AGM Procedures

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Last Updated on Saturday, 15 November 2014 07:26

Published on Saturday, 15 November 2014 07:26

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 At our August General Meeting, we held a forum to discuss the existing AGM procedure, and gave all members present an opportunity to suggest ways in which improvements could be made. The Executive Committee looked at the suggestions, and presented a summary and proposed approach at the September General Meeting.

 Recap of August Meeting Discussion 

• a lot of other clubs that members belong to have pre-nomination, some only allow on-the-night nomination where no pre-nominations have been received
• some discussion of what voting rights couples have in the club
• discussion of rules on nomination of people not in attendance, and ability for absentee voting

Proposal

• The executive have taken the discussions from last meeting, researched how other clubs and organisations manage their AGM, and have a suite of proposed changes to present
• if accepted, suggest that these are trialled in the lead-up to, and at the 2015 AGM.
• This is a "bundle" of changes, not individual recommendations (a job-lot)

Nominations

• Nominations for positions will be accepted:
  • at the March General Meeting
  • by email or post to the Club Secretary between March and April General Meetings
  • at the April General Meeting
  • Nominees will be formally notified by the Club Secretary
  • Should there be no nominations for a position, the incoming Executive Committee will seek to fill that position following the AGM

April Meeting Pre-AGM Procedure

• All nominations will be read at the April General Meeting
• Acceptance will be confirmed by the member (or the Secretary)
• Seconding will be sought where required. (Any member nominated multiple times will be assumed to be nominated and seconded)
• Additional nominations can be made, assuming they can be accepted and seconded by the members in attendance
• Nominees will be given an opportunity to address the members if they wish
• The Returning Officer(s) will be announced by the Executive

Pre-AGM Procedure

• All nominations will be published on the club website
• Members unable to attend the AGM will be invited to submit a postal/absentee vote, by emailing their voting intentions to the nominated Returning Officer via a page on the club website. Of course members who 'postal vote' cannot also vote by show of hands
• Members who would prefer not to vote by 'show of hands' are welcome to submit their vote using the postal/absentee method
• Members will be advised to nominate a 1st and 2nd choice on a postal vote, in case their first choice is disqualified by virtue of being elected to another position

AGM

• Only one vote per Membership. Non-voting partners and postal/absentee voters will be physically separated
• The Returning Officers will tally votes from the floor with any postal votes in order to calculate results

Following some clarification regarding how this fits with the existing Constitution, it was agreed to trial this system in 2015, with no dissenting votes from the floor.