Called meeting on NPU-S election bylaws, Thursday Oct 29, 6:30pm

(UPDATE: Rescheduled to Thu 11/5 due to Zeta blackouts)

The Problem:

Late last month, after our September NPU meeting, NPU-S received a message from the City about our bylaws. For nearly a decade, we have had two-year terms for our elected officers, which means that we have held elections every other year instead of every year. Turns out, this violates City ordinance: 

(https://library.municode.com/ga/atlanta/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIICOORANDECO_PT6BUPL_CH3PL_ARTBNEPL_S6-3017EL):

Sec. 6-3017. - Elections.

(a) Elections shall take place during October or November of every calendar year. If an election(s) has not been held by November 30. Said election(s) shall be conducted by the bureau of planning during the month of December. 

(Code 1977, § 6-3017; Ord. No. 1995-68, § 1, 10-24-95; Ord. No. 1999-81, § 1, 11-10-99)

Although this has not created any problems for us, the current director of the NPU programs has been doing a lot of work to make sure that all the NPUs are operating by the book, and given the chaos that some of our own neighboring NPUs have gone through, particularly with elections, this effort is entirely understandable.

Possible Solutions:

After a discussion with the director, there are two possible solutions that we've identified.

One solution would be retention elections. Basically, in November, we hold an election saying "do we want these officers to continue in their role for the remainder of the term?" Any officer who receives a majority disapproval would be removed from office and replaced in a snap election held the next month.

The other solution would be to one-year officer terms with annual elections. This would require more extensive changes to the bylaws, but it's certainly possible. 

The Path Forward:

These are not the only possible solutions, but they're the simplest solutions we can think of. However, whichever solution we choose, we need to change our bylaws to be able to hold a vote at our November meeting.

Therefore, as announced at our October meeting, and in keeping with NPU-S Bylaws Article IX, Section 2, we are holding a Special Called Meeting to amend our bylaws to comply with the City's requirement for an annual election.

This meeting will be held:

• Thursday, October 29, at 6:30 pm
• Via Google Meet at https://bit.ly/NPUS-Room-A
• Or you can join by phone (US) +1 515-599-7285‬ PIN: ‪480 291 570‬#

All NPU-S residents over 18 are eligible to vote on bylaws.

NPU-S covers the neighborhoods of Bush Mountain, Cascade Avenue, Oakland City, Venetian Hills, and Ft. Mac. If you are uncertain of your NPU, or if you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to reach out to the Chair, Nick Hess, at chair@npu-s.org or (404) 890 0089.