Proposed Change in Article VIII (2) of the SIOP Bylaws
Dianna Stone
Financial Officer and Chair of Financial Planning Committee
Article VIII (2) of the bylaws currently reads: Dues for Society membership may be recommended by the Executive Committee and shall be decided by a majority vote of the members present and voting at a scheduled meeting of the Society.
The Executive Committee would recommend a change in this bylaw for the following reasons:
1. As a society, both the membership and complexity of managing SIOP business have increased since the bylaws were written. Given these changes, the Executive Committee needs greater flexibility in managing the Societys business activities. Under the existing dues change process, we are forced to decide dues increases almost a year in advance to meet all of the communication requirements and deadlines.
2. As we move to an employer-based administrative office over the nextseveral years, the Executive Committee is going to need greater flexibility and timeliness in implementing dues increases as needed.
3. Our current dues policy is somewhat problematic in that it prohibits regular increases in dues and leadsto large infrequent increases which are perceived quite negatively by our members.
4. The change in bylaws would provide members with more information about the timing and increases in dues.
5. The change in bylaws would make the Societys dues policies more consistent with those of our parent organization, the American PsychologicalAssociation.
6. The proposed change in bylaws continues to provide members with a voice in setting the Societys dues.
For convenience, both old and new language is indicated below. Language to be deleted is indicated by strikethrough characters and new language is underlined. The Proposed Change to Article VIII (2) is:
Article VIII: Dues
2. Dues for Society membership maywill be recommended by the Executive Committee and shall be decided by a majority vote of the
members present and voting at a scheduled meeting of the Society Executive Committee.
at a scheduled meeting of that committee. All dues increases shall be announcedto the membership by February 1 and members will have at least 60 days to provide input to the Executive Committee before a final vote on the dues is taken at the spring meeting of the Executive Committee. If the Executive Committee recommends a change in dues that exceeds 15%, then a majority vote of the membership at a scheduled meeting of the society or via a mailing to the membership is required to approve such a change in dues.
How Would the New Dues Process Work?
The Executive Committee expects the following process to occur: (a) the Executive Committee would decide on a proposed dues increase at their January meeting, (b) the proposed dues increase would then be electronically communicated to members by February 1, (c) a bulletin board would be set up to gather member feedback, and finally, (d) the Executive Committee would vote on the dues increase at their spring meeting.
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