Proposed changes to the RHCA constitution

The following is a summary of proposed changes to the Rose Hill Civic Association constitution. We will be meeting to discuss this changes at the John Marshall Library on Tuesday, September 22, 2026. You can read the constitution in its current form here.

New officer roles

• Const. Art. VI — officer slate expands from four to six: Technology Officer and Editor added (Webmaster retitled; Editor promoted from a presidential appointee to an elected officer, with the old appointment clause struck).
• By-Laws §V.5 — Technology Officer role created from scratch: digital infrastructure, access provisioning and revocation, license/subscription audit, breach notification to Board and membership.
• By-Laws §V.6 — Editor role created: content, the Rambler, advertising program, obligation that ad revenue and donations exceed production cost, bi-annual revenue report, draft to Board one week pre-publication. This is the section drawing the most comment pushback on the deadlines.

Elections

• Const. Art. VII §3 — Nominating Committee abolished. Replaced with a Board-run process: positions advertised a month out, nominations accepted up to 24 hours before (was "the night before"), nominee self-descriptions required, nominees advertised two weeks out and again the week of.
• Const. Art. VII §5 — tie-break simplified: the third ballot is gone; the President casts the deciding vote.

Membership and dues

• By-Laws Art. I — membership cards eliminated; proof of good standing is now a dues receipt or the Treasurer's roster. Members no longer furnished a copy of the Constitution. Yearly dues are increased from $10 per year to $20 per year. Removed per-household dues.
• By-Laws Art. II — dues payable in any quarter with a rolling one-year term from date of payment; the pro-rata/$10 part-year scheme is struck. Treasurer maintains the roster.

Finance

• By-Laws §V.3 — Treasurer picks up explicit compliance duties: SCC annual reports, 990-N filings, roster with expiry dates. Cross-reference corrected to Article VIII.
• By-Laws §VIII.1–2 — electronic transfer added as a payment method and electronic records accepted as support; authorization changes from a two-officer signature to any one of Treasurer, President, or Vice-President.

Governance mechanics

• By-Laws §V.1–2 — President and Vice-President rewritten as a shared mandate; VP may act on the President's behalf in all matters, President retains final authority on conflict.
• By-Laws §VII.2 — delegates "given freedom to exercise" rather than "uninstructed," plus a new duty to report to the Board.
• By-Laws Art. III — meeting recess months change from July/August/December to June/July/December.
• Throughout — all references to "the Council" (a body that no longer exists) removed; pronouns made gender-neutral; Chairman → Chair.