Proposed Policy Title: Re-forming Communities
Proposer: -redacted from website at proposer's request -
First Proposed: 11/13/2017
Adopted: 12/8/17
Background
Sapling Community was a full member community where all members were planning to leave. Before leaving, they accepted several new members to take over their land and continue to use it as the base for an FEC community. Although there was technically a continuous membership sucesion, there was never an intention for the current members to live in community long-term with the previous members. It is, in effect, a new community. This was made even more apparent by the new member’s choice to change the name to Mimosa Community.
Sandhill Farms’ membership will be dropping to a 3 member family unit in March. This has the potential to create inegalitarian power dynamics with new prospective members, specifically in ways that Criteria 7 of our current FEC Full Membership Application is intended to protect against.
Years before The Midden left The FEC entirely, they had abandoned their economic system in favor of being “40% income sharing.” Many delegates agreed this does not actually meet the constitutionally mandated requirement to “hold land, labor, and income in common.”
Proposal
Create a new membership status called “Re-forming Community” for full member communities who no longer meet the requirements for acceptance as full members in the FEC. Becoming a Re-forming Community is a voluntary action taken via the full member community’s own internal decision making process, although members of other communities may gently encourage them to consider the idea.
Re-forming Communities will be given a separate section on the web site, and are encouraged to include a paragraph in their long description explaining why they are currently a Re-forming community.
The FEC will make special efforts to assist Re-forming Communities in returning to the principles of The FEC.
Re-forming Communities may elect to begin paying dues equal to those of a Community in Dialog and their rights and privileges will be reduced to those of a Community in Dialog. Re-forming Communities may choose to continue paying Full Member dues and retain the rights and privileges of full member communities. The delegates may check in about this at each assembly.
In order to regain their status as a full member of the FEC, a Re-forming Community applies in the same way a CID applies for full membership, but the application can be made at the FEC Assembly or on a Conference call. Re-forming Communities who have elected to reduce their dues to the CID level must pay the dues that would have been due during the current fiscal year had they remained a full member community.
Full Member communities who experience major turnover may find the experience of re-forming to be more like starting a new community than coming back into alignment with The FEC principles. Such a community may also elect, by their own decision making processes, to change their status to Community in Dialog by submitting a CID application.
Financial Cost: We could lose some dues money
Labor Cost: The reapplication process
Other Required Resources: None
Original passed text and commentary - https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rTgnbCRDB80d5amHafEBOJyOwDEYTqURXCJO7Y1us_s/edit?usp=sharing