November 13, 2008
General Meeting Votes on Charter Study
In addition to the meeting notes below (also available as a pdf document), see the newsletter article with background information.
LWVN General Membership Meeting, November 13, 2008
Meeting Notes
The purpose of this meeting was to have the LWVN membership vote on the question that was presented to the general membership for discussion on October 29, 2008, in accordance with LWVN By-Laws (Article IX, Section 3, ¶e).
LWVN President Terry Yoffie called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m.
It was established that there were at least 25 members present, the quorum required by LWVN bylaws to hold a vote.
There was some pre-vote discussion:
Janet Sterman expressed concern that the description of the prior (Oct. 29) meeting in the LWVN Bulletin conveyed the idea that there was "consensus" among the participants as to their positions on the question under consideration.
Andrea Kozinetz, who had recorded the meeting, explained that the intent was to indicate a “sense of the meeting” rather than make a conclusory judgment.
The question to be voted on:
Should the LWVN change program mid-year in order to study City Charter instead of proceeding with the program in place: studying municipal finance (more specifically, the GIC health insurance trust and capital budgeting)?
A “Yes” vote represents a desire to make a mid-year change. A “No” vote represents a desire to make no mid-year change.
Leslie Burg moved the question; Sue Rosenbaum seconded the motion. The motion was defeated by a vote of 22 nays to 4 yeas.
Post -Vote Discussion:
It was announced that any members interested in proposing City Charter Review for program in the following year (2009-2010) should make their recommendations to the Board by February 2009, to permit time to propose them at the Annual Meeting in May.
An exploratory committee consisting of Leslie Burg, Myra Tattenbaum, Deb Crossley and Anne Borg volunteered to meet prior to the February deadline to explore the viability of adopting this program (determine objectives, formulate issues, identify scope of research, assess complexities). Myra indicated that, depending on the scope and scale of 2 work involved, a City Charter program -- assuming its adoption – may more appropriately be seen as a long-term commitment.
This exploratory committee will report its findings and recommendations to the Board.
Terry adjourned the General Membership meeting at 7:45 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Gail Glick
Clerk