Executive Limitations
EL Global
Approved 1/18/06
The General Manager (GM) will not cause or allow any organizational practice, activity, decision, or circumstance that is unlawful, imprudent, unethical, or inconsistent with cooperative principles and values.
EL 1: Planning
Approved 1/18/06
Amended 4/19/06
The GM may not cause or allow planning to deviate materially from the board’s Ends priorities or fail to be derived from a strategic long-term plan.
Further, without limiting the scope of the foregoing by this enumeration, the GM may not cause or allow plans that:
EL 1.1: Omit credible projection of revenues and expenses, separation of capital and operational items, cash flow, and disclosure of planning assumptions.
EL 1.1.1: Contain insufficient information to support assumptions.
EL 1.2: Are not updated at least annually.
EL 1.3: Do not protect the long-term health of the Co-op as described in Financial Conditions policy.
EL 1.4: Are planned in isolation.
EL 1.4.1 Do not provide appropriate support of the Neighboring Cooperatives collaboration.
EL 1.5: Do not provide for governance development (as set forth in GP 3).
EL 1.6 Leave the Co-op unprepared for loss of key management personnel.
This policy shall be monitored annually.
EL 2: Financial Condition and Performance
Approved 1/18/06
With respect to the actual ongoing activities of the Co-op, the General Manager may not jeopardize the current and long-term financial health or allow material deviation from board priorities as stated in the Ends Policies.
Further, without limiting the scope of the foregoing by this enumeration, the GM may not cause or allow:
EL 2.1: Indebtedness of a type and level that jeopardizes the ability of the cooperative to repay its current and long-term debts in a timely and efficient fashion.
EL 2.2: Liquidity, or the ability to meet cash needs in a timely and efficient fashion to be insufficient.
EL 2.3: Any requirements of contracts, payroll, loans, or other financial obligations to be unmet or overdue.
EL 2.4: Tax payments or other government-ordered payments or filing to be overdue or inaccurately filed.
EL 2.5: Consolidated operations to generate inadequate net income.
EL 2.6: Financial record-keeping systems to be inadequate or out of conformity with generally accepted accounting practices (GAAP).
EL 2.7: A failure to provide the Board, on at least a quarterly basis, with an accurate balance sheet, statement of cash flows, net income statement, and such additional indices and reports as the General Manager deems useful to the Board in the discharge of its fiduciary responsibilities.
This policy will be monitored quarterly.
EL 3: Asset Protection
Approved 1/18/06
The GM shall not allow assets to be unprotected, unreasonably risked, or inadequately maintained.
Further, without limiting the scope of the foregoing by this enumeration, the General Manger shall not allow:
EL 3.1: Inadequate security of premises and property.
EL 3.2: Uncontrolled purchasing or purchasing subject to conflicts of interest.
EL 3.3: Lack of due diligence in contracts and real estate acquisitions.
EL 3.4: Uninsured, inadequately insured, or otherwise irreplaceable equipment and facilities, considering potential damage or destruction.
EL 3.5: Unnecessary exposure to liability or lack of insurance protection from claims of liability.
EL 3.6: Unprotected data, intellectual property, information, or files, considering potential loss, theft, or significant damage.
EL 3.7: Damage to the co-op’s good will, its public image, its credibility, or its ability to accomplish ends.
This policy will be monitored annually.
EL 4: Treatment of Customers
Approved 7/19/00
Amended 7/16/03
With respect to interactions with customers, the GM shall not cause or allow conditions, procedures, or decisions that are unsafe, undignified, unnecessarily intrusive, or that fail to provide appropriate confidentiality or privacy. Accordingly,
EL 4.1: The GM shall not use application forms that elicit information for which there is no clear necessity.
EL 4.2: The GM shall not use methods of collecting, reviewing, transmitting, or storing client information that fail to protect against improper access to the material gathered.
- The GM shall not make any individual member or customer data available outside the Co-op, except for the purposes of law enforcement and fraud prevention, and only with appropriate confidentiality measures.
EL 4.3: The GM shall not fail to maintain space in the facilities that provide a reasonable level of privacy.
EL 4.4: The GM shall not fail to establish a clear understanding with customers of what may be expected and what may not be expected from the service offered.
EL 4.5: The GM shall not fail to inform customers of this policy, or to provide a grievance process to those who believe that they have not been accorded a reasonable interpretation of their rights under this policy.
The intention of this policy is not to interfere with legitimate use of customer information for educational purposes.
This policy shall be monitored annually by internal report of the GM to the Board as part of the GM’s evaluation.
EL 5: Treatment of Staff
Approved 7/19/00
The GM shall not fail to maintain conditions which are humane, fair, and dignified for all paid and volunteer staff. Accordingly,
EL 5.1: The GM will not discriminate among or terminate employees on any basis other than individual performance and qualifications.
- The GM shall not fail to consider seniority as a valuable qualification.
EL 5.2: The GM will not fail to protect staff from unsafe, unhealthy, or illegal conditions.
EL 5.3: The GM will not fail to establish job descriptions for all jobs.
EL 5.4: The GM will not fail to provide job training as needed for staff, and offer opportunities for professional developmental training.
EL 5.5: The GM will not fail to evaluate each staff person at least annually based upon pre-established criteria.
EL 5.6: The GM will not fail to post all job openings internally.
EL 5.7: The GM will not fail to provide for a fair and thorough review of any grievance by means of a known procedure which will be used without bias, and shall not fail to provide the staff member involved with an explanation of a management decision of any grievance upon proper request.
This policy shall be monitored annually by internal report of the GM to the Board as part of the GM’s annual review.
EL 6: Compensation and Benefits
Approved 7/19/00
The GM may not cause inexplicable discrimination with respect to employment, compensation, and benefits to employees, consultants, contract workers, and volunteers, or allow jeopardy to fiscal integrity or public image. Accordingly,
EL 6.1: The GM will not fail to establish a current compensation and benefits schedule which:
- Represents the geographic and/or professional market for the skills employed.
- Is based on revenues that can be safely projected.
- Represents internal equity.
- Adheres to policies adopted by the Board and distributed to the staff.
EL 6.2: The GM will not fail to inform staff that employment is neither permanent nor guaranteed.
EL 6.3: The GM will not allow compensation and benefits significantly beyond the limits established by the pay schedule.
This policy shall be monitored annually by internal report of the GM to the Board.
EL 7: Communication and Counsel to the Board
Amended 6/18/03
Revised 1/18/06
Amended 8/16/06
The GM will not fail to keep the Board informed of information relevant to the Board’s responsibilities. Accordingly,
EL 7.1: The GM shall not fail to inform the Board of relevant trends, public events of the organization, or internal and external changes which affect the previous assumptions of the Board.
EL 7.1.1 The GM shall not fail to provide the Board with a written report at least every two months describing the extent to which such trends, events, and changes have occurred.
EL 7.2 The GM shall not fail to inform the Board of significant problems that require the GM’s attention with respect to members, services, staff, and the community.
EL 7.3: The GM shall not fail to inform the Board no later than the next meeting when a violation of Board policy is discovered.
EL 7.3.1 If the GM deems it necessary to violate Board policy, s/he shall not fail to inform the President immediately.
EL 7.4 The GM shall not fail to provide to the Board timely, accurate, and understandable monitoring data required by Board policy.
This policy will be monitored annually by internal report of the GM to the Board.
EL 8: Access to Products
Approved 3/19/03
Revised 1/18/06
It is not possible for the Co-op to take a position on any boycott that will reflect the views of all the Co-op’s members. It is the Co-op’s policy to provide, where possible, reliable information to support informed choice. Accordingly,
- The GM shall not exclude products on the basis of a boycott.
This policy will be monitored annually by internal report of the GM to the Board.
EL 9: Cooperative Giving Program
Approved 10/15/03
Revised 1/18/06
The Co-op Giving Program will contribute to the quality of life in the Upper Valley and promote cooperation. Accordingly,
EL 9.1 The General Manager will not fail to administer a giving program in support of cooperatives that are neighboring, regional, national, or international.
EL 9.2 The General Manager will not fail to administer a giving program in support of community organizations which
- Are nonprofit and nonpartisan (not affiliated with or promoting any political party or candidate);
- Do not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, or physical disability;
- Primarily benefit Upper Valley communities and their citizens; or
- Are fund-raising for programs that meet all of the above criteria; and
- Are fund-raising for programs that are not intended to advance a particular religious belief.
EL 9.3 As a component of the Co-op Giving Program the General Manager will not fail to administer the Hanover Cooperative Community Fund (HCCF), which will provide the Co-op with a long-term charitable giving endowment fund; its purpose is to provide funding for the Co-op’s donations to local non-profit organizations and to other cooperatives. As a permanently endowed fund intended to grow over time, a portion of its annual return is available to be donated to qualified organizations of the Co-op’s choice. The fund is managed by the Twin Pines Cooperative Foundation (TPCF), a California-based tax-exempt 501©3 corporation (see the Appendix in Governance Policies of the Board of Directors for the contract). [The Board guides the fund through an Advisory Committee (Bylaws: Article VII, Section 5, number 9) and the GM.]
EL 9.3.1 Fund-raising and Member Education: The GM will not fail to educate members and the community about the HCCF and to assist the HCCF Advisory Committee in fund-raising for the HCCF.
EL 9.3.2 Transaction Account: The GM will not fail to maintain a local bank account to hold funds being collected (such as patronage refunds turned over to HCCF) temporarily prior to sending them in a lump sum to TPCF. This policy will be monitored annually by the GM (as well as annually by direct report of the HCCF Trustee Advisory Committee).
EL 10: Appropriate Architecture and Design
Approved 08/14/04
Revised 4/19/06
When constructing new buildings, or substantially modifying existing buildings, the GM shall not fail to consider the importance of building design and architecture to:
- The human spirit, customer and employee satisfaction, and the community served by the cooperative;
- The possible impact on other relevant board policies, particularly those relating to the environment, customer service, and the financial success of the organization.
This policy will be monitored by report of the GM during the programmatic phase of architecture or design and at any additional time the GM thinks is appropriate.
Meat Department
We run our Meat Counters like an old-fashioned butcher shop. Meat cutting is a trade that has a long history and takes a lot of skill to do it right, and as a result our meat cutters take great pride in what they do.
Killdeer Farm
Spinach from Liz and Jake Guest’s Killdeer Farm is often one of the the first Upper Valley-grown vegetables to arrive at the Co-op in the spring—and it keeps on coming, fresh and tender, into November. The Guests’ skill and passion for farming stems from the back-to-the-land movement of the 1970s. They sell certified-organic arugula, varieties of red and green lettuce, cilantro, carrots, and potatoes to the Co-op as part of their diversified farm operation.
