I think this has been resolved, although I haven't heard from Janice or Lawrence. See this post for details.
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Did anyone notice the blurb in the September 2009 newsletter, on page 2, that states: "Following the Fire Safety presentation and some other topics of interest, election of members of the Board of Governors will be held and all dues paying households may vote for those nominated. There is one vote allowed per household and dues must have been received by August 15th in order to be registered on the rolls of the organization."
This came as a surprise to me, in part because the only time this August 15 deadline was mentioned was in the newsletter that was delivered at the beginning of September, and also because that's not what was decided at the last board meeting.
At that meeting, board president Janice Moore suggested people would need to bring their Rodgers Forge membership cards in order to run for a seat on the board or vote for the board candidates. A discussion followed in which it was pointed out that not everyone received cards after paying dues and that this didn't seem reasonable. Kate Hammond, the outgoing treasurer, said it would be easy to simply print out an excel spreadsheet that shows the names of all residents who have paid dues and have it on hand at the meeting. It was also decided that people could pay their dues the night of the September 9 meeting and still be counted as having paid, because the fiscal year doesn't end until September 30.
I also double checked that fact by emailing board@rodgersforge.org later and board member/newsletter editor Jay Dunn wrote back and confirmed that people could pay the night of the meeting and be counted as current. Many people have been asking me about the annual meeting and I've been telling them they can pay their dues that night.
Then the newsletter came out yesterday announcing that the deadline to pay was August 15. I immediately received an email from someone saying basically, "I was planning to run for the board but it looks like now I can't because I was going to pay my dues that night."
Below is an email discussion about the deadline. I wrote to Jay Dunn, board president Janice Moore and board vice president Lawrence Swoboda asking them to clarify. I also left Janice a voice mail. Jay is the only one who has responded.
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Sept. 2 [Kris, writing to Jay Dunn, Janice Moore and Lawrence Swoboda]: Hi all, I see in the newsletter that you say people must have paid their dues by Aug. 15 in order to vote at the meeting.
At the last board meeting, at Janice's house, you said people could pay that night [the night of the annual meeting in September]. Your fiscal year ends Sept. 30. I also didn't see anything about the Aug. 15 deadline in the earlier newsletters. Do you think perhaps an announcement of an August deadline in the September newsletter is misguided? I also double-checked it with Jay (see below).
I would like a formal response about this to post on the Forge Flyer. Are you going to stand by the Aug. 15 deadline or can people pay dues that night and vote or run for office? (We have paid our dues already so this does not affect me personally but I know others are interested.) Thanks, Kris
------- Jul 8, 2009 10:53:42 PM, kris-at-forgeflyer.com
Hi there,
Just so I have this straight so I can post on the Forge Flyer for anyone interested, people don't have to register as board candidates by a date certain, do they? They can just self-nominate at the annual meeting (provided they have paid their dues by that day and live in Rodgers Forge). Is that right?
Thanks!
Kris
forge flyer
Thursday, July 9, 2009 9:32 AM
To:
That is correct but it would be far better for Jason Carter, Nominating Chair, to know their names and background in advance so that they might be presented as either part of the Board assigned to districts or "At Large". Jay He is: jcarter... ------
Sept. 2:
[Jay writes]: After thinking it over, it became fairly obvious that paying them on the night and recording same while the meeting is in progress would be quite a hassle. Why is this a big deal? Folks had almost a year to get current with dues. Jay Dunn[Kris writes]: That's the official board position? I don't understand how you can say it's going to be one way (at the July meeting), and then later decide that people needed to have paid by mid-August, but not inform of that earlier than September. Usually people are alerted to deadlines *prior* to the date they are to have occurred. I see nowhere in the bylaws that states that dues must be paid by August. Is it in there somewhere?
The "big deal" is that you didn't give people a deadline to pay, and now that you have, you made the deadline two weeks ago.
The September newsletter says "one vote per household." The bylaws say "all General Members present shall have one vote." Where did the one household rule come from? Did I miss that somewhere in the bylaws? If my husband and I both attend, we should both have our votes counted, right? As two votes, not one vote. -Kris[Jay writes]: Not the "official board position" just a sensible one for the reasons previously stated. In previous years, dues paid between August 15th and the September meeting have been zero to, maybe, one. You are correct in that there is nothing in the By-Laws so, to be law abiding, if someone pays his dues he can, in my opinion, vote. That is, however, just my opinion but we want to be inclusive.
Another subject, each "dwelling" has always been allowed a single vote and this has been because a household with 5 adults (that makes a single dues payment) would otherwise have 5 votes versus a single vote in another dwelling. Again, not in the By-laws one way or the other but it has been that way for as long as memory serves.
Jay [Kris writes]: So who decided to write in newsletter about one vote per house and deadline to pay dues? Thanks. [Jay writes]: Kris - Hopefully, these responses will put this subject to a close. The one vote-one household has long been understood by those associated with the board over many years, rather than actually certified as such. There is, in fact, no mention in the By-Laws of this matter, one way or the other, and they should probably be amended to so indicate.
As to the dues paid date of August 15th, that is the actual date that the Directory copy was submitted to our printer, showing who did pay their dues (by the dot indicator next to their address). Several weeks are needed to put the booklet all together with copy changes, new ads and restructuring the layout. It does not seem unreasonable to expect dues to be paid before that time in that an invoice is sent with new Directories when they are distributed in October of the prior year and, in addition, we publish an invoice in the Newsletter for several more months after that, the last such plea having been in the newsletter of February, 2009!
Jay[Kris writes]: It's not unreasonable -- provided you have let people know the rules in advance. As far as I can see, the board does not make it clear when the fiscal year ends and when people need to turn in dues in order to participate in the governance of their own community. So, it looks as though there is no response from the board president or vice president? Were they part of this decision? Thanks, Kris
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That's the last I've heard. If someone wants to call this board bashing, go ahead. I call it asking people to be fair and transparent in their actions that affect the entire community.
I would also note that instead of suddenly announcing an already-passed deadline (!), the board might want to print something in large type on the front-page of the newsletter saying something along the lines of, "Please join us for the Annual Meeting on September 9 even if you haven't paid your dues yet. You can pay that night and still participate in the governance of your community!" This would not only be another opportunity to raise money for the coffers, it would be more inclusive.
What do you think? Post or read comments here:
I heard the author of "NurtureShock" on Fresh Air (listen here) this afternoon and it was very interesting.
