10-Member Petition Policy

The MLC Bylaws specify that the ultimate decision-making power is in the hands of the membership. If three Council members or ten members agree that a question acted on by the Council should be decided by the membership (MLC Bylaws Article VII), a written petition is submitted to the coordinator. The purpose of a 10-Member Petition is to slow or stop an action taken by Town Council and bring the issue to a compromise or vote by the entire membership. The 10-Member Petition is a procedure of last resort when co-op members have participated in the usual decision-making process, but still think that their concerns have not been heard. This is an important and beneficial part of our process and both Council representatives and those signing a 10-member petition should be treated with respect for the opinions that they are expressing.

The 10-Member Petition must contain the following parts:

Part 1. A clear, concise description of the decision taken in Town Council.

Part 2. A call for additional discussion and, if the issue is not resolved, a membership vote on the action.

Part 3. A clear and concise explanation why petitioners seek additional discussion or a membership vote concerning the decision in question.

Part 4. Space for members to sign who would like more discussion or a membership vote on the decision of Town Council.

When the petition has at least ten members’ signatures, the petition is turned in to the coordinator within 20 days of the publication of Town Council decisions ion the listserv. The decision of Town Council is held in suspension until the issue is resolved.

NOTE: The petitioners may withdraw the petition at any point in the process. Iuch a case, Town Council will proceed as usual.

Once a petition is submitted, the coordinator is responsible for seeing that the following things happen:
1. A copy of the petition is posted on the MLC listserv within 24 hours of its receipt.
2. The AC publishes the entire petition in its next issue.
3. The process is initiated to encourage the petitioners and Town Council to satisfactorily resolve the issue. The result of these negotiations may be that
–the petition or the proposal is withdrawn, in which case, no vote is necessary,
–the proposal is amended to take into account the concerns of the petitioners, in which case, the amended proposal will go back through group meetings for approval through Town Council and no membership vote is necessary.
–nothing is resolved, in which case, the process leading toward a membership vote continues as follows:
4. A general membership meeting is held on the issue prior to a membership vote. The opinions of everyone attending that meeting will be heard. Issues, pros and cons, will be published in the AC.
5. The ballot question shall clearly summarize the Town Council decision and provide voting options to overrule or sustain the decision. As stated in Article XV, Section 3 of the MLC Covenants and Restrictions, a majority vote of the membership shall overrule the Governing Board on any decision.
6. The voting process will follow the adopted MLC voting procedure.

1994 JUSTIFICATION: Our 10-Member Petition policy needs to be clarified. In writing this policy, we have followed the wording and intent of the MLC Constitution. Passed 11/20/94, per 2/29/95 AC, as published in 10/3/94 AC, per email from Katie Hunter.

2013 JUSTIFICATION: Change the effective term to begin after Town Council decisions are published in the Alternate Current and bring the voting procedures into alignment with the MLC Voting Procedure process. Published in 10/28/13 AC, adopted 11/14/13, per TC Actions and Decisions list in 11/25/13 AC.

2025 JUSTIFICATION: Policies must be consistent with bylaws. In addition, notices are currently posted on the MLC listserv rather than at the two central mailbox sites (main entrance and NWK).