[Osmf-talk] AoA changes and new fee waiver for this year's AGM

[Kathleen Lu]

Thank you for sending out a detailed and clear explanation Frederik.

One suggestion: Separate out the vote on whether to have fixed 2-year terms
and the vote on whether to have 6 year term limits.
In my mind, these are really two different questions. Either you have fixed
terms or you don't. But as to term limits, it could be 6 years or 4 years
or 8 years or any of those with option to return after a gap...and I think
people will have a lot of thoughts about that.

On Wed, Oct 16, 2019 at 1:58 PM Frederik Ramm <frederik at osmfoundation.org>
wrote:

> Dear OSMF members,
>
> the board of directors would like to suggest a couple of changes to the
> Articles of Association, to be voted on in this year's AGM.
>
> These changes are mostly the result of various concerns that were raised
> in connection with the mass signup of employees of one company before
> the last board election.
>
> Our plan is to propose these changes on the ballot individually, so that
> each of them can individually be accepted or rejected by the members.
>
> The AoA changes require a majority of 75% of votes to pass, and only
> normal members can vote. Other resolutions, that are not AoA changes,
> only require a 50% majority, and normal as well as associate members can
> vote.
>
> The changes we are proposing are detailed in this PDF:
>
> https://wiki.osmfoundation.org/w/images/c/c5/Suggested_AoA_Changes.pdf
>
> Here is a quick outline:
>
> 1. Increase the time, after signup, during which a membership
> application can be rejected
>
> 2. Increase the time you need to be a member of the OSMF before you can
> vote at an AGM
>
> 3. Introduce a minimum OSMF membership time before you can stand for a
> board election
>
> 4. Fix board terms to be exactly 2 years long and allow individuals to
> have at most three board terms
>
> 5. Replace the current "financial hardship" fee waiver by a general fee
> waiver which means that anyone who makes a sizeable contribution
> (mapping or otherwise) can become a member for free. This is the only
> item that is not an AoA change.
>
> The PDF has explanations about the how and why for each of these.
>
> The board has discussed these changes with the MWG and we agree that
> they make sense. We would now like to invite you, our members, to also
> comment on these items and discuss them with us here. The outcome of the
> discussion can either be that we put these items to a vote as they are,
> or we could modify them, or drop them altogether.
>
> Time is of the essence; the AGM is likely going to be in in the 2nd week
> of December and we should finalize these proposals by the end of
> October.
>
> The item we have most discussed on the board is the term limits; the new
> system carries a greater risk of lack of continuity, and by being strict
> about 3x2 years we make it impossible for someone to come back to the
> board at a later time. The latter could be mitigated by adding a limit
> like "not yet been elected three or more times IN THE 10 YEARS PRECEDING
> THE ELECTION" or so - then someone could serve for 6 years, have a 4
> year break, and come back. There is no clear majority for one over the
> other on the board, and we could potentially just put both options out
> there in a STV vote (so voters could state a preference order between
> "change to term limit without option of coming back", "change to term
> limit with option of coming back", and "no change").
>
> Bye
> Frederik
>
> --
> Frederik Ramm
> Treasurer
> OpenStreetMap Foundation
>
> Name & Registered Office:
> OpenStreetMap Foundation
> St John's Innovation Centre
> Cowley Road
> Cambridge
> CB4 0WS
> United Kingdom
> A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales.
> Registration No. 05912761.
>
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>
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