OBJECTIVE

To provide guidelines to establish a Listening Session for member-owners to address the Board of Trustees regarding cooperative issues and concerns. Although the Cooperative is not subject to the Alabama Open Meetings Act, it is the practice of Cullman Electric Cooperative to provide access to any member who wishes to know more about the governance of the Cooperative and to ask questions or raise concerns about specific issues concerning the Cooperative.

PROCEDURE:

1. Members or delegations wishing to bring issues and concerns to the attention of the Board will be required to complete a Listening Session Sign-Up Form provided below. Please complete as far in advance of the meeting as possible.

2. A delegation should select one of its members as a spokesperson and should provide his or her name on the completed form in addition to the other information requested.

3. The Member or delegation representative appearing before the Board should not at any time speak adversely about the character or good name of any individual.

4. Members addressing the Board will be allotted up to five (5) minutes to discuss their issues and concerns.

5. The Board will listen to the presentation and may ask questions or request clarifications. The Board may also conduct or ask others to conduct an investigation or determine the circumstances of a specific issue as presented.

6. After the Board’s review and deliberation related to the member’s issue or request, the Board will make a decision as it deems appropriate; however, matters which are not on the Board agenda will not be deliberated and action will not be taken until the matter is placed on the agenda of a subsequent meeting. The Board generally does not respond to the member-owners during the Listening Session.

RESPONSIBILITY: The Board Chairperson, or his/her designee, will notify the member-owner of what action, if any, was taken by the Board of Trustees.