Meeting #2 Report

Membership - Discussion began on the question of the role of regular vs. alternate members. It was unanimously agreed that the Alternates would participate in all discussions, and substitute with voting privileges for regular board members when absent. On evenly numbered meeting Alternate #2 is the first to fill a vacancy, and odd numbered meetings, Alternate #1 is first to fill.

Additionally, the question was raised as to the readiness of a member to vote on the issues if s/he missed a significant portion of the discussion. Nothing was resolved on this question.

Other Documents - The request to the Queens Borough President’s office for copies of bylaws from other community boards elicited one – from Board 9. Copies were distributed to attendees. The document was marked up by the chair, with items of interest or significantly different from CB 3 practice noted with a + in the left column.

By Laws Status – The status of Article III g., giving the chair the duty “to appoint a nominating committee” was discussed. III g. was apparently passed in December 1996 without the requisite notice to board members as required by Article VII which requires that board members receive “at least sixty (60) days” notice about a change to the by laws before considering a change. With no vote taken, the status of III g. remains open.

Term Limits - The first item discussed was Term Limits: Should they be maintained, extended, contracted, or eliminated? The chair opened the discussion by reviewing his thoughts on the matter and involvement with the question. He stated that perhaps two years ago he suggested to the chair that 3 years might be too short a period to learn the position. And that he’d heard from a pervious chair that he was only getting to know the job when his term ended. But he has changed his opinion several times on the matter as the conversation has evolved.

Several points were made during the ensuing discussion. Arturo Sanchez suggested that learning the position was not the only reason one might consider extending or eliminating term limits. He also suggested that changing the board’s mode of operation to one of a more open and transparent manner might diminish the power of the chair and diminish the need to term limits. Ralph Moreno suggested that many board members had years of experience being board members, and on the job learning was not essential as they would bring much knowledge to the position. Jimmy Smith suggested that 3 yeas (four the tops) was enough time to get one’s ideas implemented. Mr. Smith related his experience at being a leader at a local church for many years. After a time power accumulated in his position and little was done without his OK. After a time he heard people saying about simple decisions, “We can’t do this without Jimmy’s OK.” Jimmy wanted to hear why people thought more time was needed. With that, Richard Cecere presented a draft of his thoughts on the issue. Arturo commented that changing the process of nominating officers – eliminating the nominating committee - will diminish the power of the chair, and balance any position’s authority.

Additional questions on term limits include: If extended or contracted, to do so for how long?

If extended, what of eligibility of incumbent?

And, should the 2-year non-run clause be continued or modified (this states that an officer can fill a term-limited position after vacating the position for 2 years?

Role of the Secretary – Article III of the By Laws state that the elected Secretary “shall be responsible for records and minutes of the Board and the supervision of the paid Board Secretary.”

By Laws & Rules – It was suggested that the 4 pages of By Laws and 3 pages of Rules be consolidated into one document.

District Manager Duties – Discussion of the duties of the district manager was set aside pending receipt of additional information.

Absences – The committee chair suggested that we consider adopting procedures on removing members for non-attendance like those followed by Board 9.

Spelling, Punctuation & Gender Changes – Several changes might be helpful. These will be presented to the committee for its approval. The chair requested suggestions from the members on this.

Carbonetti Letter – An April 11 1994 letter to Community boards from Lou Carbonetti, then director of the Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit, provided three areas to consider changes:

Tabulating votes – see p. 2 (2).
Record of member votes in report – see p. 3 top.
Simple majority vs. supermajority.

Ex Officio Membership on Executive Committee – Committee chair suggested a change that would give former chair’s an ex officio seat of the executive committee.

Next Meeting - Monday, June 13, 7:30 PM.