NORTH TONAWANDA: New vote set for Thursday on United Way merger

Local News

October 28, 2009

By Neale Gulley<br><a href="mailto:neale.gulley@lockportjournal.com">E-mail Neale</a> The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Wed Oct 28, 2009, 12:59 AM EDT

NORTH TONAWANDA — In February, members of three area United Way organizations voted to consolidate, but an appeal by 21-year executive Director George O’Neil of the Tonawandas group has since prompted the state attorney general to order a revote.

A meeting for that purpose will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday in North Tonawanda, at the American Legion’s Stephen Sikora Post, 950 Payne Ave.

For the second time, members will be asked to decide if three once separate branches of the United Way— in Niagara Falls, Lockport and the Twin Cities — will merge into the United Way of Greater Niagara.

Proponents like Bob Sondel, president of the Tonawandas group, say fundraising and coordination will improve and administrative expenses will be reduced with the merger.

Opponents such as O’Neil claim Tonawanda-area residents, especially those in Erie County, will lose out without a local identity.

The original vote, held in February, went in favor of merging all three groups. The vote was tallied 154 for the merger; 30 against.

While that was more than the two-thirds of the members required to approve the merger, at the center of the controversy for the vote was a proxy petition signed by 115 people.

O’Neil at the time alleged a majority of them were friends of board members in favor of the merger who were persuaded to donate $1 in order to qualify to sign the petition.

The proxy petition allows a United Way member not in attendance at the meeting to defer their vote to the person who presents the petition. Since the pro-merger faction presented the petition, all 115 names on it were recorded as “yes” votes. While many of them may have chosen consolidation anyway, the group’s board of directors had at one point previously voted down the consolidation.

Sondel put the number at 10 “new” $1 members, and said they didn’t affect the ultimate outcome. Even if they had, Sondel argued, nothing in the bylaws prohibits someone from doing it.

Sondel argued that had the proxy petition not been put forth, no vote could have been held. Bylaws call for a quorum of 100 members at the annual meeting before any votes can take place. The petition, Sondel said, is commonly used because almost never are that many voting members able to attend a meeting.

Since O’Neil submitted his grievance, the state attorney general’s office requested the second vote. It also asked that two new paragraphs be added to the official legal notice of the consolidation plan. The additional paragraphs state members of all groups will retain voting member status in the consolidated group, and spell out their obligations to the board of directors.

Contact reporter Neale Gulley at 693-1000, ext. 114.

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