1. The proposed amendments do nothing to address the Board underrepresentation and voting inferiority of Social Members.
Although Social Members currently comprise almost 3/4 of club members, our current bylaws give them just 2 seats on our 15-member Board. By contrast, Golf Members, who comprise a little over 1/4 of club members, have 12 representatives on the Board (8 Full Golf and 4 Associate Golf). Social Members also have less voting power Full Golf Memberships get 4 votes and Associate Golf Memberships get 2 votes for every 1 vote provided Social Memberships on most ballot measures. The proposed amendments do absolutely nothing to address this imbalance. Instead, they target two Articles (XIII and XVII) that contain provisions that serve to protect the dues indexing, rights and privileges of Social Members and Associate Golfers.
2. The main thrust of the proposed amendments is to make it easier for this Board and future Boards to increase the dues index percentage paid by Associate Golf and Social Members, or to alter their rights and privileges.
The proposed amendments would lower the vote requirements for passage of future bylaw changes of a particular type – those that increase the dues index percentage paid by Associate Golf and Social Members, or impact their rights and privileges. Why should Social Members want to make it easier for a Board on which they have so little representation to make future bylaw changes that increase their dues index percentage or alter their rights and privileges?
3. The proposed amendments could impact the affordability of living in Governor’s Land and the salability of homes.
Governor’s land homeowners must maintain membership in TRCC, so protections regarding increases in dues indexing are critical. Ballooning dues could make living in Governor’s Land unaffordable for some members - and also make it difficult for them to sell their homes.
4. If these amendments don’t pass now, they can always be enacted later as part of a comprehensive bylaws reform package.
Social Members are not alone in having concerns about the potential consequences of the proposed amendments. In my view, it’s in the best interests of all members to postpone making changes to our bylaws until we can evaluate a fully fleshed out package of revisions. Let’s not enact a standalone change and guess at its possible effects. There’s too much at stake.
Vote Against the Proposed Bylaw Amendments. If you want to change your vote, you can override your previous electronic or paper vote by voting again via Big Pulse. Search for
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By Ellen Fithian, December 2, 2022
