Some donors of the Windsor Essex County Humane Society are voicing concerns about the organization's transparency as new bylaws are proposed.
The Humane Society will hold a Special General Meeting on October 4 to pass bylaws to comply with the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act. The proposed bylaw, if approved, would limit votes at the Annual General Meeting to board members and exclude general members.
"If you have a lot of members, effectively what you have is a governance model that requires a lot of participation. Which generally isn't a bad thing, however, if we had 1,000 members we would require 500 people to show up to the annual general meeting and if we didn't have 500 people show up we actually couldn't conduct business," said Board Chair Matt Carlini.
The move away from allowing general members to vote at the AGM is being questioned by some, who purchased a membership this summer after it was advertised on the humane society's website and monthly newsletter.
The advertisement stated purchasing a membership would grant them voting rights at the Annual General Meeting.
"That was the only reason I wanted to join as a member because there was a bunch of bad news coming out at the board level and other places. I've been a supporter of the humane society for well over a decade so I wanted to make sure I got involved and help shape the future," said Steuart Bruce, monthly donor and volunteer.
After purchasing the membership, he was told that his membership status was pending and that new bylaws may be approved to prevent him from voting at the AGM.
Carlini said all pending members will receive communication after the special meeting on October 4.
"Everyone is in this pending status, effectively that's where people are. Regardless of how the October 4 vote goes and what the current membership wants to do. They could approve the bylaws, they could reject them, they could modify them. Depending on the outcome of that meeting it will change the individuals who are in pending, that will tell us how to communicate with them," said Carlini.
Carlini also assured refunds would be offered to those who wanted them.
"I want to make sure I have transparency in any of the charities that I support, whether that be financially or through volunteering," said Bruce. "If the board goes ahead and continues to not be transparent, me like probably a lot of other people need to look at what their level of support is going forward."
No matter the result of the vote on Friday, Carlini said transparency and communication will be priorities for the board moving forward.
"The humane society relies on community donations, there's no government grants," said Carlini. "We're entirely dependent on the community. That's why I always try to advocate that the community is why the humane society is successful and that's why we're able to do what we do. The responsibility of the humane society to be open where possible, we can't get into employment issues, but in other areas we can certainly do that."
In July, the humane society announced the firing of long-time executive director Melanie Coulter.
Shortly afterwards the medical clinic shut down for several weeks because their veterinarian was "away from the workplace."