The House Council supervises the officers. This body consists of one member per suite, and has the power to fine officers that are not fulfilling their duties. The House Council also requests and tracks detailed reports from each officer, and publishes a monthly report to the house describing officer performance. Escher has had a house council since the 2014 ratification of the current constitution.
Contact Info
Contents
Formation
A new House Council is formed at the beginning of each Fall and Spring/Summer contract period. Each suite elects one of its members to the House Council during the first suite meeting of the period. If this member moves out or is otherwise unable to sit on the House Council, the suite must elect another member to take their place.
Once each suite has elected a House Council member, the Education Chair schedules and facilitates the first House Council meeting. At this meeting, the Education Chair provides an overview of the House Council's duties, then holds an election for House Council Chair. Any House Council member may run for this position, and only House Council members may vote. Once the House Council has elected a chair, the Education Chair leaves the meeting. The House Council operates independently of the officers from then on.
Duties
Broadly speaking, the House Council serves three purposes:
- Gather information about the officers, summarize it, and communicate it to the house.
- Express member expectations and complaints to the officers, especially when a member would like to raise an issue with an officer anonymously.
- Fine officers in cases of non-work or inadequate work.
Information gathering
While some officer tasks are apparent to the whole house, others are less visible. Examples of unseen work include the Treasurer's financial duties, long-term projects the Tech Team may be working on, and sensitive issues being addressed by the Vice President of Relations. The House Council can track this behind-the-scenes officer work, ensuring both that officers cannot hide idleness in the obscurity of their work, and that officers are recognized for going above and beyond even if the house cannot directly see it.
To accomplish this purpose, House Council members gather information from officers. They assess written officer reports and attend the officer report portion of officer meetings. After the officers give their reports, House Council members ask the officers about their progress on specific tasks. This information becomes the basis for the monthly House Council report to the house.
Expressing member concerns
Members can voice concerns about an officer through the House Council. House Council members should ask their suite-mates what they think of officer performance. Any member concerns should be anonymized and relayed to the officer in question.
Fining officers
When an officer does not pull their weight, the effect on officer team morale can be dramatic. It is also important for the house to know that the officers are working just as hard as they are. When there is evidence that an officer has not fulfilled their duties for a particular week or two-week period, the House Council should issue a fine.
Tips
Keep in mind that the House Council position is a suite chore and a volunteer position. House Council meetings should not drag on too long, and the report sent to the house should be kept brief. Officers that are consistently going above and beyond require less attention; their work should be praised, but the House Council should spend most of its time focused on officers that may not be fulfilling their duties.