Bylaw amendments include revisions to clarify and clean up outdated language, and to let members vote on whether or not the Co-op should hold elections in years when Trustee seats are uncontested.
As a member-owner of your democratically-run, not-for-profit cooperative, you have the opportunity to vote in your Co-op’s yearly election. This year, members will cast three votes on trustee positions and two votes on bylaw amendments.
The first bylaw amendment is on the ballot at the request of members who, via surveys and other feedback channels, ask that elections not be held in years where trustee elections are uncontested. This request is driven by expenses: the most recent uncontested election (2024) cost about $62,000. Members will vote on amending the bylaws to not hold elections in years where all open seats are uncontested.
The second ballot vote will be to amend the bylaws to “clean up” some language that is outdated, causes confusion in bylaw application, and better reflects industry technology changes and best practices. These amendments are on the ballot on the advice of the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association and at the request of Co-op legal counsel and senior staff. Members will vote on whether to allow such modernization and cleanup. A complete copy of the bylaws, and the changes proposed to them, is available online.
