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Foundational Document - Operating Procedures  for the Local Good Governance Coalition (LGGC), March, 2022

1.  Purpose: 

The fourfold mission of the Local Good Governance Coalition is to:

• Connect through cooperation and communication citizen groups within Thurston County who are united in the belief that our society must prevent environmental degradation and provide adequate affordable housing for residents at all income levels 

• Empower meaningful community participation, standing, and agency in local land use and budget policies and quasi-judicial processes

• Ensure such governance is guided by the primacy of the responsible and sustainable use of our common cultural and natural resources in order to foster the wellbeing of all members of the community

• Protect the inherent rights of humans and the natural world, such as ecosystems, bodies of water, tree canopy, species, and species' habitats, and so on, commonly referred to as Rights of Nature 

2.  Membership:

1. Members are invited by current members and confirmed by the LGGC.

2. There are two types of membership: member groups and associate members.

3. Member groups will be non-profit and non-government; excluded from membership are groups whose primary activity is promotion or endorsement of political parties or candidates for office.

4. Member groups will appoint one representative to speak for the member group in creating consensus for LGGC actions. If unable to attend meetings, a representative, at their discretion, may find a replacement. 

5. Member groups are responsible to create and abide by their own rules for how their representatives communicate with their group leadership, including what kind of action items must be taken back to the member group before the representative can express that group’s wishes. 

6. Associate members are individuals who are not group representatives. They may be affiliated with any group or no group. Associate members can contribute to any of the LGGC’s work, including discussion of action items. However, when the facilitator checks for consensus, only the representatives of member groups can contribute to that consensus.

7. All members, of either type, become members when they sign the following pledge and are approved by LGGC: 

8. Members are responsible for keeping current their contact information for the LGGC membership roster.

9. Unless there are mitigating circumstances, members are expected to participate in standing and ad hoc committees or other LGGC activities. Non-participation for 3 or more consecutive months with no communication will result in loss of membership.

10. Members will lose membership if they are absent from 3 or more consecutive regular LGGC meetings and do not communicate why.

11. Members can be removed by the consensus of LGGC for conflict of interest with LGGC actions, mission, or operating procedures, or for unethical behavior as defined by LGGC.

3.  Meetings:

1. Generally, the LGGC will have a regular meeting once each month. However, the LGGC can decide to skip regular meetings or to hold special meetings.

2. The agenda for regular meetings at a minimum will include announcements, approval of previous meeting notes, committee reports, and action items.

3. A quorum for any meeting will be half plus one of the number of current member groups. 

4. Each meeting will have a facilitator and notetaker/secretary. The facilitator role and concurrent notetaker role will be rotated every 3 months among the members. 

5. Facilitators will send out agendas for regular meetings if possible up to 2 days In advance of a meeting but at least 1 day in advance of a meeting. 

4.  Special Roles and Responsibilities:

1. All members, both member groups and associate members, have responsibilities related to their membership, one of which includes occasionally accepting one of these three special roles:

• Meeting facilitator (rotates every 3 months): sends out agendas, facilitates regular and special meetings, and appoints a notetaker/secretary to serve during the same period. 

• Meeting notetaker/secretary (rotates every 3 months, concurrent with the current meeting facilitator): takes notes at regular and special meetings, corrects the notes as needed, and appends important documents to the regular meeting notes. Handles all external correspondence.

• Point of Contact (rotates every calendar year): promptly sends to LGGC important external communications. Maintains the membership roster and the LGGC documents files. Unimportant communication, such as advertisements, periodicals, unsolicited requests for money, and so on, shall be listed in a regular meeting report or discarded at the Point of Contact’s discretion.  

2. LGGC will appoint substitutes for these three special roles if a person cannot complete the term of their role. For a one-day substitution, if possible the person with a special role shall find their own substitute. If the person with a special role is simply missing from a meeting, a volunteer can fill that role for that meeting.

3. LGGC will create web-based document files. The current holders of the three above special roles will have editing access for these files while all other members will have read-only access.

5.  Decision-making:

1. Action items to be put on the meeting agenda will be suggested by member groups or associate members to the current facilitator.

2. While members of LGGC are free to support candidates for office and political parties, LGGC is strictly non-partisan. Action items will not support or promote political candidates or political parties in any way, nor will the LGGC be included in any partisan actions by any LGGC member. 

3. Action items can include creation and dissolution of standing and ad hoc committees.

4. Decisions on action items will be made by consensus of the member groups after an opportunity for discussion. Member groups will strive for 100% consensus, but decisions can be made on action items with consensus minus one member group. Based on the rise or fall in the number of member groups, the LGGC shall consider annually the amendment of this operating procedure in terms of whether consensus minus one member group or consensus minus two member groups is appropriate.

5. When consensus is reached on an action item but a member group is not part of that consensus—due to absence, abstention or dissent—LGGC must not imply in any external communication that the action is supported by the dissenting group.

6. Member groups will take part in building consensus. While any member of either type may speak during discussion of an action and the LGGC may invite guests to give their opinions, when the facilitator checks for consensus only one representative from each member group will be that member group’s voice in building consensus.

7. When consensus cannot be reached on an action item at a regular or special meeting, the facilitator, at their discretion, may call for a “period for seasoning.” This is a period of time for member group representatives to research and consult with other members and with their groups in order to come to a thoughtful position. The length of the period for seasoning is at the discretion of the current facilitator but may not go past the date of the next two regular meetings.

8. On the rare occasion when a member group has no representative at a regular meeting, the LGGC can decide that the absent member group has special interest in an action item, and that action item can be delayed for one or two weeks or until the next regular meeting so the absent member group can make its opinion known.

9. When an urgent action must be decided between the dates of the regularly scheduled meetings, any member can request that the current facilitator hold special face-to-face or on-line meetings. The same rules for building consensus will apply to all special meetings, including having a quorum, discussion, consensus, and who may take part in building consensus. 

10. For special on-line meetings no action will be taken for 3 days after the facilitator notifies all members of the action item. 

11. If serious disagreement arises among members that obstructs the business of the LGGC, the LGGC will solicit the services of a third-party mediation organization.

6. Committee Creation and Charge:

1. The Local Good Governance Coalition may establish standing or ad hoc committees to address needs outside of LGGC meetings. 

2. The consensus statement that establishes a committee, whether standing or ad hoc, will include a charge or goal statement for the committee and an estimate of how frequently the committee will report to the LGGC.  The consensus statement for an ad hoc committee will include an expected date when work is to be completed or revisited.

7. Speaking for the Coalition:

1. Unless the LGGC directs otherwise, the head of a standing or ad hoc committee may speak in public media, public meetings, and private meetings with public officials about the work of that committee.

2. For any action, the LGGC can designate a member or members to speak for the LGGC.

3. The member(s) representing the LGGC must clearly identify that they are speaking for the whole LGGC and not for themselves or any member group.

4. The non-partisan stance of the LGGC must be adhered to while making statements on behalf of the LGGC.

8.  Amendments to LGGC Operating Procedures:

Amendments to these operating procedures or the mission statement can be proposed as agenda action items at any time during the first year after the first membership pledge. After that first year amendments to the operating procedures can be made at the beginning of each calendar year.

9.  Dissolution of the LGGC:

The LGGC is dissolved after 6 months of no regular meetings or if there is LGGC consensus to dissolve.