When will the Trust Board be notifying members that their subs are due? This should have happened before the expiry date of 31st July.

By my reckoning, life-members and people who paid by stading order are subsidising a whole swathe of people who have no intention of renewing, but still have full membership rights because the board has been so lax.

Phil,

This is on the agenda at the next Trust Board meeting on Tuesday. Reminders have never been sent out prior to the 31st July as previously posted on the forum

Regards
Glenn Rolley

In my time as membership secretary, I believe that notification out that memberships were due was sent out before the nominations for elections were asked for.

The Trust was never in the position where there was a number of people who were entitled to vote at the AGM, but had not paid the relevant subscriptions.

quote:

Originally posted by Trust Board:
Phil,

This is on the agenda at the next Trust Board meeting on Tuesday. Reminders have never been sent out prior to the 31st July as previously posted on the forum

Regards
Glenn Rolley

Glenn the trust board isnt quorate. The only thing you can do is meet to organise elections or general meetings.

The board is not quorate so can only meet to organise elections or general meetings. So how can they release a "Trust Board" statement?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bazza,

I have been away since last Friday morning and only just picked up on some of the questions raised on the Forum. I will scan through all posts and endeavour to put a collective response together.

Regards
Glenn Rolley
Trust Chairman

quote:

Originally posted by Cher:

quote:

Originally posted by Trust Board:
Phil,

This is on the agenda at the next Trust Board meeting on Tuesday. Reminders have never been sent out prior to the 31st July as previously posted on the forum

Regards
Glenn Rolley

Glenn the trust board isnt quorate. The only thing you can do is meet to organise elections or general meetings.

Cher,

Please see below contents of a document that John Collin has prepared with respect to this issue:

Thoughts on the Board Membership

Rules are there to regulate the activity of an organisation, not to paralyse it.

The situation the Trust is in is obviously not a satisfactory one. After the closing of nominations for Board members for this year’s AGM, when it became apparent that the number of nominations was small, I spoke to Supporters Direct. I will report this and any further conversations at the next Board Meeting. I also mentioned this at the AGM before it was brought up again by a member.

Rule 56 below details the composition of the Board, a mixture of elected and co-opted members.

The composition of the Trust Board immediately after the AGM was as follows:

Elected members 8 (GR, MC, DP plus 5 vacancies).
Co-opted members 0 (but with the capacity to fill up to 7 slots).

All Board members who had not been elected for 2 years in 2008 ceased to be members of the Board at the AGM and therefore “retired”. The 8 slots for elected members mentioned above are made up of GR, (who was elected in 2008 for 2 years) and the 7 vacancies declared before the AGM by the Board, 2 of which were filled by MC and DP.

Therefore, under the rules, there existed vacancies for both elected and co-opted members.

Rule 56 itself deals with appointment of co-opted members. Rule 65 below deals with filling vacancies among “elected members”.

Now we come to the crunch. Rule 57 is crystal clear:

57. If at any time and for any reason after the first annual general meeting the number of members of the Society Board shall drop below 5 the remaining Society Board members may act but only for the purpose of filling vacancies or calling a general meeting.

“If at any time” – immediately after the AGM
“and for any reason” – not enough candidates come forward
“the remaining Society Board members may act but only for the purpose of filling vacancies or calling a general meeting.” – two discrete sets of vacancies existed, elected vacancies fillable by the Board under Rule 65 (which empowers the Board to appoint to fill vacancies caused by retirement, removal, resignation and death – I cannot think of any more potential reasons for vacancies!) and co-opted vacancies fillable by the Board if it wishes under Rule 56.

It can be argued that Rule 57 itself confers the power on the Board.
It is worth mentioning as well what Rule 57 does not say. It makes no reference to “elected members”.

One point worth making is that the Trust has tended to loosely refer to all appointments other than direct elections as “co-opted”. It is evident from the Rules that if the Board fills an “elected” vacancy, such an appointee becomes an elected Board member, (but retiring at the next AGM).

In summary the Rules (for once!) are reasonably clear. The Board of 3 members is perfectly at liberty to fill vacancies. At the meeting following the AGM, Paul Swift was appointed. The Board of 4 is now at liberty (and indeed must) get the number to 5 before the Board can act.

Rules
56. With effect from the Society’s first annual general meeting, the Society Board is to have not less than 8 and not more than 18 members and will be made up as follows:
a. 5 members of the Society Board or such higher number as shall be required so that elected members of the Board are in a majority over co-opted members will be elected by the members in accordance with such arrangements as shall be determined by the Society Board;
b. Members may be co-opted by the Society Board in accordance with a Board Membership Policy which it will develop and adopt and shall be required, if they are not already members, to become members of the Society. The purpose of the Board Membership Policy will be to ensure that:
i. the Society Board has the skills and experience which it needs to operate effectively;
ii. the interests of the community served by the Society are adequately represented;
iii. the level of representation of different groups on the Society board strikes an appropriate balance having regard to their legitimate interest in the Society’s affairs.
The following people in particular may be co-opted:
(1) a representative or representatives of the Borough Council for the Area on behalf of itself and neighbouring local authorities;
(2) a representative or representatives of the young;
(3) a representative of disabled supporters;
(4) a representative of local business;
(5) a representative or representatives of any supporters group or groups of the Club;
(6) a representative or representatives of employees of the Club;
(7) a representative or representatives of the Sports Council and any community scheme run in association with the Club;
(8) a representative of the players at the club, through a professional association or otherwise.

57. If at any time and for any reason after the first annual general meeting the number of members of the Society Board shall drop below 5 the remaining Society Board members may act but only for the purpose of filling vacancies or calling a general meeting.

65. Casual vacancies arising amongst the members of the Society Board elected by the members will be dealt with as follows.
a. If a vacancy caused by retirement or removal is not filled at the meeting at which they retire or are removed, the vacancy may be filled by the Society Board.
b. A vacancy occurring by death or resignation may be filled by the Society Board.
c. In each case the member appointed to fill the vacancy is to retire at the next annual general meeting and the Society Board will make provision for an election to be held. For the avoidance of doubt the retiring member may stand for re-election at the meeting at which they retire.


Regards
Glenn Rolley
Trust Chairman

So no you arent quorate then.

PS And Phil's original question?

quote:

Originally posted by Trust Board:

Please see below contents of a document that John Collin has prepared with respect to this issue:

I think John's interpretation of the rules here is quite right. But I think the rules themselves are flawed.

I'm going from memory a little bit here, but rule 56 states that the Trust Board must have 8-18 members, of which the majority (and no fewer than 5) must be elected.

However, rule 57 says that the Trust Board cannot act if it falls below 5 members. Crucially, it doesn't say what the make-up of these members must be. And nowhere in the rules does it say that the size of the Board must be expanded by elections before co-opts can be used.

As I see it, this could lead to a situation (albeit a very unlikely one) where the Trust Board consists of no elected members.

Let's say there's only one elected Trust Board member. Under the rules, (s)he would be allowed to co-opt another member. The elected Trust Board member could then resign. The co-opted Board member could then co-opt another four people. The Trust Board would then, in accordance with its own rules, be allowed to operate, yet it would have no elected Board members at all.

My view is that the Trust Board should only be allowed to act (beyond recruiting new Board members) once the conditions set out in rule 56 are met in full: i.e. 8-18 people, the majority of whom (minimum 5) must be elected.

On a side-note, what provision do the rules make for the (equally unlikely) scenario where the entire Trust Board resigns?

The board meeting was over a week ago and still nothing from "The Trust Board" about renewals.