PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE KGCL BY-LAWS
The KGCL membership will vote on changes to the KGCL by-laws at the May 16, 2024 meeting of members. Per our existing by-laws, a quorum of 20% of members, in person or by proxy, is required to change the by-laws. A proxy form was included with the April 2024 newsletter sent to members. Please return it prior to the meeting. The Board of Directors (the “Board”) has worked these changes for many months and recommends approval.
Three documents are provided to help review the changes. These are (1) our existing KGCL by-laws, (2) a marked-up copy of the by-laws showing all proposed changes, and (3) a clean of the proposed bylaws.
Some of the changes are merely editorial in nature, such as punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure. You can review all changes using the documents provided. The substantive changes are discussed below:
1. Change to the KGCL operating year, Our current operating year is 1 September through 31 August. The Board notes the confusion this causes in the Membership, especially with membership renewal. The Board proposes to align the KGCL operating year with the calendar year. This change will also move elections from May to October and also shifts annual planning (e.g. budget) into the fall. If the proposal is approved, the next membership year will be a transition year of 15 months duration (1 September 2024 – 31 December 2025).
2. Classes of Membership. There is no change to the nature or privileges of regular membership. The Board proposes to create a new class of membership called “associate member”. Associate members will be those who reside outside of our neighborhood boundaries (yes, we do have several who send in membership payments each year because they enjoy participating in events such as the 4th of July parade) or those residents of King’s Grant who prefer to support the League but not be counted as a regular member for various reasons. At present, we accept their annual payment as a donation and keep them on our mailing list. The proposed change allows us to aggregate the monies received as “membership dues” and keep it separate from the additional donation support that members regularly provide. Associate members will continue to receive the KGCL newsletter but are not eligible to vote on League business or hold office. Also, associate members will not be included in the calculations for attendance needed to attain a meeting quorum. The KGCL is often asked about our membership number – by a newsletter advertiser, a guest speaker, the VBCCO, and even our insurance provider. This change will allow us to provide a simple answer.
3. Voting and quorum requirements. As noted above, only regular members can vote on League business. This change also addresses how a quorum of members is calculated. The League has always permitted both adult residents of a member household to vote at our meetings. That will not change. The proposed by-law change states that a quorum is attained by attendance (in-person or by proxy) by the number of voting-eligible persons equal to ten percent (10%) of the regular member households. The percentage is 20% for by-law changes. This part of the change is subtle but it retains a two person per household vote, makes the quorum determination easier, and does not set the participation bar at a level that is too difficult to meet.
4. Annual dues. The current by-laws set the annual dues at $20 per year. The change gives the Board the authority to set annual membership dues.
5. Fidelity Bond requirement. The Board recommends removing the requirement for the Treasurer to be bonded when the League treasury exceeds $10,000. The Board sees this as an unnecessary expense and difficult to manage, particularly as our assets move above and below this threshold during the operating year. Our present insurance carrier informed the KGCL in December that it no longer offers this type of coverage.
6. Elections. The proposal permits voting on the slate of candidates presented at the annual (October) meeting if there are no nominations from the floor, The currently prescribed voting process is written as though elections will be competitive – which they are not. Should an election be competitive, the existing process of voting for one office at a time will continue.
7. Miscellaneous. Updates to the by-laws are proposed to recognize the use of email in lieu of postal mail, to update the duties of Officers and Directors with current practice, and how the League manages its participation with the Council of Civic Organizations.