Board of Directors' Duties

By-Law Provisions

• Pursue the broad goals of the Association, which include sponsoring and conducting seminars, fostering the exchange of information and publishing a Journal (Article I, Section 2).
• Authorize reimbursement to members for costs and expenses incurred on the behalf of the organization while performing duties authorized by the Board of Directors (Article II, Section 2, sub-section B).
• Authorize and allocate funds to meet financial obligations of the Association (Article II, Section 2, sub-section C).
• Allow or deny a special extension of a Provisional Member’s membership past five years (Article III, Section 2, sub-section A, #2).
• Establish a reduced subscription rate to the Journal for Technical Advisors (Article III, Section 2, sub-section F, #2).
• Terminate members for cause based on ethics violations (Article III, Section 3, sub-section C).
• Determine the location for the annual training seminar (Article IV, Section 1, sub-section A).
• Assume ultimate fiscal responsibility as a Board for the annual training seminar, including the amount of money spent on “seed money”, and the maximum amount that may be spent on a single item or event; approve or deny exceeding the maximum amount that may be spent on a single item or event, establish restraints or limitations on training seminar spending when necessary (Article IV, Section 1, sub-section A, #1, points a-c).
• As funding permits, attend a mid-year Board meeting at the host site of the upcoming annual training seminar (Article IV, Section 5).
• Determine annual dues and dues relief (Article V, Sections 2, sub-sections A and B).
• Determine life dues (Article V, Section 3, sub-section A)
• Authorize a one-time retirement of a deficit in the normal operating budget using the proceeds of the Life Membership Dues Fund (Article V, Section 3, sub-sections B and C).
• Review and update annually the investment policy statement for the Life Membership Dues to ensure proper investment of moneys generated by the fund (Article V, Section 3, sub-section D).
• Manage the business affairs of the organization, which are not reserved by the membership, the Articles of Incorporation, or the Bylaws (Article VI, Section 1, sub-section A).
• Meet when called by the President (Article VI, Section 1, sub-section B), typically semiannually, once at the annual training conference on the weekend preceding it, and once at the mid-year meeting (Article IV, Section 5).
• Take office at the annual banquet, or at the close of the annual business meeting if there is no banquet (Article VI, Section 3, sub-section F).
• Remove any official of the Association (Article VI, Section 4).
• Perform duties assigned by the President (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section A).
• Prepare a guideline listing the duties and procedures of their offices and/or committee and pass the list on to their successors (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section H).
• Receive advice and counsel from the Advisory Committee (Article VII, Section 1, sub-section B, #2).
• Direct the Editorial Committee to produce publications in addition to the Journal (Article VII, Section 1, subsection C, #1).
• Approve the Editorial Committee members recommended by the Journal Editor (Article VII, Section 1, sub-section C, #2).
• Appoint the Journal Editor (Article VII, Section 1, sub-section C, #3).
• Determine the cost of subscriptions to the Journal for the general public (Article VII, Section 1, sub-section C, #4).
• Approve committee guidelines formulated by committees (Article VII, Section 1, sub-section E, #2).
• Approve special, Ad Hoc, or temporary committees established by the President, and approve one year extensions to these two year committees (Article VII, Section 2).

Other Common Duties

• Approve all committee reports prior to publication (Policy Letter #8).
• Review all draft meetings minutes and forward revisions and comments to the AFTE Secretary (Policy Letter #19).
• Be responsible for the dissemination of the Membership Directory (Policy Letter #24)
• Approve the allocation of funds for the purchase of specified equipment for the Association.
• Read, discuss, modify as necessary and approve the AFTE budget as presented by the AFTE Treasurer to the Board.
• Make any required determinations regarding ethics violations (AFTE Procedures for the Enforcement of the Code of Ethics).
• Forward any applicable software to the appropriate successors (Policy Letter #18).
• Communicate routinely by e-mail, telephone, AFTE Website Boardroom, and fax with the members of the Board of Directors between the semiannual Board meetings, in order to resolve matters as promptly as possible in advance of regular Board meetings.
• Respond to postal, e-mail, telephone, and media inquiries on behalf of AFTE.

Management Responsibilities

• Perform all duties common to all Board members as previously set out in this document.
• Assume full responsibility for running the Association and shall serve as Chair of the Board of Directors (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section A).
• Appoint temporary replacements for the Secretary, Membership Secretary, Treasurer, or Member-at-Large, who may die, resign or otherwise become unavailable (Article VI, Section 2, sub-section E).
• Create committees as the need arises, appoint all committee chairs, and make other appointments as necessary (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section A and Policy Letter #16).
• Keep the Board of Directors and general membership informed of all matters of interest to the Association (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section A).
• Advise all applicants of Board of Admissions decisions regarding their applications for participation in the Association (Article VIII, Section 4).
• Review the written statements of the chairmen of new committees delineating the responsibilities and direction of the new committees and forward the final documentation to the Secretary for archiving (Policy Letter #16).
• Be responsible for calling for all motions and discussions in regards to e-votes in the Board of Directors private “Board Room” in the AFTE Forum (Policy Letter #21)
• Assign additional duties to members of the Board of Directors as necessary.
• Provide guidance to the AFTE Journal Editor and Web Master regarding the wishes of the Board of Directors.
• Current practice has given the President the following committees for reporting purposes to the Board of Directors: Historical Committee, Advancement of the Science of Firearm and Toolmark Identification Committee, Ethics Committee, AFTE 20XX Training Seminar

Leadership Responsibilities

• Proactively identify objectives to be accomplished in support of the goals of the Association, such as those which facilitate the exchange of information, enhancement of training, development of standards, development of data resources, growth of reference resources, refinement of the Journal, growth of the Web Site, etc.
• Assign and delegate the above to appropriate Board members, committee chairs and individuals in the form of well-defined projects and initiatives.
• Monitor progress in regard to the above projects and initiatives.
• When made necessary, such as by a long term lack of progress on a particular project, form a Board of Directors subcommittee with a Board member as chairman, in order to represent the Board’s interests in that particular project and to assist where possible.
• When appropriate, act as an ombudsman for individual members with specific complaints about personal issues regarding treatment by the Association.

Meeting Coordination

• Call, set the agenda for and conduct the semiannual meetings for the Board of Directors (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section A).
• Appoint a Sergeant-at-Arms and Parliamentarian for the annual business meeting (Article X, Section 2).
• As incoming and outgoing President, coordinate with the Host Committee the details of the program for the annual banquet with regards to speakers and presentations (Policy Letter #1).
• Call emergency meetings for the Board of Directors, if necessary (Article VI, Section 1, sub-section B).
• Set the agenda for and conduct the annual business meeting at the annual training conference.
• Coordinate and foster development of future annual training conference host committees and sites.

Liaison Functions

• Act as point of contact for outside professional or law enforcement organizations and associations, e.g., ASCLD, SWGGUN, NRA, AAFS, ATF, FBI etc.

Management Responsibilities

• Perform all duties common to all Board members as previously set out in this document.
• Serve in the place of the President, in the event of a vacancy in the office or in the event that the President is temporarily unable to serve (Article VI, Section 2, sub-section B).
• Serve as Chairman of the Board of Admissions (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section B).
• Send each AFTE applicant a letter identifying him/her as a point of contact and provide the Membership Secretary and Secretary a copy of all correspondence in order to complete the applicants file (Policy Letter 15).
• Responsible for the operation of the Nominating Committee and any other committee that might be associated to this office. (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section B).
• Current practice has given the First Vice-President the following committees for reporting purposes to the Board of Directors: Board of Admissions, Nominating Committee, AFTE 20XX Training Seminar Committee, Training and Standardization Committee and Web Site Committee.
• Review policy letters to resolve discrepancies between the policies and the bylaws and/or other board decisions and, as necessary, recommend modifications to maintain clear and consistent policy.
• Serve the President, as requested, to enable him/her to achieve appropriate management of the organization and its goals.
• Serve, as necessary, to aid the Chairpersons of AFTE Committees assigned to the First Vice-President to meet the goals as outlined by the bylaws and/or the board, and provide guidance, as needed, for successful accomplishment of the mission.

Budgetary Duties

• Work with the hosts of the AFTE Training Seminar at which he/she will preside as President, in an effort to support the goals of the finance committee and bring the annual training seminar to a successful end at a reasonable cost to the membership (Policy Letter #6).

Meeting Coordination

• If elected to President, present a plaque to the outgoing President at the Annual Banquet, as well as the presentation of any other awards, present an acceptance speech and officially close the business meeting(Policy Letter #1).
• Serve as liaison to the Chair of the Host Committee host site sponsoring the Annual Training Seminar at which he/she shall preside as President (Policy Letter #6).
• Assist the President, as requested, with any issues regarding any meeting site, protocols, or agendas for business meetings, banquets, or the like as requested.

Management Responsibilities

• Perform all duties common to all Board members as previously set out in this document.
• Serve in the place of the First Vice-President, in the event of a vacancy in the office
• Article VI, Section 2, sub-section C).
• Serve in the place of the President in the event that the President and the First Vice-President are temporarily unable to serve (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section C).
• Serve as a member of the Board of Admissions (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section C, and Article VIII Section 1).
• Responsible for the operation of any committees that might be associated to this office. (Article VI, Section 2, sub-section C).
• Current practice has given the Second Vice-President the following committees for reporting purposes to the Board of Directors:  By-Laws Committee, Editorial Committee, Member of the Year Committee, Key Person of the Year and Certification Committee.
• Ensure that the incoming member(s) of the Board of Directors is/are provided with a copy of all policy letters (Policy Letter #17).
• Review policy letters to resolve discrepancies between the policies and the bylaws and/or other board decisions and, as necessary, recommend modifications to maintain clear and consistent policy.
• Serve the President, as requested, to enable him/her to achieve appropriate management of the organization and its goals.
• Serve, as necessary, to aid the Chairs of AFTE Committees assigned to the Second Vice-President to meet the goals as outlined by the bylaws and/or the board, and provide guidance, as needed, for successful accomplishment of the mission.

Meeting Coordination

• Assist the President, as requested, with any issues regarding any meeting site, protocols, or agendas for business meetings, banquets, or the like as requested.

• Perform all duties common to all Board members as previously set out in this document.
• Record and keep the minutes of the meetings of the Association and the Board of Directors and maintain all other records of the Association (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section D).
• Record and maintain all relevant discussions and motions of e-votes; provide updated e-votes, prior to each Board meeting, for voting / ratification (Policy Letter # 21). 
• With the Membership Secretary, handle and process membership applications received and forward same to the Board of Admissions within a reasonable length of time (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section D).
• Handle and forward to the President any correspondence that concerns the running of the Association (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section D).
• Keep the membership informed regarding the activities that take place at each business meeting (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section D).
• Receive any correspondence requesting personnel information and release only name, status, and/or standing (Policy Letter # 14).
• Create an individual file from the original applications for all individuals who are AFTE members, or who have been rejected for membership, for use when inquiries are made (Policy Letter #15).
• Prepare a draft report of the minutes of the above meetings and provide it to the members of the Board of Directors not more than forty-five days after such meetings for their review and possible corrections within five days (Policy Letter #19).
• Notify the members of the Board of Directors when the minutes of meetings are considered official (Policy Letter #19).
• As needed, act as Records officer for the Association’s Records Management Program (Policy Letter #25).
• Verify that members have met the requirements for advancement to Distinguished Member status; provide new member certificates and coordinate the receipt and presentation of plaques.
• Coordinate with the Training Seminar Host Committee and Board the ordering of appropriate plaques and awards and their presentation.
• Coordinate purchase / printing of membership certificates; mail certificates with appropriate Board of Admissions letters.
• Maintain the electronic membership database by adding new members and updating current member status as appropriate; additionally, periodically check that records are current (eg – payment status of members and subscribers; provisional member dates, etc.).
• Ensure the Association is not carrying Provisional Members in the roster past the five (5) year expiration date (annually publish in the Newsletter and Secretary forum room those members slated to expire; notify in writing members that have expired / been dropped).
• When requested by the Treasurer, assign new Subscribers a member number and make entry into the electronic database.
• Update, as needed, authorized signature paperwork for bank / investment accounts.

The Treasurer will have responsibility for performing or exercising oversight over the following financial concerns of the Board and general membership, in addition to all the duties common to all Board members as previously set out in this document. Because of the wide span of these duties and the degree to which they are inter-related, they are listed for the sake of convenience by Article and Section of the Bylaws. More detailed explanations relating to actual current practices for implementing the Treasurer’s duties are indented and in italics for the sake of readability.

Article II, Section 2-Organization:

• None of the receipts or assets of the Association shall inure to the benefit of any individual member. In the event the Association terminates its activities, any remaining assets are to be transferred by the last elected officials to a scientific and/or educational police organization or institution having similar objectives.
  • The Treasure currently keeps a running inventory of all of the physical assets and the costs for each of those assets.  The AFTE accountant has been made responsible to keep the time in which those assets are written off the books in accordance to US tax laws, as well as the current value of each of those items of inventory.
• All Officers, members of the Board of Directors, and others, when so authorized by the Board of Directors when acting pursuant to their authority in this Association, shall be reimbursed by the Association for all costs and expenses incurred on its behalf.
  • A receipt sent to the treasurer and kept on file is needed for any reimbursement.
• Funds for meeting the expenses of the Association shall be raised by annual dues, assessments, voluntary contributions, and such income as may come to the Association through the collective efforts of its members. No financial obligations of the Association may be incurred by anyone or any group of members, except upon the prior authorization of or allocation of funds by the Board of Directors. All disbursements shall be made by the Treasurer.
• The Association shall defend and represent any member, Officer, past or present, charter member or incorporating officer for any liability whatsoever growing out of the incorporating, chartering, forming, or day-to-day operation of this Association.
  • Treasurer sees to it that the liability insurance is paid each year.
• The amount of compensation, if any, deemed by the Internal Revenue Service or a Court of Law to be excessive shall be repaid.

Article III, Section 2-Qualifications for Membership Classes:

• Except by special approval of the Board of Directors, Provisional Member status shall be held for no more than five (5) years. In the absence of special approval, Provisional Members who have not been promoted to the status of Regular Member after five (5) years will lose all membership rights. Any excess dues payments remaining shall be converted into a subscription to the Association's Journal.
• Technical Advisors may attend all meetings and may subscribe to the Journal at a reduced rate to be set by the Board of Directors, but shall have no other membership rights, nor shall they pay dues.

Article III, Section 3-Termination of Membership

• Termination upon request of member: Any member may resign from membership in the Association by giving written notice to either the President, Secretary, Membership Secretary, or Treasurer.
• Termination for failure to pay dues: Any member who shall fail to pay his annual dues and/or other assessments by July 1 of the current fiscal year shall not receive the publications of the Association and may be dropped by the Treasurer from the roll of members. Members so dropped may be readmitted only upon the filing of a new application, which shall receive the same consideration as is given other applications.

Article IV, Section 1-Annual Training Seminar

• All training seminars shall be designed to be financially self sufficient. Final fiscal responsibility for all training seminars shall rest with the Board of Directors. At the time a meeting location is determined by the Board of Directors, they shall also determine the following:
• The amount of money that shall be made available to the Host Committee from the Treasury to be used in the initial planning stages (“seed money”),
  • This “seed money” has varied between 500-2500 dollars, and has been repaid out of the proceeds from that training seminar.  A “seed money” check is typically written the summer or fall before the next training seminar.
• The maximum amount that may be spent on a single item or event without express prior approval, any other restraints or limitations that the Board of Directors deems necessary.
• In all financial matters, the Host Committee shall operate as a subcommittee of the Office of The Treasurer.
• The Host Committee shall maintain all financial records using the same accounting methods as the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall supply any necessary computer software and instruction to the Host Committee, who shall be required to submit regular financial reports to the Treasurer.
• The Treasurer and Host Committee shall establish a meeting budget which will include line item categories necessary to monitor income received and expenditures made throughout the planning and execution of the seminar. This information shall be used to generate a detailed financial summary of the training seminar, which will be published in the first AFTE Journal following the last financial transaction of the training seminar. A summary of this report shall also be included in the Treasurer’s Annual Report to the membership.

Article IV Section 5-Mid-Year Board of Directors Meeting:

• As funding allows, the Board of Directors will meet between the annual Training Seminars to conduct Association business. Such meetings will normally be held at the site of the upcoming annual Training Seminar.

Article V - Dues

• Section 1 - Fiscal Year:
  • The fiscal year of this Association shall be from January 1 through December 31.
    • Currently the invoices are sent out the first part of December, then again the first part of April to those who still have not paid their dues for that year.  For those who have not paid by July, they have been dropped from membership.
• Section 2 - Dues:
  • Annual dues shall be assessed against the members of the Association in an amount to be determined by the Board of Directors. Dues must be paid in United States currency.
• Section 3 - Life Dues Payment:
  • The Board of Directors may allow for the lump sum prepayment of all dues obligations in the form of a Life Dues Payment. The amount and schedule of such prepayment shall be set by the Board of Directors but shall not be less than ten (10) times the annual dues obligation, and shall be available to Regular Members of the association. Life Dues Payment shall exist for the purpose of dues prepayment only and shall in no way affect the membership status of the participant.
  • All money collected for Life Dues Payment, and all interest or dividends earned from the investment of such money shall be invested in interest bearing accounts or funds, and shall be used only for the purpose of relieving any deficit in the normal operating budget , other than excluded items, of the Association. Money from these funds shall specifically not be used to fund travel of any kind or for "one time" or "special" projects.
  • Use of Life Dues Payment funds for the purposes listed in part (B) of this section must be approved by a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors. Continued use of these funds beyond one year must be ratified by a majority of the Regular Members present and voting at the annual business meeting of the Association.
  • The Board of Directors of the Association shall create an investment policy statement to insure proper investment of the funds generated. This policy statement shall be reviewed and updated at least yearly.

Article VI - Officers and Management

• Section 5-Duties of Officers:
  • Treasurer - The Treasurer shall bill, collect and keep account of, and properly safeguard all funds of the Association; and present a financial statement at the meetings of the Board of Directors and the general membership. He shall also perform such other duties as may from time to time be assigned to him by the President or the Board of Directors.
• Currently there are three separate databases that track the income and expenditures for AFTE.:
  • QuickBooks- Tracks spending, income, physical equipment and produces needed reports as outlined in the AFTE bylaws.
  • Excel-Tracks income from members and subscribers.
  • Lotus Organizer-Tracks a specific individuals address(s), payments (or lack of) and other AFTE activities.

• Perform all duties common to all Board members as previously set out in this document.
• Be responsible for the handling and processing of new applications and forwarding them to the Secretary in a timely manner (Article VI Section 5, sub-section E, and Policy Letter #15).
• Perform other duties assigned by the President, Secretary, or Board of Directors (Article VI Section 5, sub-section E).
• Coordinate with the First Vice President in the notification and mailing of letters to applicants that their application was received and the expectations of the application process.
• Respond to postal, email, and telephone inquiries, when appropriate, to prospective applicants.
• Make a copy of the applicant’s check to be temporarily placed in the applicant’s file, and mail check to the Treasurer.
• Send completed applications electronically to the Board of Admissions, and when appropriate, to the Technical Advisors Committee to be voted upon.
• Send a list of applicants to be published in the AFTE Journal.
• Record the votes of the Board of Admissions on applicants and put a copy in the applicant’s file.
• Notify the 1st Vice President of the name and address of any applicants rejected by the Board of Admissions.

• Perform all duties common to all board members as previously set out in this document.
• Serve as the Second Vice-President in the event the Second Vice-President can no longer serve in that position (Article VI Section 2, sub-section D).
• Act as Chair of the Advisory Committee (Article VII, Section 1, sub-section B, #1)
• Assist the Board of Directors by offering advice and counsel (Article VII, Section 1, sub-section B, #2)
• Receive and process applications for Emeritus Membership (Article III, Section 2, sub-section D, #2 and Article VII, Section 1, sub-section B, #2).
• Review applications for elevation to Regular Membership when applicants have no Regular members available to sign their applications and write the requisite letters of recommendations.

• Perform all duties common to all Board members as previously set out in this document.
• The newest Member-at-Large shall be considered the Junior Member.
• Perform duties as assigned by the President and the Board of Directors (Article VI, Section 5, sub-section G).
  • Current practice has given the Member at Large the following committees for reporting purposes to the Board of Directors:  Research and Development, Technical Advisor and any other Ad-hoc committees assigned.
  • Current practice has given the Junior Member at Large he following committees for reporting purposes to the Board of Directors:  Referee Lab, Scholarship, Sickness & Distress/Family Assistance and any other Ad-hoc committees assigned.
• As needed, one Member-at-Large may be designated to assist the Secretary in ensuring the activities of each meeting are thoroughly recorded (Policy Letter #19).