What should the rules of our club be?

I am part of a group of like minded enthusiasts who have formed our own club for our hobby. As our group has grown we have began to disagree about how things should be decided and differences of opinion settled without upsetting someone of making ridiculous compromises.

One big disagreement is about if founding and longstanding member should have more say than other members. Perhaps people who do more for the club should also have more say as well? I think all members should be treated equally and given a fair say or vote because we all make the club what it is and own it equally. If people don’t feel like it is their club as much as anyone else’s they will not want to become as involved or enthusiastic and feel a part of the community. They may not stay loyal to our club and may join another or start their own.

I want to propose we settle things by a member’s ballot, with rules only being sanctioned by a majority of ten or more votes. The will be a committee (of key members) who shall have power to make, alter, or rescind such decisions they may consider necessary for the management of the club, provided that such alterations be in accordance with the rules of the club. I think the committee should be ‘key’ people not necessarily based on length of membership.

I am a fairly long old member myself and very involved with the club, do you think I should propose this or is there a better way? How do most clubs come up with their rules? What are some systems used for making decisions in the real world like in government or for professional societies?