Minutes of the Governance and Policy Committee, September 11, 2000

Attending: Vic Bottomly, Chair, Lauren Bain, Fred Hansen

Meeting began at 7:35 p.m., McMurray School library.

First item was to get enough signatures for the committee's proposed =
by-law amendment regarding amendment procedure. The motion will be =
submitted at the September general meeting. So far, the motion has 3 of =
the 5 required signatures of Council members.

Second item was to address the Board's referral of a motion made last =
meeting to amend the by-laws to provide for term limits of board =
members. The proposed amendment would limit board members to serving up =
to three consecutive 2 year terms. The executive board referred the =
proposal to our committee.

The committee agreed that the proposal is properly a by-law amendment =
and not a simple rule amendment. The term limit provision falls under =
the category of board member selection, which is addressed in article V =
of the by-laws. Because the proponent of the proposal followed the =
current by-laws in proposing to amend the by-laws, the committee decided =
to send the proposal back to the general assembly for vote as a by-law =
amendment.

Finally, in the spirit of the committee's own by-law proposal, the =
committee drafted the following brief Pro/Con statement addressing the =
proposal:

Arguments in favor of the By-Law amendment proposing term limits.

 1. Encourages wider community participation.

 2. Discourages political stasis on the board that could lead to =
autocratic control.

 3. The proposal is balanced in that after a lapse of one term out =
of office, a former board member is free to run again.

Arguments opposing the proposed term limits:

 1. Any member of the council is free to run as a board member. =
Term limits don't ensure any of the above, only informed voter =
participation in free elections can do that.

 2. The proposal restricts and discourages volunteers from =
pursuing public service.

 3. The proposal may lead to a lack of qualified or interested =
candidates.

 The committee as a whole took no position on a recommendation for =
this proposal other than to submit it to a vote of the general council.

 No further business being raised, the meeting was adjourned.

 Vic Bottomly, Chair