Standard Operating Procedures

• Baronial Curia
  • Meetings
  • Expenditures
  • Election of Officers
• Events
  • General
  • Event Bids
  • Event Announcements
  • Finances
  • Children
  • Pets
  • Conduct
• Amending the By-Laws
• Ratification of Amendments
• Amendment Process
• Publishing of By-Laws
• Appendix A - Electoral Process
• Appendix B - Absentee Ballots
• Appendix C - Consent Form for Minors

Part 1: Baronial Curia

1.1	Meetings
	1.1.1	Frequency of meetings Curia meetings are to be held quarterly in the months of June, September, December and March. The meetings will be scheduled near the middle of the month barring event conflicts. Meetings cancelled as a result of inclement weather, etc. will normally be re-scheduled for the following week barring event conflicts.
	1.1.2	Meeting location Curia meetings will ordinarily alternate between subgroups in the Barony pending prior arrangements and weather conditions. Recognizing the distances to be travelled and the attendant costs, consideration may be given to centralizing the meeting locations on a more frequent basis where circumstances permit.
	1.1.3	Special meetings The Seneschal may call special meetings to deal with outstanding matters of immediate concern. Outstanding matters are matters that need to be dealt with in a 4-7 day time span. The seneschal shall give 4-7 days notice to call a special meeting
	1.1.4	Emergency matters Emergency matters may be dealt with by the Seneschal in consultation with the Coronet to be ratified at the next regular or specially convened Baronial Curia meeting. Emergency matters are matters that need to be dealt with in 72 hours or less.
	1.1.5	Meeting notice All regularly scheduled Curia meetings shall be announced in Quid Nunc at least one(1) month in advance of the meeting including the date, time and location.
	1.1.6	Quorum For any Curia meeting to be considered official, the Seneschal or his or her official deputy, and at least three (3) Major officers or their officially recognized deputies must be in attendance. Majority officers shall include Seneschal, Herald, Knight Marshal, Minister of Lists, Exchequer, Chronicler, Minister of Arts & Sciences, Chatelaine as per kingdom law Minor officers shall include, but not be limited to, Web Minister, Chancellor minor and Company Captain of Archers. Other officers will include the Canton Seneschals and autocrats of baronial events. Any Major or Minor Officer who misses 3 or more consecutive curia meetings will be asked to resign their positions
	1.1.7	Order of Business Meetings will be conducted according to the following Order of Business: Approval of the Minutes of the previous meeting Reports from the Officers Committee reports Reports from special officers and event autocrats Old business rising from the minutes New business
	1.1.8	Rules of Order The general procedure for curia meetings will follow the principles of Robert's Rules of Order for Parliamentary Law.
	1.1.9	Minutes Minutes of Curia meetings are to be recorded by a designated officer to be determined at the start of each meeting. Minutes of Curia meetings shall be published in Quid Nunc. Minute of the Baronial Curia Meeting will be made available within 7 days of the curia meeting.
	1.1.10	Voting Voting will normally be done by show of hands, except where it is deemed appropriate to have a vote by secret ballot. All decisions by Curia must be ratified by a two-thirds vote. The Seneschal may conduct a phone-in vote as deemed necessary. All members of Curia may vote, but may only cast one vote per person, regardless of how many officers an individual may hold or represent. Official deputies may only vote at meetings in the absence of their Baronial principals.
1.2	Expenditures
	1.2.1	Approval of expenditures Curia must approve all expenditures on behalf of the Barony of Ruantallan, except those determined to be discretionary. Approval for expenditures will normally be dealt with as part of regular business at quarterly or special Curia meetings. Signing officers for the dispensation of Baronial funds include the Seneschal, Exchequer, and the Herald. All expenditures exceeding $300.00 must be approved at a regular or specially convened Curia meeting. In exceptional circumstances, the Seneschal, or his or her official deputy, and at least three(3) Major officers or their officially recognized deputies may authorize expenditures not exceeding $300.00 in advance of the next regularly convened Curia meeting. Such expenditures must be reported at the next regular or specially convened Curia meeting. Major or Minor officers must present receipts at a regularly convened Curia meeting to be reimbursed for expenditures that are incurred in the performance of their duties. Curia will not reimburse expenses without a receipt.
	1.2.2	Discretionary expenditures The Seneschal, in consultation with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and at least one other Major Officer, may approve expenditures which are deemed discretionary or incidental at any time, and not exceeding $50.00. The yearly amount allowed to be spent in discretionary funds is $200.00. Discretionary expenditures must be reported at the next regularly convened Curia meeting.
	1.2.3	Stipends The Coronet are to receive an annual stipend. If the Coronet is bachelor, the stipend will be in the amount of $150.00, or its equivalent; if the Coronet is a co-regent couple, the stipend will be in the amount of $75.00 each, or its equivalent. The stipend, if paid in cash, will be delivered to the Coronet at the beginning of the new Societal year immediately following the first Curia meeting in June. The Coronet is to be reimbursed for reasonable transportation expenses when required to be at an event in an official capacity. Receipts shall be required
1.3	Election of officers
	1.3.1	Election of Seneschal The election of a new Baronial Seneschal, or the re-election of a Baronial Seneschal at the end of his or her first term, will follow the electoral procedure as defined in Appendix A.
	1.3.2	Election of other officers At the expiration of the term of office for all other Major officers, and Minor officers, each officer may be re-appointed by a Baronial Curia vote. If the incumbent does not wish to be re-appointed, Curia shall find another suitable candidate shall be found for the office. If more than one(1) candidate is found for an office, Curia will hold a vote at the next regularly convened or special Baronial Curia meeting.
	1.3.3	Notification of expiry of office Notification of the expiry of the term of office for any Baronial officer shall be printed in Quid Nunc at least three(3) months in advance. The Seneschal must report the vacancy, or expiry of a Baronial office, in Quid Nunc before any successor can be appointed, or the incumbent re-appointed.
	1.3.4	Vacancies In the case of a vacancy, the Seneschal respective Kingdom Officer or the Crown are responsible for appointing the official deputy for that office as the interim officer.
	1.3.5	Deputies Official deputies do not automatically succeed to the respective office when the incumbent leaves that office.

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Part II: Events

2.1	General
	Event conflicts should be avoided wherever possible, particularly those events that are put on for the populace at large. Traditional events that take place in the Barony on an annual basis, on or about the same date each year, shall take precedence over other events. If the scheduling of a Baronial event unavoidably conflicts with a local event put on by a subgroup, the Seneschal will first notify the subgroup to determine a resolution. Baronial Curia meetings shall to be scheduled to avoid conflicts with local events wherever possible. Define and discuss where Regional events place in relation to Baronial Events
2.2	Event Bids
	2.2.1	Deadlines for Baronial event bids Bids for Baronial events must be submitted in writing to the Seneschal for consideration at the next regularly scheduled Curia meeting. Bids for the Twelfth Night Celebration should be presented to the Seneschal by September 1. Bids for the Baronial Investiture Anniversary event should be presented to the Seneschal by June 1. Bids for other Baronial events should be presented to the Seneschal at least four(4) months in advance of the planned date. Bid deadlines are to be published in Quid Nunc at least three(3) months in advance of the deadline.
	2.2.2	Requirements for event bids Standard event bids are required to include, at a minimum, the following information: Name of event Date(s) of event Location Autocrat Autocrat membership number Kitchen autocrat Marshal(s)-in-charge of martial activities A detailed budget (based on a minimum attendance of 50 people) including: Site fees Feast Sideboard Supplies Other costs, if any Attendance fees (adults, children, on-board, off-board, family, etc.) List of planned activities Allowance of pets
2.3	Event announcements
	Event announcements for Baronial events must be published in Quid Nunc at least one(1) month in advance of the month in which the event is to take place.
2.4	Finances
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer, with the approval of Curia, may advance monies as needed to Autocrats of Baronial events to cover expenses. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, with approval of Curia, may advance monies as needed to Autocrats of events sponsored by a subgroup within the Barony to cover expenses. All profits and losses are the responsibility of the group, either Barony or Subgroup, that incurred them. All event reports will be completed and submitted within 30 days of the event.
2.5	Children
	Parent(s) or legal guardian(s) must assume full responsibility for the conduct of their children at events. Young children must be closely supervised at all times, particularly in those areas where martial activities are taking place. Young children who are participating in archery must be accompanied by an adult. Autocrats are required to advise parents with young children of any safety concerns with respect to the event site. Minors or youths under the age of 19 who come to an event without a parent or legal guardian, must have a permission slip from their parent(s) or legal guardian(s) as prescribed in Appendix C are required to have a Children's Waiver and a Medical Consent Waiver that is properly out and signed by a parent or legal guardian.
2.6	Pets
	Pets will be allowed at events at the discretion of the autocrat. Pets are to be pre-registered with the troll and the populace made aware of their attendance at least three (3) weeks in advance of the event. Pet owners must assume full responsibility for any pets that they bring to an event; this includes clean-up and disposal of pet waste. Pets must be properly restrained at all times. Pet owners may be asked to remove a pet from the event site if the animal is misbehaving or becoming a nuisance. At no time shall a pet be allowed to enter the kitchen of a feast hall. At the discretion of the autocrat, pets may accompany their owners during a feast but must be kept out of the way and appropriately restrained.
2.7	Conduct
	Adults or emancipated minors must assume full responsibility for their own conduct at events. Behaviour deemed inappropriate may result in that person being asked to leave an event. Inappropriate behaviour must ultimately be recognized by the autocrat. The autocrat will document the incident and submit the report with the event report. The Autocrat is then responsible for asking the person to leave the event. Recurrent problems with an individual may result in that person being asked to not attend any future events in the Barony of Ruantallan.

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Part III: Amending the By-Laws

3.1	Ratification of amendments
	Amendments to the Standard Operating Procedures and Policies contained in the By-Laws will be dealt with and ratified at a regular or specially convened Baronial Curia meeting as is deemed necessary.
3.2	Amendment process
	Proposed amendment(s) to the Standard Operating Procedures and Policies must be submitted in writing to the Seneschal for introduction at the next regularly scheduled Curia meeting. A vote on the proposed amendment(s) will take place at the following regularly scheduled Baronial Curia meeting. Ratification of any proposed amendment(s) require a two-thirds majority. Any changes to the By-Laws must be published in Quid Nunc before they become official.
3.3	Publishing of By-Laws
	By-Laws for the Barony of Ruantallan are to be published biennially in Quid Nunc. Once published, they supersede all former Operating Procedures and Policies contained in the By-Laws.

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Appendix A - Electoral Process

In order to elect a new Coronet(s) or a Seneschal, it is felt that a procedure should be pre-established. The following electoral process was conceived by the Baronial Curia will be used for the purposes of electing the a new Baronial Seneschal. This process may be used for any election that the Baronial Curia deems it necessary, including (but not limited to) the election of the Coronet, and the Baronial Seneschal with the exception of a new Baronial Coronet.

Procedure:

1. Those wishing to be candidates must meet the requirements for the position to be filled, as outlined in the East Kingdom Laws and Policies, or Corpora (as applicable).
2. Candidates should have a cross-section of support in the Barony. Accordingly, to become a candidate, individuals must have the signatures of five Baronial citizens Subjects. Proof of membership must accompany the signatures. At least one of the nominators must be from outside the candidate's local area.
3. Nominators may sponsor only one candidate.
4. The following will be accepted as proof of membership: membership card, a copy of the Pikestaff mailing label, with expiry date, money order/charge card receipt or cancelled cheque OR a photocopy of the preceding items or an original letter from Corporate headquarters stating that the person in question is a member in good standing.
5. A date will be set, by which time all applications with the required signatures will be submitted to the Electoral Officer(s).
6. Within one month of the date that applications are to be submitted to the electoral officer(s), an announcement shall be made stating the names of the candidates, and the date of the election event. The election event will take place no later than three months after the date applications must be submitted.
7. The sole purpose of the election event will be the election itself, with no other scheduled activities for that event.
8. All Baronial Citizens Subjects may vote in the election. Proof of membership must be brought to the election event.
9. There will be provision for absentee ballots, this is outlined in Appendix B.
10. Aside from absentee ballots, as specified in Appendix B, only those Citizens Subjects who attend the election event may vote.
11. The election will take the following form: At the end of each ballot, the names(s) of the candidate(s) receiving the lowest number of votes will be removed from subsequent ballots. Any candidate may withdraw from the election at any time. This process will continue until only two candidates remain. The candidate receiving over half of all counted ballots in the final round of balloting will be declared the winner of the election.
12. The Coronet(s) shall act as the Electoral Officer(s), except in the case of an election to determine the Coronet, in which case the Electoral Officer is the Vicar, as defined by Kingdom Law.
13. The Electoral Officer(s) will be responsible for conducting the balloting process, the counting of the ballots, and the physical destruction of all ballots after completion of the election, but not before the announcement of the winner(s).

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Appendix B - Absentee Ballots

1. After the announcement of the candidates, an absentee ballot will be produced and made available to all Citizens Subjects of the Barony who will not be able to attend the election. These will be available from the Electoral Officer(s), or any Seneschal of the Barony.
2. The absentee ballots will list in alphabetical order (by mundane last name), the names (SCA and mundane) of the candidates. In the case of a Coronet election, co-regnant candidates will be listed together.
3. Those using the absentee ballots will mark (in descending order) their choices for the position up for election.
4. If the first choice on the ballot is eliminated at any point in the balloting, the second choice will then be used in the succeeding ballots.
5. This process of elimination will continue until the position up for election is decided by the balloting process.
6. Absentee voters may mark their choices for as many or as few of the candidates as they wish. If all of the choices marked are eliminated from the balloting, then the absentee ballot is no longer in force.
7. The absentee ballots will be returned to the Electoral Officer(s) with proof of membership no later than one week prior to the election event. Any absentee ballots without proof of membership will not be counted.
8. In order to protect the secrecy of the ballot, the absentee ballot and proof of membership should be placed in a sealed envelope.

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Appendix C - Consent Form for Minors

The form enclosed in Appendix C of the Standard Operating Procedures has been made available here for download in PDF format

Consent Form for Minors (PDF - 43 KB).

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