Proposed Constitutional Amendments

Please review these proposed amendments alongside Katie’s earlier posts here and the current constitution. Our secret ballot vote for these proposed amendments is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, May 20.

Proposed changes to Maloca’s constitution:

Article III, section 2 should be changed to read:

“Associate members shall be faculty, staff, or alumni of York University, or anyone from the neighbourhood/community [provided associate membership does not exceed the limits set by York University regulations governing student clubs].”

Article IV, section 1 should be changed to read:

“The Steering Committee shall set the membership fee guided by: previous and projected current year budgets, the fees from previous years, and review and input from the general membership at the end of the garden season.”

Article V, section 1 should be changed to read:

“The Steering Committee shall consist of a Coordinator, Work Coordinator, Treasurer, Secretary/Archivist, Social/Events Coordinator, University Relations Representative, and Campus Communications Coordinator.”

Article V, section 2 should be changed to read:

“The Steering Committee will decide the amount of the membership fee at the beginning of each year based upon the previous year’s budget and projected budget for the coming year, and in consultation with the previous year’s steering committee. Once the fee is decided, the general membership will be informed of the rationale behind the amount. At the end-of-the-year GMM, members will have the opportunity to review and vote upon the recommendations of the Treasurer (and other Steering Committee members) regarding the balance of funds and money spent, in addition and prior to voting for new Steering Committee members.”

Article V, section 3 should be added:

“The Steering Committee will consider in-kind donations for the annual fee (in part or whole), only if approached in private and no conflict of interest is present (see Article VI). However, any such arrangements must be kept confidential by all parties and should not be frequent in order to maintain the Garden’s operating budget.”

Article V, section 4 will be the same as Article V, section 3 and all subsequent numbers in Sections 3 will be altered accordingly.

Article V, section 3 (old)/ section 4 (proposed), A.5 should be eliminated.

Article V, section 3 (old)/ section 4 (proposed), subsection G should be added with the following points:

“G. Role and Responsibilities of the Secretary/Archivist

1. The Secretary/Archivist will take attendance and minutes at GMMs and Steering Committee meetings and record for perpetuity, and post minutes on-line.

2. The Secretary/Archivist will collect and record a list of crops planted in individual plots and work with the Coordinator to create lists for the communal plots.

3. The Secretary/Archivist will work to transition archives from paper to on-line, and to paperless records for perpetuity.

4. The Secretary/Archivist will work with other Steering Committee members in the drafting and sending of official Maloca correspondence and assist with any other tasks involving the collection and posting of records, as needed by other Steering Committee members.