Comments on Bylaws Update doc on CPA website Nov 4, 2023
Joe Terry
My Concerns about the Plans for the December Trustees and Membership Meetings
Presenting the committee's proposed version of the bylaws and OP with limited documentation of the differences between them and the current bylaws and without reasonable alternatives is at best similar to presenting an omnibus budget to Congress. Despite all the thought and effort the committee has put into preparing its proposed bylaws and OP, there are a number of things that indicate it is unreasonable to expect the Trustees and membership will be able to sort out all the outstanding issues and make well-informed decisions on the bylaws and OP in one meeting, Those things include the following:
1. The discussion of the proposed bylaws and OP at the LJCPA meeting last Thursday, which identified concerns about how the proposed bylaws and OP would resolve some issues;
2. The parts of the Update doc that suggest there are alternatives to be considered for some bylaw and OP issues; and
3. The concerns I am sharing in this doc and the one I sent after that meeting.
Here are three ways out of this predicament. First, the LJCPA could ignore those problems and vote on the whole package next month without actually knowing what it is voting for and what the reasonable alternatives are. Second, it could vote on an OP doc based on the template the City provided last week and the other parts of the package the City requires and on only minimal required changes to the bylaws next month and make additional useful changes to the bylaws over the next few months. Third, it could plead to the City for mercy (i.e., a later deadline for submitting the required docs). My guess is that other CPGs have the same problems. I think choosing the first option would be a huge mistake.