Governance
Research Visit by Savannah Fishel
On December 17 the Co-op was visited by Savannah Fishel from the UK. She was travelling on a Churchill Fellowship to research intentional communities in Australia and elsewhere.
Her travelling blog was updated with this report of her Goolawah visit and the Q & A session with members held at the Camp Kitchen.
Resolutions for GM 14 Dec 2024
Special Resolution
To change Rule 26b by adding 26b(iii) as follows:
New Rule 26b
Rule 26b. The board must declare a membership cancelled if:
i. the whereabouts of a member is not known and has not been known for at least two years.
ii. the member is not presently active and has not been active within the meaning of rule 10 b in the past 2 years.
iii. The member does not pay their membership account in full (i.e. bring the balance to zero (or in credit)) at least once in any two-year period.
Proposed: John Tennock
Seconded: Wayne Skinner
The full text of this rule change is included in the attached document.
Rationale
Despite the measures we have adopted over the years to support members in maintaining active membership, it remains possible for members to unfairly continue enjoying the major benefits of membership while remaining financially inactive. Changing Rule 26b in this way provides a ‘last resort’ sanction to prevent this situation arising.
The current overdues report and every Invoice/Statement/Overdue Reminder already shows the date on which each member last paid in full so this situation is easily identified by both directors and delinquent payment members.
Ordinary Resolution
Change the payment terms on Work Levies from 365 days to 334 days.
Proposed: John Tennock
Seconded: Wayne Skinner
Special Resolution and Ordinary Resolution for meeting on 14-12-2024
Co-op Overview (Governance)
Denise has prepared the attached document to help prospective members get an overview of Goolawah’s governance arrangements, and it may be of interest to all members. Please feel free to leave any comments below or directly with Denise.