Clubs

DISTRICT POLICY GUIDELINES- Dist:322H

This Draft of the District Policy Guidelines approved at the meeting of the Past District Governors preparatory Honorary Committee held on 12th May 2022 in terms of the approval in principle provided by the preparatory District Cabinet meeting earlier is circulated amongst all Clubs of our District 322H. This Policy placed before the 1st Annual District Convention was held at “B M Grand Hotel & Resort, Malda, on 21st & 22nd January 2022 and adopted unanimously without modification. It shall be effect from 1st July,2022.

PREAMBLE
(Nothing in these policies is intended to contradict or contravene any Constitutional provisions or policies of Lions Clubs International also known as The International Association of Lions Clubs or Multiple Constitution and policies. In the event it is determined that there exists a conflict between these policies and any constitutional or board policy provisions, the applicable constitutional and/or board policy provisions shall govern and control. These policies are intended to be consistently followed for streamlined operations, continuity of best practices and transparency.)

A. Accounts and finance
a) All accounts would be maintained on mercantile basis.
b) All costs and expenses made in relation to any program organized by the District shall be reflected in the books of accounts.
c) A Budget for the year containing inter alia details of every project of the District conceived by the District Governor and proposed to be initiated including without limitation District Directory Targets and all administrative expenses shall be placed before the Preparatory Cabinet Meeting and approved before the start of the year.
d) The District Governor and Cabinet Treasurer shall ensure that there is no deficit of revenue against expenses in the Budget placed for approval.
e) The District Governor and Cabinet Treasurer shall ensure all expenses are incurred within approved Budget.
f) The statement of expenses and contributions in respect of every program shall also be separately disclosed in the accounts presented at the Cabinet Meeting held immediately after the conclusion of the program provided however that if the Cabinet Meeting is held within 30 days of the conclusion of the said program, the accounts may be placed for such programs in the subsequent meeting.
g) The District shall file income tax returns annually for District Fund Foundation and all Trusts if any maintained by the District and also for the District Administration Accounts if required. In order to comply with Income Tax provisions accounting year of District Fund Foundation and all such Trusts shall be from 1st April to 31st March only. And also for an entire Lionistic year. I.e. from 1st July to 30th June in ever calendar year considered as Lionistic year.
h) The copies of the accounts, books, receipts, vouchers, etc in respect of the District and District Fund Foundation and all Trusts so held by the District shall be maintained properly and stored for at least 8 following years at a place decided for this purpose.
i) The District Governor and the chairpersons of various trusts shall submit a statement in writing to the cabinet meeting held within 30th September of the year that the returns of income tax have been filed, stating the date of filing and explaining whether any delay had taken place beyond the time legally permissible.
j) The audited accounts (drawn on April to March basis) of all trusts and foundations of the District shall be presented to the annual Conference for approval. These accounts shall be circulated to all cabinet members and Honorary Committee within 30thSeptember.
k) Accounts in respect of any grant received by the district from LCI shall be circulated to the District cabinet. The District Governor shall be required to expressly inform in every Cabinet Meeting and Honorary Meeting regarding all grants that have been received but submission of utilization report and accounts is pending.
l) All accounts of the district shall clearly reflect that there is a positive cash flow at the end of each year. No District Governor shall hand over charge to the successor with any deficit in any of the accounts of the District. A separate cash and bank flow statement shall be circulated to the members of the cabinet and honorary committee within 30 days of the close of the year.
m) All expenses shall be paid only if they are budgeted and properly backed with bills and receipts.
n) No appeal to raise funds for any project shall be circulated by any cabinet officer in his/her such capacity (other than for natural and national disasters) until and unless specifically approved by the district cabinet.
o) No permission to raise funds can be granted until the purpose for such funds is expressly identified. If such funds are even partly proposed to be raised from non-members, such permission shall be granted only if it is related to service programs.
p) At every cabinet and honorary committee meeting, a statement of dues (international, multiple and district) showing the amounts payable for each half and the amounts having been paid in respect thereof by each club shall be circulated. No such circulation is required at the 1st cabinet and honorary committee meeting.
q) The accounts of the District and the Trusts shall be operated only by the individuals in office and /or individuals duly authorized in this behalf during the fiscal year. Much in advance of the close of the fiscal year, appropriate resolutions for change of signatories should be taken to be made effective from 1st July onwards.
r) The elected District Governor each year may decide to collect a contributory amount in advance from all cabinet members to meet the registration costs at district fellowship programs, cabinet meetings cover charges and leadership development programs. Such amounts shall be paid by the individuals concerned in accordance with the time limits set by such District Governor. No other form of levy for appointment to the committees and the cabinet can be collected from such individuals. If such payment is not made even within 30 days from expiry of such time limit by a cabinet member he/she shall be deemed to have vacated his/her post.
s) The District Governor and Vice District Governors shall accept it as a responsibility to attend all national level meetings and area forums at their own expense.

B. District Cabinet.
i. Formation-

a. District Governor Elect may nominate individuals to such positions in the District Cabinet that have an identified job responsibility. The DG team (as defined by LCI) shall work together to draw up a listing of job responsibilities of all cabinet officers such that they are specific and not over lapping. All future appointments would be made in terms of the said responsibility document as stated above, which may be altered and amended from time to time.
b. District Governor Elect may invite representation from a Club in the cabinet as per following limits of representation depending upon the membership of the Club at the commencement of such appointment-

C. The District Governor Elect shall be entitled to have lesser numbers of cabinet representations as per his desire subject to the above limit. The limit shown above is the maximum representation allowed to the District Governor from a Club and does not indicate the entitlement of the club for representation in the District Cabinet. In any case District Governor’s (Elect) desire shall apply.
d. In any case not more than 8 members from DG (Elect) home club and 6 from any other clubs shall be appointed on the cabinet for any year.
e. No announcements for such appointments can be made until the home club of the concerned appointee is in good standing. Club in good standing shall always denote full payment of all District, Multiple& International dues billed up to and before the announcement of appointment.
f.No individual (except those elected) shall be appointed in district cabinets for a period exceeding 5 years continuously. After having served for 5 years (including service during any particular year where the individual has so served for a part of the year) at least one year shall intervene before the person may be appointed again. This shall be in effect for the cabinet for the fiscal year 2022-23 and thereafter.
g. If any cabinet member does not attend 2 consecutive meetings of the district cabinet including preparatory meeting, he/she shall be deemed to have vacated one’s office and he/she shall not be considered for appointment in next year’s cabinet unless he or she is forced of such non-attendance because of-
i. Major illness, (If required, need to submit documentary evidence).
ii. Death in family. (If required, need to submit documentary evidence).
iii. Any other special case. Need to submit relevant documentary evidence.
h. If home club of any cabinet member is on “Financial Suspension” or any outstanding District dues, during the tenure shall be deemed to have vacated as cabinet member with immediate effect.
i. Only Past Presidents of the clubs shall be appointed to the cabinet of the district.
j. All appointments to the cabinet shall be made directly by the District Governor of the year concerned or the DGE for the cabinet of the following year.

ii. Cabinet working shall become paperless from the year 2022-23 onwards so that all Notices and circulars to the cabinet members shall be sent through e-channels only. For the purpose every Cabinet Member shall inform his/her e-mail address / Whatsapp {Either personally or in any relevant Whatsapp group (s)}before appointment and any e-mail or Whatsapp sent to that address shall be considered as a valid service of all notices required to be served upon the cabinet member.

iii. Each cabinet meeting shall include an agenda regarding information relating to:
a. Names of clubs officially visited by the District Governor;
b. Whether monthly newsletters have been published on the website and circulated by the District Governor by the 7th of each following month; such newsletter shall include information relating to changes in LCI policies relating to club administration and programs, district and multiple district news and policies, convention updates.
c. Recommendations, information and reports (if any) received from the honorary committee
d. Compliance with Income Tax and all laws of the country where reports are required to be submitted.
e. Report regarding status of all grants received or applied for support from LCIF or Sight First showing name of the project, grant tracking number, whether approved or not, amount applied for, amount approved, date of approval, date of disbursement, reasons for non disbursement, date of filing of utilization report, and any such other details as may be felt appropriate.
f. Report regarding compliance of all Multiple and Lions International policies as required.

iv. The district shall hold at least 4 regular cabinet meetings with no two meetings being more than 120 days apart. The first cabinet meeting shall be held within 30 days of close of International Convention. One preparatory meeting should be held before the commencement of the fiscal year with the cabinet members for the following year. Meetings may held either in physical or virtual mode, considering prevailing situation.
v. At each cabinet meeting a summary of the club wise status for submission of MMR and WMMR reports shall be circulated.
vi. Leave of absence in writing for valid reasons must be received at least three days in advance of the cabinet meeting. Only those leaves of absence shall be reported and noted in the Cabinet Meeting minutes which are received as per this rule.
vii. All minutes for cabinet meetings and other district meetings shall be circulated through the website and emails within 15 days of the conclusion of the meetings or as specified by the Constitution. In case of cabinet meetings, an executive summary stating all decisions made and important matters discussed would be emailed to all cabinet members, club officers and PDGs within 10 days of the close of the cabinet meeting.

C. Honorary Committee

1. District Governor should ensure that at least 4 honorary committee meetings shall be held each fiscal year: Meetings may held either in physical or virtual mode, considering prevailing situation.
2. All the Past District Governors in good standing and being member of a Club in good standing in this District shall be members of Honorary Committee.
3. District Governor shall appoint one of the Past District Governors as the Chairman of Honorary Committee as per his discretion provided however that one Past District Governor shall not hold office of Chairman of Honorary Committee for 2 years continuously.
4. No PDG shall be appointed as Honorary Committee Chairman for more than 2 years in a block period of 5 years starting from Lionistic year 2022-23.
5. Both the Vice District Governors should be invited as observers in the honorary committee meetings.
6. In every meeting the District Governor should place report on the following issues-
a. District membership plan and its progress.
b. LCIF and Sight First grants status & Utilization Reports of various grants sanctioned in District.
c. District accounts and Trust/Foundation account.
d. District level permanent projects.
e. Latest club health assessment report
f. Compliance reports for various laws.

D. District Cabinet Installation & Annual District Conference
1. The district installation ceremony shall be held within 15th August as per Multiple District policy. It may held either physical or virtual, as per situation.
2. Cabinet meetings and the annual district conference should be held within the geographical area of the district. It may held either physical or virtual, as per situation.
3. The district shall not assume any permanent project until and unless the same is approved by the Lions of the district at the annual district conference or a special conference for this purpose.
4. The district installation ceremony shall be hosted by the home club of the 1st VDG if no bid is received from any other club to host the same. This shall be in effect from the Lionistic year/fiscal year 2022-2023.
5. The district convention shall be hosted by the home club of the District Governor either jointly or severally if no bid is received from any other club to host the same. This shall be effective from the fiscal year 2022-23. Standing District Governor has absolute authority to decide the same.

1. At each district convention, a report on each of the following shall be presented either individually or as a part of the cabinet secretary’s report:
1. The district installation ceremony shall be held within 15th August as per Multiple District policy. It may held either physical or virtual, as per situation.
2. Cabinet meetings and the annual district conference should be held within the geographical area of the district. It may held either physical or virtual, as per situation.
3. The district shall not assume any permanent project until and unless the same is approved by the Lions of the district at the annual district conference or a special conference for this purpose.
4. The district installation ceremony shall be hosted by the home club of the 1st VDG if no bid is received from any other club to host the same. This shall be in effect from the Lionistic year/fiscal year 2022-2023.
5. The district convention shall be hosted by the home club of the District Governor either jointly or severally if no bid is received from any other club to host the same. This shall be effective fromthe fiscal year 2022-23. Standing District Governor has absolute authority to decide the same.
1. At each district convention, a report on each of the following shall be presented either individually or as a part of the cabinet secretary’s report:
a. Major Public Relation initiatives carried out
b. Major partnerships made with other organizations
c. Achievements in Sight First, Lions Quest and Blood banking
d. Membership and club extension status.
e. Leadership Development programs.
f. Major fellowship programs.
g. Any disaster relief programs undertaken.
h. Peace Poster Contest conducted by various clubs.
i. Special programs undertaken in keeping with the international.
j. President’s program.
k. Permanent projects of the district.
l. LCIF and Sight First Grants status.

2. All attending PDGs and DG Team members would register themselves for each district installation and district convention by paying the registration charges.

E. Club Meetings
1. The club installations shall be performed by Lions who have served at least as a club president. Club installations should be held preferably within 30thJune each year but not later than 30th July. It may held either physical or virtual, as per situation.
2. Any member of District Governor team shall not accept over-lapping assignments.
3. Both VDGs shall visit minimum 75% of Clubs of the district at least once during each fiscal year other than with District Governor. This visitation may be made to any regular meeting, service project or fellowship program of the club. For making such visitations, the VDGs may not wait for any specific invitations. They may make visits at any club meeting other than nomination and election meetings, or may seek support from Region Chairpersons and Zone Chairpersons to receive information of club meetings.
4. No induction of members shall be performed in absentia and unless it is proved to the satisfaction of the induction officer that such new members have been reported to LCI. Mere oral confirmation that reporting of new members has been complied with shall not be sufficient.
5. Not more than 2 members from among District Governor, IPDG and the 2 VDGs may attend the same club installation or induction ceremony of a club.
6. Every club shall send information in advance of all its meetings to its Region and Zone Chairpersons. If information regarding any club’s meetings is not forthcoming for more than 45 days, the RC/ZC shall make special efforts to meet the club officers to determine the actual status and report to District Governor.
7. The district governor shall have his/her program for visitations posted on the district website (updated every fortnight).
8. No Club can make any policy or take a decision which is against the Constitution & By laws of International/ Multiple/District/ Indian Constitution or District policy.
9. Any fund rising program (e.g. Game show, Cultural Event, Lottery, etc.) planned by any club must have a written permission / information of the District Governor prior to 30 days executing the program. However, all such events should be planned in accordance the law of the country.

F. Logo / Emblem and Slogan
To avoid the confusions amongst the society about Logo / Emblem and Slogan, none of the club can use any other logo/emblem and slogan other than District and International Emblem / Logo and Slogan.

G. District Publications
1. If any levy for publication of District bulletin is collected from members, then collected amount shall be spent only for that specific purpose.
2. The photographs to be published on the website or any printed literature of the district shall include generally action photographs at various programs and projects. Profile photographs of the District Governor team, International Director (if any) from the district and PIDs as well as PDGs shall appear in a separate section on the website.
3. District directory shall be printed and made available to the clubs and members no later than district cabinet installation each year.

H. Election for the post of Vice District Governors and District Governor-
1. In order to provide proper representation and at the same time for effective leadership in the District, the District 322H shall be sub-divided in 3(Three) areas-
a. Malda area, comprising of all Clubs in the entire geographical District of Malda.
b. Dinajpur area, comprising of all Clubs in the entire geographical Districts of Dakshin Dinajpur and Uttar Dinajpur.
c. Darjeeling area, comprising of all Clubs in the part of geographical District of Darjeeling (Area as recorded in LCI) and entire geographical District of Kalimpong.
2. The leadership rotation system will be 1st term from Malda area, 2nd from Dinajpur area and 3rd from Darjeeling area as defined in Clause- H (1). First cycle of rotation as above will become effective from the years 2022-23 and will be repeated in the subsequent years also till not amended.
3. The eligibility criteria of leadership on the said areas should be minimum 10 (Ten-five) good standing clubs.
4. If any of the above areas fails to nominate their leader in their respective turn or not having minimum 10 good standing clubs (As stated Clause-3), then it will pass on the next area as per the above mentioned formula in Clause – H(1).
5. We cannot preclude any constitutional right of any Lion member, but to maintain harmony and fellowship, it is the recommendatory provision that the district will always avoid voting contest among two or more candidates for the same post. If it happens then the said area leaders may try to resolve it.
6. In the subsequent years also the same policy shall continue.
7. In order to attain good knowledge about Lion’s rules and regulations, candidate for the post of second VDG (Elect) should have attended at least Regional Institute organized by the multiple and one International Convention, or one Area Forum.

8. To be a Candidate for Vice District Governor or District Governor-
a. The Candidate shall be an MJF.
b. Spouse of the Candidate shall be a Lion member.
c. Club Membership strength of the Candidate shall be at least 25 for a period of not less than 3 year before the Official Call for District Conference.
d. The Candidate for the post of Vice District Governor must either have minimum 10 years of lionism or his/her home club shall have at least 5years in lionism.
e. The Club of the Candidate for the post of Vice District Governor shall have at least 2 MJF (Melvin John’s Fellow) or should be a “Model Club” or “Sapphire Club”.

I. Annual Programs and Projects
1. In the program for any fiscal year/Lionistic year, any District Governor or DGE shall not include any new initiative until and unless the same has been discussed in the cabinet and with the Honorary Committee. If such initiative involves application of funds beyond Rs 2 lakhs, then such initiative would need the approval of the Cabinet before being launched. Every initiative so launched, would be evaluated for its results expected vis-à-vis actual. The said initiative would continue in the following years only if application of resources can be justified.
2. Any successful initiative shall not be terminated in the following year until and unless the District Governor can satisfy the cabinet that the same is not a viable program.

J. District Awards and Publications
1. A standard awards list and evaluation criteria would be established by the district at the annual district conference or a special district conference. This list would include not more than 80 awards that may be presented to the Lions of the district annually. The district governor may however add awards as per his own desire and needs of the relevant year provided total number of district awards presented for a particular year does not exceed 100.
2. All points for contest rules (if announced at any time before the commencement of the year or during the year) would be updated for each quarter by the 15th day of the end of the quarter, and such updates would be available for review by the officers of the clubs and cabinet members from the district secretariat in the District Website.

K. Other District and Zone Meetings
1. All Zone Chairpersons shall hold at least 1 District Governor Advisory committee meeting each quarter and without a gap of more than 100 days between any 2 meetings.
2. One preparatory meeting shall be held apart from the 4 regular meetings before the commencement of the fiscal year with officers (elect) of the clubs and convened by the ZC (designate).
3. Costs for organizing and hospitality at each district meeting shall be collected from those attending the same or it may be hosted by any club(s) if they desire to do so.

L. General
1. Taking any internal dispute to any court of law without exhausting all domestic forums shall be deemed as conduct unbecoming of a lion.
2. Amendments to these policies may be made through any appropriate resolution being proposed at any district convention (annual or special) by any club in good standing or by the district cabinet or by the honorary committee. Such resolution would require a majority vote for its approval. All such meetings may held in physical or virtual mode, depending on the prevailing situation.
3. The District shall establish a permanent Secretariat and a policy for the administration should be drawn up within 2022-23.

M. Non-conforming penal action
1. Non-conformance or violations of these policies may result in penal action as appropriate.
2. In all such cases reported to the District Governor he will appoint an appropriate committee consisting of 3 members one of them shall be any Past District Governor as Chairman for investigation and recommendations concerning further appropriate penal actions.
3. In case of non-conformance or violation by the District Governor the Honorary Committee may discuss such violation and recommend to the Cabinet such remedial actions as considered fit.
4. Any disputes regarding these policies shall be resolved through the Dispute Resolution Procedures as provided in the Board Policy Manual or other appropriate internal dispute resolution processes.