Membership approves amendments to the JWN bylaws
At the February 13 general meeting, JWN members approved a set of amendments to the
JWN bylaws. The amendments were recommended by the JWN board to encourage
people to participate on the Executive Board and to promote greater responsiveness of
the board to JWN members.
You can read a detailed summary of the changes and the specific "strike-through"
language of the amendments here.
Read the specific motions that were passed at the February 13 JWN meeting.
Below you'll find answers to questions about the proposed changes.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact the JWN Chair.
JWN bylaws. The amendments were recommended by the JWN board to encourage
people to participate on the Executive Board and to promote greater responsiveness of
the board to JWN members.
You can read a detailed summary of the changes and the specific "strike-through"
language of the amendments here.
Read the specific motions that were passed at the February 13 JWN meeting.
Below you'll find answers to questions about the proposed changes.
If you have any questions or comments, please contact the JWN Chair.
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Jefferson Westside Neighbors
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What are the JWN “bylaws”?
The JWN’s organization structure and rules are specified in two main documents: the
charter and bylaws.
The charter defines the name, purposed, geographic boundaries, membership
requirements, and basic requirements for meetings.
The bylaws provide more details, including the positions and duties of the Executive
Board and how elections are held.
What amendments were adopted for the bylaws?
The main changes are:
• Reduce board size from 9 to 7 members with a quorum being a majority of the filled
positions (i.e., 4 if all positions are filled).
• Change the length of board terms from two years to one year.
• Change the requirements for election to include a minimum of six votes, and either
being present during the election or attending at least one of the previous six JWN
meetings.
• Have a Chair and Vice-chair, rather than two Co-chairs. The Vice-chair would serve as
Chair, in the Chair’s absence. There would be no formal succession, but the intent would
be that the Vice-chair position is the “training” ground for someone to become Chair.
• Have the board identify which board member(s) will serve as Secretary and Treasurer,
rather than having specific elected offices for these two responsibilities.
• Clarify the way elections are conducted; i.e., by ballot, not by up or down vote. Also clarify
how runoffs are conducted.
• Clarify the version of Robert’s Rules of Order that are followed.
A full summary of the changes is provided in a PDF document showing the revisions that
were proposed and adopted.
Why did the Executive Board recommending these changes?
There are two main reasons for the changes:
• Encourage more JWN members to participate on the board.
• Promote greater responsiveness of the board to JWN members.
How will these changes encourage greater participation?
The changes address three current barriers to a JWN members who might consider
volunteering to be a board member:
• The current two year term is a large commitment for someone considering volunteering
for the board, especially if the person hasn’t served on the board before. Changing the
term to one year will provide a JWN member the chance to experience being on the board
for enough time to decide whether to continue or not.
• The current requirement that a JWN member be present at the meeting at which an
election is held is too rigid and can eliminate a good candidate just because they are
unavoidably unable to attend that meeting. It’s not unusual for members to have
business trips, illness, or family obligations that prevent attendance at a particular
meeting. The proposed changes still require attending at least one recent meeting and
adds a requirement for a minimum of six votes. But we won’t be preventing an active
member of the community from serving because of a single scheduling conflict.
• The current election of specific Secretary and Treasurer positions discourages some
people from running for these two board positions because they aren’t sure of what the
duties entail or whether they can adequately handle the duties. The proposed approach
lets the board designate one of the “at large” board members as Secretary and
Treasurer. Thus a JWN member can volunteer to serve as a board member and gain
some experience before deciding whether to take on the specific responsibilities of
Secretary or Treasurer.
How will these changes make the board more responsive to the membership?
The changes address several current issues:
• Under the current approach, historically there have been very few elections with more
than one candidate, which has essentially meant the voting membership had no choice
but to elect that candidate. The most important way the proposed amendments address
this issue is by encouraging greater participation, as explained above, and by making the
board a more appropriate size (7 members instead of 9). We believe these changes will
result in more board elections with multiple candidates running for the position.
• Changing the length of terms from two years to one year will provide the membership
an increased ability to change the board composition. The current system of two-year,
overlapping terms makes it very difficult for the membership to change the direction of the
board if the board is not adequately serving the members’ interests. Changing the length
of terms should also improve the continuity of the board because a board member with
experience – and who continues to have the support of the membership – can run and be
elected for successive one-year terms. Shortening the term, in fact, will increase the
number of experienced board members who are willing to continue because it doesn’t
require the substantial commitment of a two-year term.
• Requiring a minimum of six votes to be elected will assure that at least a reasonable
number of JWN members support a candidate for office. Under the current approach,
when there’s only one candidate, that candidate will always be elected (as long as the
candidate votes for herself or himself). The reason for requiring six votes is that six votes
represents a majority of the minimum number of JWN members that constitutes a
quorum (10); thus any vote by a majority of members present will satisfy the requirement
for election..
• Allowing the board to schedule a special election to fill a vacancy (e.g., because of a
board member moving out of the neighborhood) at either of the following two meetings
will provide more opportunity for publicizing the election and for JWN members to
consider volunteering for the position. The current system forces an election at the
meeting immediately following the date the position becomes vacant. This can result in
an election within just a few days of the vacancy, which doesn’t allow adequate notice to
JWN members.
Continue on page 2
The JWN’s organization structure and rules are specified in two main documents: the
charter and bylaws.
The charter defines the name, purposed, geographic boundaries, membership
requirements, and basic requirements for meetings.
The bylaws provide more details, including the positions and duties of the Executive
Board and how elections are held.
What amendments were adopted for the bylaws?
The main changes are:
• Reduce board size from 9 to 7 members with a quorum being a majority of the filled
positions (i.e., 4 if all positions are filled).
• Change the length of board terms from two years to one year.
• Change the requirements for election to include a minimum of six votes, and either
being present during the election or attending at least one of the previous six JWN
meetings.
• Have a Chair and Vice-chair, rather than two Co-chairs. The Vice-chair would serve as
Chair, in the Chair’s absence. There would be no formal succession, but the intent would
be that the Vice-chair position is the “training” ground for someone to become Chair.
• Have the board identify which board member(s) will serve as Secretary and Treasurer,
rather than having specific elected offices for these two responsibilities.
• Clarify the way elections are conducted; i.e., by ballot, not by up or down vote. Also clarify
how runoffs are conducted.
• Clarify the version of Robert’s Rules of Order that are followed.
A full summary of the changes is provided in a PDF document showing the revisions that
were proposed and adopted.
Why did the Executive Board recommending these changes?
There are two main reasons for the changes:
• Encourage more JWN members to participate on the board.
• Promote greater responsiveness of the board to JWN members.
How will these changes encourage greater participation?
The changes address three current barriers to a JWN members who might consider
volunteering to be a board member:
• The current two year term is a large commitment for someone considering volunteering
for the board, especially if the person hasn’t served on the board before. Changing the
term to one year will provide a JWN member the chance to experience being on the board
for enough time to decide whether to continue or not.
• The current requirement that a JWN member be present at the meeting at which an
election is held is too rigid and can eliminate a good candidate just because they are
unavoidably unable to attend that meeting. It’s not unusual for members to have
business trips, illness, or family obligations that prevent attendance at a particular
meeting. The proposed changes still require attending at least one recent meeting and
adds a requirement for a minimum of six votes. But we won’t be preventing an active
member of the community from serving because of a single scheduling conflict.
• The current election of specific Secretary and Treasurer positions discourages some
people from running for these two board positions because they aren’t sure of what the
duties entail or whether they can adequately handle the duties. The proposed approach
lets the board designate one of the “at large” board members as Secretary and
Treasurer. Thus a JWN member can volunteer to serve as a board member and gain
some experience before deciding whether to take on the specific responsibilities of
Secretary or Treasurer.
How will these changes make the board more responsive to the membership?
The changes address several current issues:
• Under the current approach, historically there have been very few elections with more
than one candidate, which has essentially meant the voting membership had no choice
but to elect that candidate. The most important way the proposed amendments address
this issue is by encouraging greater participation, as explained above, and by making the
board a more appropriate size (7 members instead of 9). We believe these changes will
result in more board elections with multiple candidates running for the position.
• Changing the length of terms from two years to one year will provide the membership
an increased ability to change the board composition. The current system of two-year,
overlapping terms makes it very difficult for the membership to change the direction of the
board if the board is not adequately serving the members’ interests. Changing the length
of terms should also improve the continuity of the board because a board member with
experience – and who continues to have the support of the membership – can run and be
elected for successive one-year terms. Shortening the term, in fact, will increase the
number of experienced board members who are willing to continue because it doesn’t
require the substantial commitment of a two-year term.
• Requiring a minimum of six votes to be elected will assure that at least a reasonable
number of JWN members support a candidate for office. Under the current approach,
when there’s only one candidate, that candidate will always be elected (as long as the
candidate votes for herself or himself). The reason for requiring six votes is that six votes
represents a majority of the minimum number of JWN members that constitutes a
quorum (10); thus any vote by a majority of members present will satisfy the requirement
for election..
• Allowing the board to schedule a special election to fill a vacancy (e.g., because of a
board member moving out of the neighborhood) at either of the following two meetings
will provide more opportunity for publicizing the election and for JWN members to
consider volunteering for the position. The current system forces an election at the
meeting immediately following the date the position becomes vacant. This can result in
an election within just a few days of the vacancy, which doesn’t allow adequate notice to
JWN members.
Continue on page 2