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[Apologies if you're seeing this multiple times, it's very important to get this out, please share as well!]
Hi all, there's an important vote this weekend with CyclingBC, and I want to address Motion 2, which updates how CyclingBC sets membership fees, and how the Chair of CyclingBC has also mislead members on this matter.
-> TL;DR: We should continue to be able to vote on changes to our membership fees. Please vote No on Motion 2.
Currently, if there's a fee increase in your CylingBC membership, it goes to a members vote to be approved. While this is irregular, it's served CyclingBC well. Just a few years ago there was a SIGNIFICANT increase proposed, and thanks to member action voting it down, the organization 'figured out' how to 'save some money' and drop your membership fee by a healthy margin. (Simply put.)
Last year I joined the CyclingBC Membership Committee, which was assembled to address issues with membership and help smooth things out. It was going well until the final meetings when CyclingBC Chair Martin Farnham started joining our video calls, and insisted we add restructuring the membership fee process to our agenda. (It was not on our radar until this point.)
He was insistent that the Board should be able to set fees without membership input. The suggestion from him was that if it's more than a 10% increase, it would return to the membership vote as it has.
We added this to our agenda, and while a few of us (especially me) insisted that it not be enacted immediately (last year), our final Recommendation included a "start" towards this process.
Fast forward to Monday, and the AGM - which was poorly attended, with about 30 individuals, about 1/3rd being staff and board members.
Martin stated that the Membership Committee recommended CyclingBC enact these changes, and that he and the board were opposed, taking credit, and delayed it until this year.
That is simply not true. It's the opposite of what happened. He wanted to implement it ASAP, and we were strong in recommending it be held off. And he is continuing to defend this point (including suspending me from the Tripleshot Discord so I cannot respond to his claims to the members there.)
Further, there's no guardrails for the 10% change. The new amendment allows ANY increase. This was also left off, and I feel is the opposite of the spirit of the Recommendation from the Membership Committee.
While I agree we should eventually move away from this, we need a Board we can entrust this to, with guardrails. My experience is that the trust is NOT there.
Please check for your CyclingBC Bylaw Amendment email, and follow the link to log in and vote, and vote No on Motion 2. (The others aren't nearly as impactful.)
Here's the link, it takes barely a minute:
https://ccnbikes.com/#!/events/2025-cycling-bc-bylaws-voting
Our membership fees are already very high, and as members of CyclingBC, we will have little immediate recourse if they continue to increase.
Thanks for reading this, post any thoughts or comments.
- Dave
PS - I really, sincerely, hate doing this. I don't want to ruffle feathers. But to me it's more important to be truthful and do right by CyclingBC members. And if people were more sincere and truthful, there'd be less need for this. |
