Stop by Hunger Mountain Co-op to talk with a Bylaw Comittee member about the upcoming Special Member Meeting to consider proposed revisions to Co-op Bylaws & Articles of Incorporation.
What are bylaws and why are they important?
The bylaws are the Co-op's principal governance document. They articulate the members' agreements for how the Co-op organizes itself, including membership benefits, the authority of our Co-op Council and more. Co-ops are required by statute to have bylaws.
Why update them now?
The current bylaws are a patchwork of original material and numerous subsequent amendments aimed at addressing various singular needs. No comprehensive rewrite of the bylaws has taken place in at least twenty years. As a result, the Co-op's current bylaws are poorly organized, confusing, and contain inconsistencies that make compliance challenging. The need for a full update of our bylaws was identified many years ago. The proposed revised bylaws are written to be clear and easy to follow.
What are the proposed revisions?
• The proposed revisions, and an overview of them, are available on the Co-op's website.
• The main body of the revised bylaws improves organization, clarifies confusing sections, and makes substantive changes that the committee, based on member feedback, determined would likely be approved. The council ratified the proposed changes.
• Multiple votes will be taken at the special meeting on the bylaw changes. The first clarifies a section of the articles of incorporation. The second is on the main body of the revised bylaws, with changes that proved to be uncontroversial, based on feedback from members. A third tweaks voting procedures for ballot items, while retaining the current division of topics for in-person versus ballot meetings.
• Several other topics proposed and discussed by the committee proved more controversial. To ensure that a negative vote on any of these topics will not prevent the adoption of the main body of the bylaws, they were separated out for individual votes. These are: transparency of employee compensation; council member freedom of expression; allowing the council to conduct its annual retreats behind closed doors (i.e., without other Co-op members attending); and a non-binding vote on whether to create a family membership option.
Read more here: https://hungermountain.coop/bylaw-proposal/
Oct 2, 2024, 6 to 8 PM
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