- Target:
- Cobb EMC Board of Directors
- Region:
- United States of America
- Website:
- www.takebackcobbemc.com
Thank you for signing!
Cobb EMC held a special meeting of the members on September 17, 2011, at which members voted overwhelmingly to end cushy retirement benefits for board members, and to stop a mail-in ballot provision that would have allowed incumbent board members a big advantage in the board elections. Please check www.takebackcobbemc.com for other campaign updates!
A special meeting has been announced for Saturday, September 17 at 10:15am at Roswell Street Baptist Church, 774 Roswell Street, Marietta, Georgia. Please plan to attend to show that we've had enough, and to vote on a democratic election procedure!
Please continue to sign the petition in order to add your name to our contact list. If you prefer, you can also sign up for updates at www.takebackcobbemc.com.
Elections are set for:
Areas 1, 6, 7, and 10 on November 12, 2011
Areas 2, 3 and 9 on February 18, 2012
Areas 4, 5, and 8 on May 12, 2012
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The Cobb EMC Board’s decision to re-hire indicted ex-CEO Dwight Brown is the latest reason members of the electric co-op are formally calling for the removal of the current board and for open and transparent elections to be held immediately.
Dwight Brown, despite being under indictment on 31 counts of racketeering-related charges, was re-hired by the board as a consultant at the beginning of March, immediately after he was to leave as part of the settlement agreement.
Cobb EMC is a not-for-profit electric co-op, and members are supposed to elect members of the board of directors to represent their best interest. However, elections have not been held since 2007, and many members have been denied access to board meetings and explanations of their rates and other charges on the bill.
Members are using a provision in the EMC’s bylaws that allows directors on the Board to be removed by petition.
According to Article 1, Section 8 of Cobb EMC’s bylaws, “Any member may bring charges against an officer or director by filing them in writing with the Secretary, together with a petition signed by ten percentum (10%) of the members, requesting the removal of the officers or director in question.” We are calling for a special meeting on May 21 to vote on the removal of all board members.
Cobb EMC rate payers are at risk. Current Cobb EMC Directors, at the helm of a not-for-profit and member-owned utility cooperative where customers are member-owners, are not operating the EMC in the best interests of its customers, and must be removed.
To sign up for more information about getting paper copies to circulate, Cobb EMC members can go to www.TakeBackCobbEMC.com. Only Cobb EMC members are eligible to sign the petition, however everyone can help circulate it. Cobb EMC is a non-profit, member-owned cooperative and members are generally defined as property owners who pay their electric bill to Cobb EMC.
Petition summary and background:
Pursuant to Articles I, II and IV of the Cobb EMC Bylaws, and whereas the Cobb EMC has not held an election or members meeting since 2007, this petition serves as official request for a Special Meeting to be held in 2011.
Action petitioned for:
Cobb EMC rate payers are at risk. Current Cobb EMC Directors, at the helm of a not-for-profit and member-owned utility cooperative where customers are member-owners have:
• Violated their fiduciary duty to Cobb EMC’s 200,000 members, and
• Violated the bylaws which are meant to protect the interests of member-owners; therefore
We, the undersigned members, request that a Special Meeting be held with the purpose of holding elections and bringing transparency and democracy back to our utility cooperative.
The Take Back Cobb EMC - Call for a Special Election petition to Cobb EMC Board of Directors was written by Take_Back_Cobb_EMC and is in the category Consumer Affairs at GoPetition.