Re: Making changes in our decisions
From: Becky Weaver (becky_weaverio.com)
Date: Mon, 12 May 2003 18:03:03 -0600 (MDT)
Our reconsideration policy comes out of the way we use committees. A
decision can be revisited if a committee decides to revisit it. The
member(s) take their concern to the committee, it's discussed fully at that
level, and the committee either consents to take it to the group, consents
to make the change if they believe it's a committee-level decision, or
consents to drop the issue & leave things as-is. We put trust in the
committee members' judgement about how important the question is.

We report committee-level decisions at two consecutive general meetings.
Members with concerns voice them to the committee, and join with them in
re-opening and revising the committee decision if necessary.

If someone believes a committee has overstepped its authority in making a
decision at the committee level, it's brought to the general meeting.

We use feedback in general meetings to keep decisions at the appropriate
level. Nobody wants to waste general meeting time on trivial things, but
nobody wants major decisions made in smoke-filled committee rooms either. We
thought it would not be productive to try to figure out exactly where the
boundary lines are in advance. Often in trying to determine whether a
decision should be made by a committee or by the full membership, we ask
ourselves, "what precedent does this set?" It's a useful way to keep the big
picture in mind. 

Becky Weaver 
Central Austin Cohousing
Austin, Texas

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