We would love to see you attend our AGM at the NGCL Hall on March 10th, starting at 7pm featuring our Volunteer Awards Presentation!
Please join us as we honour Don Eastcott as an NGCL Lifetime Volunteer and Cara Roemmich as Volunteer of the Year, following the election of Board members at our Annual General Meeting.
Please come out to have your voice heard, celebrate our volunteers, and even volunteer yourself! If you are interested in hearing about our available roles, please email [email protected]
The the following are two proposed bylaw amendments for community members to review ahead of the upcoming AGM on March 10th. The purpose of sharing this proposal in advance is to ensure transparency, provide context, and allow members time to read, reflect, and ask questions before a vote is held. Thoughtful consideration and informed participation help support strong governance and shared decision-making within our community.
Bylaw 12.4 Voting
Current Bylaw 12.4 Emergency Spending: The Board shall be empowered to spend not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or in cases of emergency, up to twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) on any single incident without the express approval of the Membership at an Annual General Meeting, or a General or Special Meeting.
Proposed Update to Bylaw 12.4 Special Circumstances and Emergency Spending: The Board shall be empowered to spend not more than thirty thousand dollars ($30,000), or in emergencies not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), on any single incident without the express approval of the Membership at an Annual General Meeting or a General or Special Meeting.Rationale: the following costs exceed current bylaw emergency spending amounts
1. Insurance deductible (recent sink hole repair)
2. Costs to replace essential infrastructure (main hall doors)
Bylaw 10.4 Voting
Current Bylaw 10.4 Voting:
Each Director has one (1) vote except for the President (or the person chairing the meeting in the event that the President is not present). The President (or person chairing the meeting) only votes to break a tie.
Proposed Update to Bylaw: (addition is bolded)
Each Director has one (1) vote except for the President (or the person chairing the meeting in the event that the President is not present). The President (or person chairing the meeting) only votes to break a tie. A Director who co-chairs a committee may designate their co-chair as a general proxy, and will notify the Secretary of their intent to vote by general proxy in advance of the meeting.
Rationale for This Proposed Change:
Permitting co-chairs to participate in board meetings by voting as a general proxy for their Director co-chair will allow for more equal sharing of responsibilities between two co-chairs. For a large committee like Planning & Transportation that has often used co-chairs, this will allow the committee to maintain their involvement in board decision making even when their Director cannot attend meetings.
At times the board has struggled to reach a quorum for a meeting and allowing proxy voting for co-chairs will, in theory, help boost meeting attendance. The Director must notify the secretary in advance so that it is clear who will be attending and voting at each meeting.
We also hope that this may help us fill board roles such as the Activities and Programs Director, by inviting more flexibility into the way the position is filled (for example, two volunteers could collaborate in the role and share responsibility for attending and voting at meetings).
The term “General proxy” was used because a general proxy does not need specific instructions on how to vote and can vote their own conscience on a matter. This is important to specify because in practice our agenda is rarely finalized until the morning of a meeting and motions are not provided in advance, so it is not possible for a Director to dictate how their proxy should vote.