[AUUG-Talk]: Any activity?

[Greg 'groggy' Lehey]

On Tuesday, 22 April 2008 at 22:51:58 +1000, Frank Crawford wrote:
> Folks,
>
> 	I thought the outcome of the dissolution ballot was to
> continue on?

I seem to have missed this, but yes, it's (maybe only now) visible at
http://www.auug.org.au/news/dissolution.shtml

I have been recommending this course of action, along with dropping
membership fees.  My understanding is that no discussion took place on
the issue of fees.

> 	Has there been any meeting or updates by the board?  Are there any
> plans to move forward?  Before long it will be time for an election, and
> unless we get sometime in place the current board or at least the bulk
> are unlikely to continue on, and we are in a worse position.

In fact, according to the constitution, the election must take place
by mid-May, and candidates must be nominated a month in advance, so
it's already more than time.  From
http://classic.auug.org.au/info/constitution.html:

  21.

  1. The election of Officers and General Committee Members shall be
     by a postal ballot held annually.

  2. Nominations for each position shall be received by the Secretary
     up until the fourteenth day of April each year. Each nomination
     must be in writing, must name the position or positions sought,
     must be signed by at least three voting members, and must be
     countersigned by the nominated member who must be a financial
     voting member of the AUUG.

  3. Where only one valid nomination is received for a particular
     position by the close of nominations, the nominee shall be
     declared elected forthwith, and no ballot for that position shall
     be held.

  4. Any position for which no nomination is received, or which
     remains unfilled after the election has been conducted, shall be
     considered as a vacancy on the Management Committee, and handled
     as specified in these rules.

  5. On or before the first day of May, the Secretary shall advise the
     Returning Officer of all valid nominations received, and if a
     ballot is required shall advise him of a date no later than the
     fifteenth day of May for the ballot for all contested positions,
     and shall provide him with a list of voting members.

  6. While any voting member who is a natural person may be nominated
     to more than one office or position, no person shall be elected
     to more than one position. Ballots shall be determined in the
     following order: for President, for Vice-President, for
     Secretary, for Treasurer, for General Committee Members, for
     Returning Officer, and lastly for Assistant Returning Officer.

  7. All voting members shall be entitled to cast one vote.

Clearly this is in need of overhaul, but first we need a committee
that is prepared to do it.

> While I'm not on the board, I'd propose that the board drops the
> membership fee to $10, effective immediately

Why not drop it altogether?  Really, we're not getting even $10 worth
at the moment.  If there is some legal requirement for a membership
fee, I'd like to:

- Know what it is.
- See the fee reduced to $1.

I don't have a problem with paying $10 in itself.  My problem is that
I don't believe there should be a fee, and the board insists that
there should be one.  Despite David Newall's vociferous complaints,
the SA "chapter" of AUUG (most of them non-members), shows that there
is a future in this approach.  The sticking point remains that the
current board insists on a membership fee.  It's interesting to note
that, while the constitution implies that there shall be fees, it
imposes no requirement for them.

Greg
--
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