Camp Sargent Road Co-op
Grievance Committee - Policy
Last revised May, 2009

Purpose:
The primary purpose of the Grievance Committee is to respond to all complaints for the good of everyone involved, in a timely manner.

The Grievance Committee shall appoint their chairperson and notify the board of such.

It is the responsibility of the committee to meet as needed to conduct the business that comes before it.

Policy:
The Grievance Committee’s authority and responsibilities are:
• To ensure that violation of Co-op Rules and Regulations are promptly addressed
• To settle disputes between 2 co-op residents, only when they pertain to the co-op and or its property
• To attempt to resolve the issue and bring it to the board only when we cannot come to a resolution
• To ensure that the names of those issuing complaints remain confidential

Conflict of Interest Statement:

No member of the Grievance Committee shall derive any personal profit or gain, directly or indirectly, by reason of his or her participation with this cooperative.  In addition, enforcement of the by-laws and rules and regulations, must be uniformly and consistently enforced without discrimination and bias on the part of this committee.  If there is a conflict of interest by a committee member that member is obligated to divulge to the other members of the committee that they have a conflict of interest in the matter to be resolved.  If a conflict of interest should arise, no committee member shall vote in the decision affecting that conflict and must in fact recues themselves from this decision process and will not sit with the committee while this particular grievance is being addressed.

The Grievance Committee Chair is normally the tie breaker in the decision process should the members be tied, however, in the event the chair has to recues themselves from a particular grievance and the remaining committee members are tied in their decision process a board member will be called in to break that tie.

Procedures:
How to submit a complaint:
All grievances should be directed to the grievance committee via the Grievance Box located under the bulletin board at the clubhouse. Our policy is not to take a grievance via a phone conversation as they can be misinterpreted in the translation. By writing your grievance on paper we also have the beginning of a log that we can follow to completion.
1. place the grievance in a sealed envelope and drop it in the Grievance mailbox under the bulletin board at the clubhouse.
2. The grievance can be sent anonymously – anonymous complaint must include as much information as possible about the grievance – keep in mind that the complaint came in anonymously so we can’t go back to you for clarification - so be complete
3. The grievance can be given to a committee member verbally with anonymity if requested
4. If the grievance involves a safety issue the appropriate authorities will be immediately notified (i.e. police, fire and public health).

How the Grievance Process Works:
If the grievance doesn’t involve a safety issue, our 1st attempt will be to notify the violator in writing.
• Step 1: The violator will be to notified in writing, giving them a realistic timeframe to comply. Our written letter to the violator also includes the rule being violated and the consequences as voted on by the co-op residents at the annual meeting.
• Step 2: If we receive a reply or the resident is disputing the violation, then members of the grievance committee will meet with the resident.
• Step 3: If necessary, the violation will be taken to the board of directors for a request to: a) bring in the necessary resources to bring the violation into compliance – this may result in the tenant being required to pay for services
b) or if the violation remains out of compliance after the timeframe given to comply, then we will turn the matter over to the board of directors (which may result in loss of membership depending on the violation
• Step 4:  The person(s) who submitted the grievance (if known) will receive acknowledgement that steps are being taken to resolve this grievance. This may be done verbally or in a letter to the requestor.

Should it happen again, the grievance committee may reserve the right to escalate this grievance directly to step 3b, depending on the severity of the grievance.

Disputes between two residents:
The Grievance Committee will deal with disputes between 2 or more residents, in the following manner:

• Step 1: All parties involved in the dispute are strongly encouraged to speak directly with each other before bringing the issue to the Grievance Committee.  If this line of communications fails then:
• Step 2: The grievance Committee will meet and mediate with both parties
• Step 3: The grievance committee will then assess the situation and propose a solution to be reviewed with all parties.
• Step 4: If all parties agree to this solution, the decision will be documented and signed by all parties.  If the parties do not agree – the grievance committee will take their recommendations to the board of directors for final decision/resolution.