By Joe Lewandowski
I am an LPEA board member and support the amendment that appears on this year’s LPEA election ballot.
LPEA has received several questions regarding the proposed amendment. The points below are meant to explain clearly to members why we’re proposing this as one amendment.
As there is some confusion among members about this amendment, I hope you’ll consider writing a news story about this issue. For quotes and more explanation, please call LPEA at 970-247-5786 and ask for Jessica Matlock.
LPEA serves 46,000 members in Archuleta and Las Plata counties. Ballots for this year’s election must be turned in by June 7.
What is LPEA trying to fix with its proposed bylaw amendments?
As the board resolution proposing this amendment states, the purpose is to “reflect state law on the percentage of membership required to call a special meeting and the timing of meeting notices.”
This bylaw change also tries to clear up inconsistences in the current LPEA bylaws. In 2011, the LPEA membership previously voted to require 10% of members as a threshold for member driven items in the bylaws. However, not all the related bylaws were amended at that time and that created inconsistencies. Specifically, Article II, Section 2 of the bylaws allows for a special meeting to be called upon the written request of 500 members.
But Article II, Section 5 says members may only bring a matter to mail vote “at any meeting” (regular or special) with a petition with 10% of members. And Article XV says it takes 10% of the membership to bring a bylaw amendment. This inconsistency creates potential issues of unnecessary costs and barriers for members to bring matters to a member meeting. And the inconsistency creates uncertainty as to which article would prevail if 500 members petitioned to call a special meeting to amend the bylaws.
Similarly, there are internal deadline inconsistencies in the bylaws that could result in unnecessary costs and duplicate balloting. The proposed changes would conform all of these inconsistencies with Colorado state law.
Finally, recent changes in Colorado law allow for electronic voting and the board has included that to help increase options for member participation.
To avoid further inconsistency, the LPEA board presented these proposed changes as one amendment, rather than breaking into individual amendments.
Joe Lewandowski is LPEA director for District 3, Durango, CO