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- | ====== House Manual ====== | ||
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- | ===== Meetings ===== | ||
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- | ==== House Meetings ==== | ||
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- | House meetings are Sundays @ 7pm in the Commons (Apt. 106) < | ||
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- | Members may post agenda items on either the [[: | ||
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- | Except in instances of a [[: | ||
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- | Meetings should start with a round of meet and greets, and follow [[: | ||
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- | Meetings are time-boxed to 2 hours, with 15 minute extensions allowed via a straw poll. Meeting facilitators may rearrange the order of agenda items to ensure the meeting runs efficiently. If there are agenda items that can not be addressed due to the time-box, they must be added to the next meeting' | ||
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- | Once an item has been consented to, it cannot be revisited in the same agenda except as new business, where it cannot be changed. The only way to change an item that has been consented to is to add it to a future agenda < | ||
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- | ==== Committee Meetings ==== | ||
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- | An [[: | ||
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- | Proposals for expenses more than $250 require a [[: | ||
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- | ===== Membership ===== | ||
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- | ==== Membership Acceptance Policy ==== | ||
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- | In order to be accepted as a potential member, prospective members must attend two [[: | ||
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- | Prospective members must re-apply if they were accepted one year or more previously. In the case that they have to re-apply, they will be given a new spot on the waiting list based on their most recent second meeting < | ||
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- | === The Second Meeting === | ||
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- | At the second meeting, all non-members will then be asked to leave the room, and the Meeting Chair will ask, “Does anyone have any compelling evidence of why ' | ||
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- | Examples: | ||
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- | * non-payment of rent | ||
- | * abusive behavior | ||
- | * disrupting the right of quiet enjoyment | ||
- | * instilling fear in others | ||
- | * any other evictable behavior | ||
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- | Evidence includes personal testimony or any other reason one might have. If no one does, then " | ||
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- | If someone does bring up compelling evidence of why " | ||
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- | Members can state an objection to the evidence, if the evidence does not seem to be a valid reason that someone could be evicted from the house. If no one objects to the evidence which has been brought up, then the meeting will vote on " | ||
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- | In a member acceptance vote, two people can block a member' | ||
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- | If someone does object to the evidence presented by stating that it is not a valid reason that " | ||
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- | === Member Acceptance Flow Chart === | ||
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- | Here's an attempt to simplify the above policy in a flow chart: | ||
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- | - The Meeting Chair asks, “Does anyone have any compelling evidence of why " | ||
- | - No one presents any compelling evidence. " | ||
- | - Someone presents compelling evidence. Go to 2. | ||
- | - The Meeting Chair will ask if anyone objects to the evidence which has been presented. | ||
- | - No one objects to the evidence that has been presented. Go to 4. | ||
- | - Someone objects to the evidence that has been presented. Go to 3. | ||
- | - The meeting will vote on whether the evidence is valid. | ||
- | - More than 50% vote that the evidence is valid. Go to 4. | ||
- | - 50% or less vote that the evidence is valid. " | ||
- | - A vote is taken on whether to accept Fred as a member. | ||
- | - Less than two people vote to block " | ||
- | - Two or more people vote to block " | ||
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- | === Additional Meetings === | ||
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- | At any point in the process, a simple majority vote (more than 50%) can require additional membership meetings to further discuss the member' | ||
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- | ==== Member Admission Priority Policy ==== | ||
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- | The ultimate goal and the bottom line is to make sure there are no gaps in occupancy. Our budget relies on having every room full all the time. | ||
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- | The person on the waiting list who was accepted earliest has priority for being offered the room/unit. However, among the accepted prospective members who respond, the person who can immediately move-in without a gap of unpaid for days, is able to immediately pay the full deposit and membership fees, and can pay rent on or before their date of move-in is the person given priority for actual move-in. A current resident moving from another room/unit, a former resident, a current associate, or a former associate will be given priority above the waitlist, in that order, assuming for the latter three that they can also pay the full deposit, fees, and first month' | ||
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- | Prospective members referred through a social service proxy (SSP) (ex. Caritas) have higher move in priorities that associates. After a prospective member referred from a SSP has moved in, future referrals from a SSP will not be placed higher on the waiting list until such a point where 2 persons already on the waiting list have moved in < | ||
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- | [[: | ||
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- | The general order of the waitlist is as follows: | ||
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- | - Current members residing at the coop in order of request to move. | ||
- | - Referrals from a social service proxy, in order of acceptance and as outlined above. | ||
- | - Former residents, in order of re-acceptance. | ||
- | - [[: | ||
- | - Former [[: | ||
- | - General prospective members, in order of acceptance. | ||
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- | In the case that the person given priority for move-in is requesting an entire unit, the [[: | ||
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- | In the case that the person given priority for move-in is requesting a single room, the [[: | ||
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- | Considerations for prioritizing roommate applicants: | ||
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- | * a) Does the primary accepted roommate have pet allergies that the secondary roommate' | ||
- | * b) Does the primary accepted roommate have pets that are territorial or otherwise incompatible with a secondary roommate' | ||
- | * c) Does the primary roommate have other reasonable objections to a proposed roommate? The [[: | ||
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- | If 5 weeks before the room is scheduled to open no acceptable roommate can be found from the pool of accepted prospective members, the [[: | ||
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- | ==== Contract Break Policy ==== | ||
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- | A contract break is a release of the member from their lease. | ||
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- | Contract breaks should be requested at least 6 weeks in advance of the requested date of termination. | ||
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- | A contract break can be granted by the [[: | ||
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- | Members who move out before the end of their contract are contractually liable for the vacancy caused by their leaving early until the room is filled or the end of their contract period; whichever comes first. The [[: | ||
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- | The contract is not tied to a specific room or unit. Section 10 of the Contract gives CHEA the right to reassign members to different rooms at any time. Even if another member swaps to the room or unit of a member who moved out before their contract end date, the member who moved out early still owes money and is still under contract to pay for the vacancy caused by their termination. | ||
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- | Money earned from temporary hostelers, who stay in the room of the member who moved out before the end of their contract, will be counted towards the money owed by that member, to pay off that member' | ||
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- | Members who are granted a contract break will be charged a $100 contract break fee. | ||
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- | The [[: | ||
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- | ==== Member Review Policy ==== | ||
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- | A membership review is a public review at a [[: | ||
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- | It is the expectation of the cooperative that members will first address conflict with each other through other courses such as dialogue or conflict mediation. | ||
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- | Any three members of the house may call a membership review of any member. A membership review is called by writing it on the meeting agenda and publicly posting the reasons for the review by Friday at noon before the meeting. The Meeting Chair will ensure that the meeting discussion adheres to the publicly posted reasons for the review. The [[: | ||
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- | The member being reviewed has a right to address fully all of the reasons for the review . | ||
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- | After discussing all of the reasons for the review, the Chair will ask the member being reviewed to leave the room while the meeting discusses whether to call for a vote to remove them from the house or ask for a behavioral contract, the nonfulfillment of which will result in removal (see below.) While the member is out of the room, no new issues should be brought up. If any new issues are brought up, then the member will be called back into the room and given the chance to address those issues. | ||
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- | The Chair will first ask for a straw poll to determine which option the majority of members are interested in: eviction, behavioral contract, or no action. The action receiving a plurality of votes will be discussed first. A single member may call for a vote to initiate the action. An eviction requires an affirmative vote by 3/4 of the members present, except in the case of a member having broken a behavioral contract, in which case a simple majority is required. Other kinds of actions require a simple majority to pass. | ||
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- | In the case of a vote for eviction, the vote will take place while the member is out of the room. The member being reviewed can come back into vote before leaving the room again. | ||
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- | The vote will be a secret vote, tallied by the Meeting Chair and the [[: | ||
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- | In the case of a behavioral contract, discussion of the terms can take place with and/or without the member being reviewed present. A behavioral contract may contain more than one required behavior. Each condition must be voted on separately and must be worded in terms of specific, observable behavior. If the meeting votes to allow the member continued membership under a behavioral contract, the [[: | ||
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- | The member being reviewed does not have to be in attendance at the meeting to be evicted from the house or to have their membership revoked. The member being reviewed may write a response, which will be presented at the meeting, if they are unable/ | ||
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- | If the meeting votes to remove the member from the house, then the member' | ||
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- | If a member believes that the member under behavioral contract has violated this contract at any point during its duration, they can bring it to a [[: | ||
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- | ==== Associate Membership Program ==== | ||
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- | Associate members must go through the standard [[: | ||
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- | Associate members may not spend the night in common areas except under extenuating circumstances, | ||
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- | Associate members exist at two tiers. | ||
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- | Tier 1: | ||
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- | * $25 a month, two hours of labor a week. These members have access to the courtyard, garden space, grounds, can run for [[: | ||
- | * Initial costs include $50 nonrefundable membership fee unless previously paid, $25 deposit to be paid at time of contract signing (or $60 if they are to receive a commons key), and $25 before the beginning of their contract. | ||
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- | Tier 2: | ||
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- | * $5 a month, four hours of labor a week. These members have access to the courtyard, garden space, grounds, can run for [[: | ||
- | * Initial costs include $50 nonrefundable membership fee unless previously paid, $5 deposit to be paid at time of contract signing (or $60 if they are to receive a commons key), and $5 before the beginning of their contract. | ||
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- | Members of Other CHEA Houses: | ||
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- | * Members of other CHEA houses may have the rights of associate membership by paying a discounted rate of $10. Understanding that members of other houses already have labor obligations, | ||
- | * Initial costs include a deposit equal to their monthly payment at time of contract signing, and a month’s dues before the start of their contract. If members of other houses want a key to the commons room they must still pay a deposit of $60 before receiving one < | ||
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- | ==== Visitors ==== | ||
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- | Guests of members who wish to stay on the property for longer than 14 days must obtain [[: | ||
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- | ===== Finance ===== | ||
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- | ==== Rent and Deposit ==== | ||
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- | Rent shall be $840 per apartment, or $420 per room. The deposit for moving in is $400 < | ||
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- | If a couple wishes to share a room, they will pay 2/3 of the cost of the apartment, inclusive of any member fees charged to the second person < | ||
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- | [[: | ||
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- | ==== Due Dates, Late Fees, and Payment Plans ==== | ||
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- | * Dues are to be deposited on or before the 7th of the month, or they are considered late. | ||
- | * If a member' | ||
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- | If, on the 16th day of a month, a member is overdue on an amount of at least $100, the member has fallen out of good standing with the coop and is considered "Not in Good Standing" | ||
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- | If, by the 21st day of the month, a payment plan agreement is printed and signed by the NGS member, or the amount due plus any late fees have been paid in full, the member returns to good standing. Otherwise, the member is to be given a notice to vacate. A member who has violated the terms of a payment plan agreement is also no longer in good standing and is to be given a notice to vacate. The [[: | ||
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- | An eviction notice given to an NGS member for financial reasons may be rescinded by one of the following means, before the time limit to vacate (as written on the notice) has expired: | ||
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- | * The NGS member pays the overdue amount in full, including any late fees. | ||
- | * The NGS member becomes current for the month on a payment plan agreement that was signed before the eviction notice was posted, meeting all terms found in the agreement. | ||
- | * The NGS member brings an agenda item to a Sunday [[: | ||
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- | ==== Reporting ==== | ||
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- | By the final day of each month, the [[: | ||
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- | * The names of residents delinquent on rent or delinquent on payment plans. | ||
- | * The date said resident' | ||
- | * Total number of members on a payment plan. | ||
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- | Anyone current on their payment plan will not have their name listed. | ||
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- | Records of this data shall be retained, and shall be made available to members on request < | ||
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- | ==== Eviction ==== | ||
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- | If the time period of an eviction notice has expired, and the evicted tenant has not vacated, the [[: | ||
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- | ===== Labor ===== | ||
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- | Definitions: | ||
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- | - Labor: Services or tasks performed by individual members of the cooperative for mutual collective benefit. | ||
- | - No-show: a statement by one member that another member does not deserve credit for some specific labor. | ||
- | - Labor trade: when two members agree to perform each others' | ||
- | - Labor sale: when one member compensates another to do their labor for them by a means other than a trade, that member is said to be " | ||
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- | All residents of La Reunion cooperative are expected to perform four hours of labor per week, the nature of which is negotiated with the [[: | ||
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- | A member may be temporarily excused from labor obligations for a given week as long as that member gives the [[: | ||
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- | A list of common labor positions and what is to be expected of them can be found [[: | ||
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- | ==== Labor Accommodations and Credits ==== | ||
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- | Members with legal dependents shall receive a labor credit of one hour per dependent, up to a maximum of two hours < | ||
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- | Members with disabilities must be accommodated when given labor assignments. Where appropriate and at the discretion of the [[: | ||
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- | ==== No-shows ==== | ||
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- | A member may issue a **no-show ** to another member for not performing an assigned task or for performing it inadequately. A no-show must be communicated to the [[: | ||
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- | If the defendant disputes the no-show, they may discuss this with the [[: | ||
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- | If any member disputes a no-show, they may bring it to a [[: | ||
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- | ==== Make-up Labor ==== | ||
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- | From the first day of the month to the last day of the month all labor is tracked and [[: | ||
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- | Members behind on labor are encouraged to talk to the [[: | ||
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- | If labor hours are not made up within 30 days from notification of a no-show the hours will convert to fines to be paid with the next month' | ||
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- | ==== Fines and Rebates ==== | ||
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- | If a member receives one or more no-shows then a fine will be added to the members' | ||
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- | When assessing fines or rebates, each hour of labor will be worth $10. | ||
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- | A member may earn dues rebates by performing extra labor; earning a rebate for " | ||
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- | ==== Labor Trades and Sales ==== | ||
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- | If two members trade labor they will not be liable for their usual assignments but instead for the labor they received in the trade provided they give advance notice to the [[: | ||
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- | If a member (Purchaser) " | ||
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- | The terms of a labor sale are solely the discretion of the two parties involved. Applicable city, state, and federal laws may apply < | ||
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- | ==== Reporting ==== | ||
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- | By the 15th of each month, the [[: | ||
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- | * New no-shows earned during the past month, broken down by person. | ||
- | * Total cumulative no-shows per person. | ||
- | * No-shows made up during the previous month, broken down by person, including those made up by paying off fines. | ||
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- | Records of this data shall be retained, and shall be made available to members on request < | ||
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- | ===== Officer Positions ===== | ||
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- | Officers are elected labor positions used to oversee and/or manage different aspects of the coop. A list of the current officer positions and what is expected of each can be found [[: | ||
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- | ==== Terms and Elections ==== | ||
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- | Officers typically run for 6 month terms at a time. Elections take place in December & June, with new officers taking office in January & July respectively. Vacation of seats mid-term will result in special elections to finish out the rest of the standard term. Elections will be organized by the current session' | ||
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- | Board Representatives serve 1 year terms < | ||
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- | ==== Reports ==== | ||
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- | Officers are expected to provide the house with a monthly report at [[: | ||
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- | ===== Misc. House Policy ===== | ||
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- | ==== Access to security camera footage ==== | ||
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- | The security video captured by our cameras belongs to the house as a whole and not to any one individual or officer. The viewing of the security video can be requested by the house or by any member. The security officer is responsible for facilitating access to the video. To provide a safeguard against misuse of the video, two members (one of which may be the security officer) must be initially present for video to be reviewed or copied < | ||
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- | ==== Sleeping in the commons (Apt 106) ==== | ||
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- | Non-members and [[: | ||
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- | ==== Smoking in the commons (Apt 106) ==== | ||
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- | Smoking of anything that can produce gas, including e-cigarettes is not permitted. Does not include personal rooms if the door is closed < | ||
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- | ==== Quiet hours ==== | ||
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- | Members are expected to maintain a reasonable level of quietness during the defined hours. An acceptable guideline is that no member should be able to hear another member or their actions while inside their unit. | ||
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- | Quiet hours are as follows | ||
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- | * Sunday: 11pm - 7am | ||
- | * Monday: 11pm - 7am | ||
- | * Tuesday: 11pm - 7am | ||
- | * Wednesday: 11pm - 7am | ||
- | * Thursday: 11pm - 7am | ||
- | * Friday: 1am - 8am | ||
- | * Saturday: 1am - 8am | ||
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- | ==== Yellow Card System ==== | ||
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- | Yellow Cards are to be used as an accountability system and record of behavior that is detrimental to the health of our community. | ||
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- | A yellow card consists of a member writing a short, specific description of problematic behavior that they attribute to a specific member or members. One additional member needs to also sign the yellow card for it to be accepted. It should then be submitted to the Yellow Card envelope in the Commons. | ||
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- | Examples of yellow card-able behavior include but are not limited to: | ||
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- | * leaving messes in Common areas | ||
- | * taking unfair amounts of common resources | ||
- | * damaging common property | ||
- | * being excessively loud | ||
- | * treating other members in a disrespectful, | ||
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- | At least two members need to legibly sign off on a yellow card. Yellow cards can only be submitted after communicating concern to the member being yellow-carded and asking them to amend the behavior. This can be done through an intermediary if necessary. If doing so is not possible, the reason should be noted on the yellow card. Each separate instance of behavior is only eligible for one yellow card. Yellow cards carry a $10 fine as penalty, alternative arrangements can be worked out in a [[: | ||
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- | The [[: | ||
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- | Four yellow cards in a month, six in two months, or eight in six months triggers an automatic [[: | ||