I’ve been thinking about our next AGM, September 16 at 6.00pm, Paragon House.
Long before the Tenant Services Authority took over the regulatory role of the Housing Corporation back in December 2008 to ensure that residents get the best possible services from their landlord, we’ve been looking at ways to improve resident involvement and democracy at Irwell Valley.
All our residents are given the opportunity to become shareholding members of the Association for a £1 stake – which entitles them to attend the Annual General Meeting and vote on critical issues affecting the business and our rules.
To date, we have 580 residents who have chosen to become shareholding members, but I’d be the first to admit, as hard as we try to avoid it, AGMs can be formal and unexciting events.
Perhaps a new way of giving ownership and real power to residents is to create a ‘plc’ structure where residents who pay their rent on time and look after their homes and neighbourhoods are offered shareholder status.
This would entitle them to attend the AGM to receive a report from the CEO that details annual performance in relation to business targets. After taking into account factors such as the appropriate surplus to cover long-term maintenance and other costs, any additional surplus should be given to residents in the form of a cash dividend.
If an Association has underperformed resulting in no or insufficient dividend, the shareholder resident could grill the CEO about why the business has not performed as predicted. That alone should boost attendance, but the more serious point is to achieve a new model for resident democracy and attract greater effective involvement in the way we run our business - rather than the standard AGMs, which are a legal requirement, but a bit boring!
Just a thought – I’d be interested to hear what you think.
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Look forward to hearing from you – and thanks for your comments on my previous blog.