As promised last week, this is a description of the discipline process at ABYC.

Club discipline is an awkward and unpleasant aspect of managing any social club.  It is often easier to try and smooth the waters and make nice rather than convene a Discipline Committee.  Sometimes however, it is necessary in order to protect the values of the Club and the health and safety of our shared space.

Under by-law 10.10 the Senior Vice Commodore has the discretion to convene a Discipline Committee in response to a written complaint by a member about the behavior of another member.  The behavior in question must have breached the by-laws, the club policies or the board policies.  The Committee so convened must be comprised of 3 Senior and/or Life members (no Board members) and where possible no committee members should have personal knowledge of the subject matter of the complaint.

The procedures for the hearing are set out in 10.10(b) and the Committee is bound to give written notice of its conclusions to the member in question within three days of the hearing.  The committee has the power to take no further action on the matter, reprimand the member, suspend privileges for specific period of time, impose 'some other penalty', or expel the member from the club.

The member has a right to appeal to the Board within 7 days of the decision of the Committee.

That is the formal discipline process - a process that is arm's length from the Board of Directors because aside from the Senior Vice Commodore choosing the Committee, the Board merely has a right of representation before the Committee but no more power than that.  The decision is made by the Committee and is given directly to the member under scrutiny.

The elected members of the Board of Directors do, however, have a different set of powers and obligations that are set out in by-law 4.05. This by-law states:

It shall be the duty of the Board to develop and supervise the administration of Club policy, deal with problems presented to it by members, assume responsibility for the Club property and the general business of the Club and generally protect the Club property and interests.

Sometimes matters come to the attention of the Board not through a member complaint but rather because an issue comes to light about the overall best interests of the Club.  Those interests include protecting our property, preventing major liability issues, protecting our staff from harassment, or other issues that could have a significant impact on the Club as a whole.  It is the job of the Board of Directors to protect the Club, it is as simple as that.  The discerning wisdom of how best to protect the Club can be very challenging and it is incumbent on the Board to exercise due diligence and fairness in carrying out its responsibilities.  The elected Board is on the hook for the performance of the Club overall and is responsible for protecting the Club and its interests - that is why we have a Board.  The Board powers and the Discipline Committee powers play different roles in the management of the Club and each must be exercised judiciously.