V.C. Habitability Improvement

V.C.1. BSC HOME IMPROVEMENT (HI) / COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT (CI) POLICY

As a member of the Berkeley Student Cooperative, each member -- resident or boarder -- owes a certain amount of time to habitability and community improvement in the organization. In the houses, each resident owes a minimum of 4 hours per contract period and each boarder owes 2 hours per contract period, though individual houses can vote to require a larger number of HI hours in their bylaws. Each member at the apartments owes half an hour of HI/CI per contract period.

Unless there is a central-level HI/CI project, HI/CI is to be done at the unit where a member lives. Boarders contribute their HI/CI at the house where they board. In the case of a central-level HI/CI project, individual members can apply through their workshift managers to take part in those projects and satisfy their HI/CI requirement.

V.C.2. HI/CI PROJECTS

1. HI projects are small capital improvement projects, maintenance projects, or deep cleanings that are not addressed by a unit’s regular workshift policy.

2. CI projects improve the broader community (and our relationship to it) by leveraging members’ skills and energy to help low-income and underrepresented groups, improve neighbor relations and ties to external partners, and/or help the community at large.

V.C.3. HI/CI PROCESS

1. The MM must submit a list of at least 5 prioritized HI projects to Operations Assistant (OA) before the second week of the contract period. This list should include at least two projects recommended on previous habitability reports, a project description, the expected number of HI hours it would take to complete each project and completion deadlines for each project. The dates will span throughout the semester.

I. Project lists submitted after the deadline or incomplete lists submitted in time, will result in warning letters being issued to the MM per the Central Level Support & Supervision Policy, and a fine equivalent to two hours at the workshift rate will be assessed to the unit, which can be passed along to the Maintenance Manager(s) at the unit’s discretion.

II. Should a member with disabilities not be able to complete any of the projects on the approved list, the WM must make arrangements to allow them the opportunity to complete HI.

2. The first five projects on the approved list must be completed before the assigned completion date. The OA will track completion of the projects, and suggest future HI project ideas via the unit’s habitability reports.

3. At the end of the semester, CM and the OA will review the HI projects that have been completed at each unit.

I. If any of the first five HI projects from the initial list are not completed, the unit will be fined at the central level equal to the number of HI hours (as delineated in the HI list) forfeited for the missed project . Each hour of HI is worth double the workshift rate.

A. It is at the OA's discretion to decide whether a project was not completed for a legitimate reason (e.g. if the unit successfully addressed other unexpected habitability conditions during the term). If the OA deems the reason legitimate, the fine can be waived.

4. Members will be fined at the unit-level for incomplete HI/CI at double the workshift rate per every missed hour.

5. The membership of the houses (not the apartments) shall henceforth be able to fulfill their hourly mandate of HI by doing Community Improvement Hours.

I. Community Improvement shall be defined as:

A. work that benefits the neighborhood, the city, or any other local community beyond the walled narrowness of the BSC.

B. work that helps to build lasting relationships with organizations or communities outside the walled narrowness of the BSC

6. The External Affairs Committee, working closely with the Development Director, must draft a list of at least 5 prioritized CI projects, which shall be presented as recommendations to the appropriate House Level Management at the beginning of the semester.

I. These projects should be large scale, highly visible efforts to improve a community and generate stronger external relationships between the BSC and other local organizations.

II. EACom has a mandate to see this list compiled and democratically approved by the end of the 1st board meeting of the semester.

III. After the initial approval of the list, projects may be added, edited, or stricken from the list, at the discretion of EACom, working with the Development Director and the Executive Director

IV. EACom and the Development Director must present these projects to house level management in a timely manner.

V. EACom and the Development Director must work together with house level management to make sure that at least 1 of the proposed projects sees significant, large-scale coordination, and yields a high rate of member turnout.

7. Anyone may propose a CI project at any scale, but it is up to EACom or the appropriate house level management to vet the feasibility and effectiveness of a proposed project.

8. Unless otherwise specified by a house-level bylaw, these projects and hours shall be overseen by the Presidents of the houses, and the oversight of Community Improvement shall be integrated into the regular Presidential Training.

I. The houses are encouraged to coordinate with one another to organize CI projects. This is especially encouraged for small houses, so that projects can take place on a visible scale. To this end a CI Listserv shall be created containing EACom, the Development Director, The Executive Director and the relevant house level-management.

A. Small scale projects of three members or less, unlikely to improve the public profile of the BSC, must be approved through council.

II. At the end of each semester, the house president shall submit their records of CI hours to the House Manager, who will include this information in the house bill that is submitted to Central Bookkeeping.

III. CI hours must be signed off by relevant supervisors in the field, and signed evidence of hours must be submitted to the relevant management within the units.

A. if a project (such as a neighborhood clean up) has no clear supervising authority, unit level management or a temporary field manager may be appointed to sign off the good people.

9. CI hours shall be capped on a sliding scale, proportionally measured against HI and allocated on a house by house basis, on a ratio adjusted by the end of each academic year. This availability shall reflect the habitability standards of the house, and the corresponding need for small scale capital improvement projects.

I. This ratio shall be set at 10% availability of CI Hours (90% HI) in all houses during the first semester of this policy’s implementation.

II. A collaborative group made up of the MM, WM, the relevant HI/CI managers, the OA, and the Operations Manager, shall meet at the end of each semester to determine a new ratio of available CI for that unit.