ALV May 2014

ALV May 2014
Date	2014-05-09
Time	?
Location	(h)ACTA
Contact	Board
Minutes	ALV May 2014/Minutes
Actions	ALV May 2014/Actions

ALV May 2014
Date	2014-05-09
Time	?
Location	(h)ACTA
Type	Meeting
Contact	secretary@techinc.nl

ADDED AFTER THE MEETING:

• Summary of resolutions & actions ALV May 2014/Actions
• Long minutes ALV May 2014/Minutes
• Short minutes

Info:

• ALV: Friday, 9th May, at 7PM (19:00)

• Board elections candidates can be sent till one day before ALV; remember to post it to members list, with explanation of why to vote for you.

• Proxy form: https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/File:Generic_proxy_vote_techinc.pdf

• Minutes will be done "live", using Hackpad or similar; final version will be edited within two weeks after the ALV.

• Agenda in PDF: File:ALV-9-May-2014-Technologia-Incognita.pdf

• NOTE: the agenda below has been augmented to include the addenum to point 4.6.1 as suggested by philip in response to expected issues. Updated 20140509, Justa

Admin

(1.1) Number of people present, number of proxy votes, guests?

Proxy form: File:Generic proxy vote techinc.pdf

(1.2) Approving the notes from the previous meeting

ALV_2014_January#Minutes

Reports

/ 2.2. Financial report 2014, to date (Brainsmoke)

• monthly reports to be seen here: Financials_2014
• status of the accounts
• expectations, based on the number of people paying "minimum" or "recommended" membership fees
• spendings from the board allowance
• financial outlook on the rest of 2014

/ 2.3. Membership report to date (Ctrl-K / Vesna)

• number of members on paper
• number of paying members
• number of people who are late
• number of canceled memberships due to late payment

/ 2.4. Notes from the board (Justa)

• News from the Board:

• • The 'Huishoudelijk Reglement' (HHR):
  • Current state; contains previously agreed upon rules and procedures.
  • Proposed extra points based on 'action points' from previous ALV; presentation of work done

• Actions from the last ALV -- LINK: ALV_2014_January_actions
  • put Financial report about 2013 on the wiki
  • ask question to WG-terien committee (done)
  • add an agenda point on next ALV to decide who will be in the "dispute committee"
  • at the next ALV, present the tided-up version of HHR based on "rules" from point 6
  • add rule about payments before 7th to the HHR
  • add rule about non paying members to HHR
  • add a text about warnings & consequences to HHR:
  • add a text in HRR about existence of the "dispute committee" group:
  • add the text about annual ALV in HHR:

• Requests:
  • Can we have the financial report longer before the ALV?
  • can you add how many funds board spent on "daily running" of the space, in the report?

• other board news

• notable space news

/ 2.5 Report from the "members meetings" (Voidz0r / Realitygaps)

• how many members meetings happened?
• what were the results to date?

/ 2.6 Report from the "dispute committee" (Vesna / Realitigaps)

There was an action from the previous ALV "to decide who will be in the "dispute committee" " .

If the dispute committee has been formed, it shall present their work here.

Volunteers for this committee shall be voted in on this ALV.

Board Elections

3.1 Current state of board

The current board functions with 3 people; with three people having left us since the last ALV. This has had a number of reasons and one of the people involved has requested time to speak on this. Each of them is invited to speak about their particular situation and/or reasons that motivated them to do so. The exceptions being Amran who sadly had to decide to step down and Control-K who is accepting a position in another country soon.. All people who would like to speak are given 10 minutes each , with people able to ask questions or further comment as the need arises.

3.2 Presentation of candidates and voting

Text by Justa: The task of the board is to take care of all the 'official' and 'legal' stuff that running an association involves. This means anything from signing contracts, paying the rent, organizing ALV's to helping our members with disputes and pave the way for future projects, directions and desires.

A board of a (dutch) association consists of the following three *mandatory*  :

- The Director, responsible for running the board and hosting ALV's

- The secretary, responsible for keeping track of members/membership as well as helping organize an ALV agenda.

- The Treasurer, responsible for keeping track of finances, regular payments and reporting on the financial situation of the space.

In dutch law, the role of secretary and director can never be fullfilled by one single person. Other combinations are legal, however.

Our statutes define the size of the board to be between a minimum of 3 people and a maximum of 7. This means that each role, normally, can be fulfilled by *at least* one person.

In the recent past, we've moved to a setup where each role had at least 2 people available to represent/fulfill it. It is likely we will extend and continue this way of working in time to come to decrease workload on individuals and provide continuity of tasks.

Over the past months, the board has functioned with first 6, then 5 and finally 4 people; due to people resigning because of disagreements and because of health-related reasons (Amran).

For this reason, the board has room for three people to help fulfill the duties and lighten the load of those who've carried forth their duties over the last months.

To 'apply' for becoming a board-member, we ask you to mail us at admin@techinc.nl to inform us of your interest AS WELL as inform the MEMBERS of your interest on members@techinc.nl.

Please do this *no later* than 13:00 on the 8th of May so that there's time for people to consider your candidacy, update proxy-vote instructions, etc.; but also to give us time to include your name , properly, on the ALV-agenda used on 9th.

Please, when considering for a position in the board, please review the statutes about the types of things the board the board is responsible for, organizes, takes care of, etc. The list is larger than what you will find there because of 'Huishoudelijk Regelement' rules that define a number of extra things; and more will likely come over time.

Things to consider:

• Monthly financial reports
• Sending out membership/payment reminders around the 7th of each month
• Working on arbitration/guidance of conflicts
• Dealing with rules/regulations concerning tax/insurance/etc
• Door/space-access procedures
• New membership procedures
• etc etc etc

All of this concretely means that the board is best served with people who: - can spend a few hours each week taking care of 'their work', but also not shy away from things others might require help with. - are available/prepared to meet up every now and then to discuss important/pressing matters in a face-to-face environment - can spend time at socials and/or other evenings signing up new members by giving them 'the tour', informing them about us, what we expect and what they can expect and then doing all the paperwork. - are level-headed, open to criticism and understand that an association involves a lot of talking and listening to eachother about what we can and cannot expect to be 'towards the good of the space'. This is different for each member; board-members included.

If all of the above hasnt scared you off , great! Please, write up a little bit about yourself and your interest; send it to both admin@techinc.nl (for agenda/alv) and members@techinc.nl (for the members) before 13:00 on the 8th of May.

Note that the voting procedure for board-positions will be as it was in previous ALV's.

• Voting is done 'closed' and anonymous
• You need a majority vote to be selected for a board-position
• In case there are more people 'voted in' than there are positions, the vote-count is considered.
• In case this doesnt break the tie, another round of voting will decide the tie-break.

After the elections; the board picks a time to meet up and cosider distribution of roles, tasks and responsibilities based on the expertise, desires and wishes of those involved as well as the realities of what running a hackerspace demands from it.

We look forwards to your candidacy and would love to hear from you in case you have questions or remarks about the above.

Votable points

4.1. Previous ALV rules cleanup (Muse)

ALV May 2014/Muse1 by User:Muse

Previous ALV there were considerable rules added to the space which serve no true purpose (I'm looking at you *don't be on fire). This points proposes to clean up these rules. [edit]Data on the vote

4.1 a) Move "rules" to the "common sense rules display"

Current a lot of the voted on rules fall under 'common sense' and serve no good purpose being in the 'huishoudelijk regelement' This point proposes to move all points to a more general 'common sense' rule list on display in the space, without any disciplinary binding means. In essence 'unratifying' them. This allows the space rules to be more fluid and more open to change.

The following point will be voted upon with a yes/no vote:

 All rules voted into the 'huishoudelijk regelement' during the previous ALV will be moved onto a list of 'space-rules'. These rules    
 will be on display in the space.

4.1 b) Keep the rule about dangerous/fragile machines in HHR

The only rule on the huishoudelijk regelement to remain will be the dangerous tools/fragile machines rule.

The following point will be voted upon with a yes/no vote:

 Some machines can be marked 'instruction needed' by the owner or board. This means instruction is required before a member
 can use the machine for the first time. Qualified instructors will be the owner/maintainer of the machine or members that 
 previously received instructions for this machine.

4.2. Support for votable points (Muse, Philip)

ALV May 2014/Muse2 by User:Muse, User:Philip

Motivation

Previous ALV there were considerable points added to the agenda with no clear support or with no-one attending the ALV who proposed it. Although points submitted to the ALV should be clear enough to be votable, having the originator present can provide clarity and insights into the matter which prove invaluable. This point proposes to amend that. In concert, this point will also add a (small) barrier to votable points. User:Muse

At the January 2014 ALV we went through a large number of votable points that were poorly thought out, badly worded or both. For those items, the process seemed have been, put it on the wiki (or not even that), move it to the agenda even if nobody commented and expect the item to fixed there. And then we are stuck with it in the ALV. In my opinion, people who propose an item have to do the legwork to get it into shape. If nobody cares, then maybe an item just doesn't belong as a votable point on an ALV. So I propose is to have a minimum number of members who have to counter sign a votable point on the agenda of an ALV. The current statutes require 10% of the members with voting rights to allow members to force to board to organize an ALV. So I will use that as a starting point. Finally, the last part of the text is there to make sure that the board doesn't have to jump through hoops. It also allows issues that come up just before the agenda is finalized to be added by the board. User:Phicoh

4.2. a Vote

Points proposed to the agenda, will have a maintainer which will be present during the ALV to present the point and provide clarification on the topic. If none is present during the ALV, the membership can decide to postpone voting on the point to the next ALV. If the maintainer is not present during the ALV the proposed point can be delayed until next ALV, unless the board decides the point is clear enough to be voted on. If the maintainer is not present during the ALV the proposed point can be delayed until next ALV, unless the board decides the point is clear enough to be voted on.

The following point will be voted upon with a yes/no vote:

All points proposed to the agenda of the ALV will have a designated maintainer. In principle this will be the 
 originator of the point but the responsibility can be transferred or shared with mutual agreement of the current maintainer(s)
 and the prospective maintainers. The maintainer has a responsibility to appear during the ALV to present the point 
 and provide clarification. Failure for the maintainer to appear on the ALV, will make the point eligible for transfer to the next 
 ALV by the board.

4.2 b Vote

Points proposed for the agenda should have at least supporting votes by members on it. These members can also perform the function of maintainer for the purpose of presenting the point at the ALV. A majority of the board can also put points on the agenda, without this requirement.

The following point will be voted upon with a yes/no vote and a rangevote (2%-10%, 2% increments):

 A point proposed for the agenda of the ALV will have at least [range] supporting members on it, including the maintainer. 
 The amount of required supporting members are determined on the date of the announcement for the ALV. If no
 supporting votes have been found before the agenda deadline, the point will not be eligible for that ALV.
 In addition the board can decide to put points votable on the agenda.

Added by Vesna: If these points are accepted by vote, the text will be added to HHR.

4.3. Duration of ALV (Philip)

It is proposed to add the following statement to the HHR; based on a yes/no vote:

"When the date and time of an ALV is announced, the maximum duration is announced as well. Ideally, the maximum duration is at most three hours. Any items that cannot be discussed are moved to a next ALV, to be organized as soon as realistically possible. The board decides in what order items are discussed but gives priority to items left over from a previous ALV."

Rationale

Very long ALVs are a bad idea. The board should be allowed to change the order in which items are discussed provided that good progress is made on items the were left over from a previous ALV.

Supporters

• Phicoh (organizer)
• Stef
• rad0

https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/User:Phicoh/Votable_agenda_item_time_limit

Added by Vesna: If this points are accepted by vote, the text will be added to HHR.

4.4 Not changing membership fee amount too often (Maarten)

Switching payment-amount can be a serious burden on those keeping the books and trying to make the figures come out correctly. To make things more easy, it is proposed to include the following rule in the HHR to make it more clear to the treasurer what payment consists 'one month' or 'one year' of membership-fee (see also point 4.5, further on)

The following rule would be included in the HHR, based on a yes/no vote:

"Adjusting members' fee amount can ONLY be accomplished by notifying the treasurer *by* *email* of the change, 30 days prior. Misuse by changing too frequently etc. may lead to refusal of the request."

Note that the email of the treasurer currently is 'treasurer@techinc.nl'. "Adjusting members' fee amount can ONLY be accomplished by notifying the treasurer *by* *email* of the change, 30 days prior. Misuse by changing too frequently etc. may lead to refusal of the request."

4.5 Regular fee payment schedule (Maarten)

The following vote is to see if members agree or disagree with the need/desire to streamline, limit and/or organize the way members pay for their membership-fees in a different way. The aim is to make it more clear for the association to know (often) a member is paying and when to expect his payments.

The proposal, to be voted on with a yes/no vote and would get included in the HHR when accepted, reads:

"To streamline bookkeeping, there are ONLY two allowable ways to pay your members' fee: 1) yearly, in one payment. 2) monthly, provided that a set amount is paid at a set date each month."

Note that the proposal does not include a requirement to vote on a date; it is understood that the member in question can decide on a particular fixed day, each month, when he/she will pay.

4.6 Terms for board members (Wizzup)

4.6.1 Terms of the board members

Added by Justa:

"To ensure that the board stays a body of lively and motivated people and to prevent potential 'long-stay abuse', it is proposed to introduce the concept of 'terms' in the way the board works. The idea is to have people not be 'board-member for life' by default anymore. This would mean that , if a board-member would like to continue to serve as a board-member at the 'end of his term', he/she would have to re-apply as a candidate. "

A vote is to be cast on the terms of board members, in this way: (Justa) :

All options are voted upon; the one with the largest majority vote gets accepted. A member can vote for more then one option.

A re-vote will be done in case of a tie-breaker. A failure to receive a majority vote on any of these options results in the same as option "D" (no terms)

A: 1 Year

B: 18 Months (1.5 Year)

C: 2 Years

D: None

Wizzup: Note that this term is *per* board member. The exact time of the term should not be taken to literal, but rather, "resign the ALV whichever is closest to when my term ends".

Philip: To avoid deadlocks/problems, the following text is part of the way terms work and gets included in the HR, concerning this: "The treasurer steps down (and is allowed to be re-elected) in even numbered years, secretary and chair in odd numbered years (and are also allowed to be re-elected)" (Added 20140509; see note at top -- Justa)

4.6.2 Direct resignation of any board member exceeding term

(Only if A, B or C) passes:

Voting mechanism (Justa): The option with the highest majority is accepted. In case neither votes manage to gain a majority, it is understood to be equivalent to option 'ii':

i: Board members exceeding term chosen in 0.0 are to resign effective immediately (after this ALV)

ii: Board members exceeding this term resign next ALV

Added by Vesna: If these points are accepted by vote, the following text will be added to HHR:

"Positions in the board have terms. Terms are per board member. Term starts when the board member is elected, and it lasts XX (A,B or C) years. Not in the exact months, but rounded up to the nearest ALV. At the expiration of the term, board member's position expires, and the board position is open for re-election. "

5. Proposal: the "circle" (Wizzup)

Added: The text below was submitted to the secretary to be included as a point for the ALV, but was agreed upon to not be 'ready' , as such, to be a votable point. It is therefor supplied with the intent to inform the members about a new concept of getting people able to 'do things for the space', outside of being a board-member. Currently, members are already allowed and invited to take up tasks that need to be done, but there consists no framework or 'idea' behind this, at current.

The idea of 'The Circle' is one that is used in (at least) one other hackerspace and might provide this kind of framework. At the time of publishing the agenda, the below text was all that was ready. To facilitate being able to add more text to this proposal (and have members read it, later), a wiki-page was set up at https://wiki.techinc.nl/index.php/The_circle

The idea is to form a group - seperate from the board (and exclusive to any board member) to take over tasks that are not to be handled by the board, but currently are being handled by the board. This can vary heavily, but prime examples are:

• Overseeing structure of the new space (somewhat late now ;-))
• Overseeing resolution groups
• Managing various food supplies, other not directly important tasks

And all other (small and large) tasks that are currently expected of the board.

This group would report to the board on a semi-regular basis (currently not defined).