[Linux-aus] Can Linux Australia survive?

[Jonathan Oxer]

On Fri, 2005-07-01 at 14:41 +1000, James Purser wrote:
> I
> really do agree with his point about the length of Board position terms,
> annual is nice but too short, current board members would really just be
> getting into their stride when the next elections roll around. Two years
> would probably be a good number,

Yes. I'm of the opinion that staggered two year terms could be a good
option, with an annual election to refill the positions up for renewal.

Of course there are downsides to everything and this could make it
proportionally harder to find enough suckers^Wcandidates willing to
commit to a 2 year position unless there was a clear exit option for
those who find it too burdensome.

And of course it's always dangerous for someone in a position to suggest
that the term of the position be extended, not that it would apply until
after the next round of elections anyway. It would probably need to
start by putting the entire committee up for election, with 4 of the
positions being for a 2 year term and 3 positions for 1 year, and
rolling it along on 2 year terms thereafter.

> On the issue of a CEO or CFO, I think what the organisation needs is
> more of an Administrator.

Yes, which in practice is what the Executive Officer of a typical
industry association becomes anyway. As Stewart said the major workload
right now is on the shoulders of the Treasurer, who is really doing
several jobs at once: the low-level book-keeping necessary for day to
day operations, and the high-level financial oversight and board-level
reporting necessary for sustainability. Only the latter should really be
necessary.

Thanks for your input, James.

Cheers   :-)

Jonathan Oxer