[H-GEN] Re: [H-ANNOUNCE] Constitutional amendments

[Robert Brockway]

On Mon, 22 Jun 1998, David Starkoff wrote:

> As some of you are undoubtedly aware, I am intending to redraft the HUMBUG
> Constitution over the upcoming holidays.

Cool, version 3.0 coming up :)
 
>   *  Should an outgoing Executive member appoint his (or her) successor?

I prefer the current system where the President can appoint someone to the
position temporarily but must call an SGM for an election for that
position.  And I say this without even being President anymore ;)
 
>   *  Should nominees for Executive positions be known before SGMs (or
>      AGMs)?

That is a good idea.
 
>   *  How should the club be able to amend its Constitution?

I think the current system works well here, but would also be interested
to hear other peoples suggestions.

>   *  Should club members not able to attend SGMs (or AGMs) be able to
>      proxy their votes?

We have allowd this Constitutionally in the past.  I am in 2 minds as to
whether it is a good idea or not.  So far no proxy vote has ever been
crucial in a result, and that is probably a good thing.  If we are
reviewing it, I would suggest removing the provision for proxy votes.
 
>   *  Should the minutes of meetings be available to all club members?

They currently are on a 'request' basis I believe.  Ie request it and the
Secretary has to give you a copy in a certain time frame.
 
>   *  Should the workings of the Executive remain a mystery to all except
>      those inducted into it, or should it report at regular intervals to
>      the club?

Exec meetings are open and we have usually had a few non-exec people
interest enough to come along.  But I get the feeling most of the club are
more than happy to leave the admin side of things to the exec so that they
can concentrate on Unix.

Reports currently only happen at the AGM and occasionally at SGMs.

>   *  What should the quorum be for SGMs (and AGMs)?

The quorum is currently rahter low (25%) I think.  Originally the quorum
was higher but we had trouble getting enough attending members to do
anything.  So first chance we got we dropped it to the current level.
This is because humbug has a large group of people who join but do not
often turn up to meetings, expecially meetings that involved
administrative issues.  I know quite a few ppl who deliberately avoid
beeing at an SGM/AGM.
 
> And anything that you think should, or should not, be in the constitution. 

Keep the '3 month rule' to avoid the club being stacked out.

The Con needs clearer definitions.  I would like to see a clear
distinction between President and Acting President for Example.  The
President should only be allowed to appoint an Acting Position if it
falls vacant, and have it stated in another part of the Constitution that
if someone is Acting in a position that an SGM for the election must be
held.  This will be neater than the current setup.  I hope  I made that
clear, but it is ok as I will be talking to David in person about some of
my suggestions.

Also, better explanation of the limits of the Powers of the different
position without having to consult the exec.  It is unclear in the
current Con (which I helped draft with a number of other People notably
Andrae and James) what the extent of Presidential authority is without
having the consult the exec in an Executive meeting. What right, for
example does the President have to dispose of club possessions without
consulting the exec.  Monetary issues are clearly spelled out but other
issues are not clear at all.
Cheers,
	-Robert 
 
--Robert Brockway B.Sc.  Email: robert at zen.humbug.org.au, robert at icc.net.au
				r.brockway at uq.edu.au
                         WWW:   http://www.humbug.org.au/~robert
Immediate Past President of HUMBUG (http://www.humbug.org.au)