Nominations for Council

[Dawson]

With reference to this news item:

https://britastro.org/node/7271

How often do Council meet, and what are the expectations of someone sitting on Council?

Looking at the list of who potentially sits on Council, are there really 35 people on Council? How many tend to turn up for Council Meetings? Are the minutes of Council available to members as I don’t ever recall seeing them.

Thanks,

James Dawson

[Callum Potter]

Council meets six times a year, normally at Burlington House. Usually these are on the same day as an ordinary meeting (morning or afternoon preceding the OM).

There are something like 35 people on council. Usually council meetings are quite well attended, with something like 20 – 25. A few council members (principally section directors) who live far away rarely attend.

It’s always good to get ‘new blood’ onto council, so please do stand if you are interested. All that’s expected is an enthusiam to contribute to the work of the association.

Cheers, Callum

[Dawson]

Thanks Callum. Food for thought.

James

[David Arditti]

To answer the other question, Council minutes are not available to members. I feel this is unsatisafctory, and I think they probably could be published, as could probably the minutes of the new, separate, Board of Trustees. This is just my personal opinion; there is nothing in the By-Laws to say they should or should not be available to members, but the tradition is that they are not, and that Council buiness is confidential.

David

[Steve Cuthbert]

, but the tradition is that they are not, and that Council buiness is confidential.

Which begs the question “what could be discussed at meetings that the members should not hear about?”

Regards

Steve

[David Arditti]

Well it’s arguable that Council meetings are the equivalent of the meetings of a Board of a company. The minutes of these are not normally made available to shareholders, or members, of the company. I’m not saying I support this position, but it’s arguable.

David

[R.A. Marriott]

The BAA has been a limited company, registered with Companies House, since 1911, and a registered charity since 1962. Under charity law, subscription-paying members are termed ‘stakeholders’, and the Council and the Board of Trustees, which is also a Board of Directors of a company, are members delegated to represent the interests of the membership as whole – ‘from the people, by the people, for the people’. After the minutes of a meeting have been signed off as a correct record they are in the public domain, and anyone and everyone is free to consult and read them. This has always been the case. All Council records, dating from 1890, are kept in a cabinet in the BAA office at Burlington House, London.

Bob Marriott

[David Scanlan, FRAS]

Hi

Are council members reimbursed for their travel expenses?

Is there a minimum time one can be a member of the BAA before seeking appointment to the council?

Regards

Dave

[John Chuter]

Expenses are paid and I believe you need to have been a member for two years.

Re publication of minutes.

This needs to be reviewed in the light of minutes now being produced for both Board of Trustees meetings as well as council meetings. They are held in Burlington House but it is not a practical solution for many members to visit just to read the minutes. There are other ways of distributing minutes in this modern communication age. This whole area needs discussion.

[Ron Arbour]

Regarding the Council Minutes. It was agreed by the Council many years ago that after they had been approved by the Council and signed by the President, any fully paid up member could not only view the minutes but could also be provided with a copy providing they paid the postage.

[Callum Potter]

Douglas Adams, H2G2

“But the plans were on display…”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”

[Author]

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