Carol Altmann – The Terrier
Well blow me down: Lyndoch Living has opened up its annual general meeting to the community it serves.
If you haven’t heard already, people who sent emails asking for a link to the AGM via Zoom on Tuesday 14 December have recently been sent a reply saying that they will receive a link and an agenda on Monday 13 December.
This is a breakthrough.
Lyndoch has finally realised, it seems, that it has obligations both as a charity and as a community owned organisation.
As a charity, it must – by law – maintain public confidence in its operations.
Blocking the public out of an AGM does not instil confidence: it crushes it.
In terms of accountability as a charity, it would be a big fat fail.
And as a community owned organisation, Lyndoch has a moral obligation to allow the community it serves to join its AGM as observers.
We have every right to watch the chair, Sue Cassidy, deliver the annual report and to hear how Lyndoch is travelling financially.
We also have a right to see who, if anyone, has been approached for the two board positions which have remained vacant since May and who from the current board will be elected again.
This is pretty basic stuff and for Lyndoch to have tried to slam the door shut and make the AGM a select, invitation only event was sending it down a perilous path that I am almost certain would make an interesting case for the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission.
But while the door has opened slightly, it is far from being flung off its hinges.
None of us can ask questions at the AGM, we can only watch.
We can’t ask questions unless we are members of Lyndoch and we know how that works: nobody is allowed to join unless hand-picked.
I have a number of questions I would like asked at the AGM and perhaps you do too.
But we can’t ask them, because we have all been denied membership to Lyndoch.
Bugger that. Let’s ask them anyway.
If you have a question, please email it to me (TerrierCarol@protonmail.com) or DM via Facebook and I will make sure they are sent to the chair by next Friday, 9 December.
Here are a couple of questions on my list:
Is the $22 million medical clinic fully tenanted?
What is the contingency plan if unable to fill it?
What is the debt strategy of Lyndoch?
How many staff have left the organisation in the past 18 months and how much has this cost?
What is the strategy to retain experienced staff?
Why are there no copies of previous annual reports on the Lyndoch Living website?
Has the board checked the figures presented to the AGM? How was this done?
What feedback, if any, has the board had regarding staff satisfaction at Lyndoch?
Has the board reviewed Lyndoch’s business partnerships and sponsorships and how are these performing?
What is the financial position of the Waterfront Living apartment complex? Is it fully sold?
…over to you.
(If you would like to join the Zoom, email ceo@lyndoch.org.au by 9 December.)