Two Key Animal Welfare Members Resign
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Animal Welfare League membership chairman Margaret Scott and president Linda Mullins withdrew their membership from AWL and resigned their positions Wednesday.
Both resignations came on the heels of a request by the AWL board of directors for Mullins to resign.
Mullins said Wednesday she did not want to comment on the issue.
AWL took over the animal shelter Nov. 1 from Kosciusko County. The league pays the county $1 a year to lease the shelter. The county, in return, pays AWL $30,000 a year for expenses and pays the salary of animal control officer Jerry Clase.
County administrator Ron Robinson said he was not aware of any problems within the AWL. The county, he said, would take the shelter back only if, "they were under some violation of the lease" or if AWL disbanded.
AWL vice president Margaret Kennedy said Wednesday her husband, Glen Kennedy, found the shelter locked up and unstaffed on a Sunday morning. Mullins told Kennedy three paid AWL employees were scheduled to work that day. Usually, only volunteers work Sundays.
Kennedy said, "(Mullins) basically told me the animals were being taken care of, but they weren't."
It was later discovered that none of the three paid employees was scheduled to work and one was out of town, Kennedy said.
Kennedy also said a dispute between the board of directors and Mullins on decision-making also led to the current situation.
During an AWL meeting Jan. 20, the board of directors and members discussed some policy and shelter changes, including naming Lisa Barber as shelter co-director.
Mullins and AWL director Tracy Yates did not attend the meeting, but minutes were sent to Mullins afterward.
In response, Mullins sent a letter to AWL board of directors and the shelter advisory board. In it, she contended that the AWL board and the shelter board are separate entities. She further stated that the AWL board did not have the authority to set policy or decide personnel issues for the shelter.
"At the December 1998 meeting, I clarified the position that shelter business will not even be discussed at regular AWL meetings other than a report by the director," Mullins wrote. "There is a reason for this. A lot is involved with the running of the shelter. To discuss all of these controversial issues in length at public meetings causes our organization to appear disorganized and out of control."
Mullins also says in her letter that Yates is the shelter director and Barber is not co-director. Barber is a paid employee approved for no more than a 40-hour work week.
Kennedy will step in as interim president until a new president can be elected at the Feb. 25 meeting.
"I don't want to be president. I never wanted to be president. I just stepped in until we can get a new president elected," Kennedy said.
Kennedy also said, "The thing is, we haven't really had internal problems. We just haven't been going in the right direction."
Scott's resignation came as a shock, Kennedy said.
"I was absolutely shocked when I heard she resigned," she said. "She has done so much for the Animal Welfare League."
Even with the resignations, Kennedy said, "there's no interruption of service. Hopefully, it will be better."
Kennedy said AWL will seek to change some bylaws at their next meeting. Of their 378 members, they need at least 25 percent, or approximately 94 members, to change bylaws, she said.
AWL wants to change the requirement allowing bylaws to be changed by a minimum of 40 members; set meeting dates to the last Thursday of each month; and increase membership dues from $10 to $20 for adults and from $1 to $10 for junior members. [[In-content Ad]]
Animal Welfare League membership chairman Margaret Scott and president Linda Mullins withdrew their membership from AWL and resigned their positions Wednesday.
Both resignations came on the heels of a request by the AWL board of directors for Mullins to resign.
Mullins said Wednesday she did not want to comment on the issue.
AWL took over the animal shelter Nov. 1 from Kosciusko County. The league pays the county $1 a year to lease the shelter. The county, in return, pays AWL $30,000 a year for expenses and pays the salary of animal control officer Jerry Clase.
County administrator Ron Robinson said he was not aware of any problems within the AWL. The county, he said, would take the shelter back only if, "they were under some violation of the lease" or if AWL disbanded.
AWL vice president Margaret Kennedy said Wednesday her husband, Glen Kennedy, found the shelter locked up and unstaffed on a Sunday morning. Mullins told Kennedy three paid AWL employees were scheduled to work that day. Usually, only volunteers work Sundays.
Kennedy said, "(Mullins) basically told me the animals were being taken care of, but they weren't."
It was later discovered that none of the three paid employees was scheduled to work and one was out of town, Kennedy said.
Kennedy also said a dispute between the board of directors and Mullins on decision-making also led to the current situation.
During an AWL meeting Jan. 20, the board of directors and members discussed some policy and shelter changes, including naming Lisa Barber as shelter co-director.
Mullins and AWL director Tracy Yates did not attend the meeting, but minutes were sent to Mullins afterward.
In response, Mullins sent a letter to AWL board of directors and the shelter advisory board. In it, she contended that the AWL board and the shelter board are separate entities. She further stated that the AWL board did not have the authority to set policy or decide personnel issues for the shelter.
"At the December 1998 meeting, I clarified the position that shelter business will not even be discussed at regular AWL meetings other than a report by the director," Mullins wrote. "There is a reason for this. A lot is involved with the running of the shelter. To discuss all of these controversial issues in length at public meetings causes our organization to appear disorganized and out of control."
Mullins also says in her letter that Yates is the shelter director and Barber is not co-director. Barber is a paid employee approved for no more than a 40-hour work week.
Kennedy will step in as interim president until a new president can be elected at the Feb. 25 meeting.
"I don't want to be president. I never wanted to be president. I just stepped in until we can get a new president elected," Kennedy said.
Kennedy also said, "The thing is, we haven't really had internal problems. We just haven't been going in the right direction."
Scott's resignation came as a shock, Kennedy said.
"I was absolutely shocked when I heard she resigned," she said. "She has done so much for the Animal Welfare League."
Even with the resignations, Kennedy said, "there's no interruption of service. Hopefully, it will be better."
Kennedy said AWL will seek to change some bylaws at their next meeting. Of their 378 members, they need at least 25 percent, or approximately 94 members, to change bylaws, she said.
AWL wants to change the requirement allowing bylaws to be changed by a minimum of 40 members; set meeting dates to the last Thursday of each month; and increase membership dues from $10 to $20 for adults and from $1 to $10 for junior members. [[In-content Ad]]