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29 October 2002
Radisson SAS Hotel - Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Scribes: Sabine Mader, Paul Rendek, Abir Sarras
a. Interim Financial Report 2002 up to Q3
Kees Neggers, RIPE NCC Executive Board Chair, opened the meeting at 11:10 am.
Kees welcomed the attendees and asked them to introduce themselves to the other attendees. The RIPE NCC Executive Board members then introduced themselves.
25 attendees were present.
Prior to starting the formal agenda of the meeting Mike Norris suggested that the meeting agree to separate the Charging Scheme and the Activity Plan and Budget.
Kees replied that at this stage it was not possible to change or debate the formal resolutions.
Lajos Balint commented that voting seemed unnecessary if resolutions could not be debated or changed. The Executive Board disagreed with his comment stating that if the members voted against any of the resolutions then another GM meeting would need to be held.
Kees stated that the RIPE NCC Articles of Association will need to be reviewed and that the agenda for the next General Meeting (GM) could be revised. Kees mentioned that all of the resolutions had been defined and distributed prior to the GM according to the Articles of Association so that formal adoptions could be made.
Kees stated that traditionally the RIPE Meeting held in September was more influential with regard to input for any of the resolutions.
Axel Pawlik asked the audience how many of them had recently attended a RIPE Meeting. Five people confirmed attendance.
Axel presented the operational report from the RIPE NCC.
Q: Lajos asked if the RIPE NCC had any relation with the issue of the .eu Top-Level Domain?
A: Axel replied that the RIPE NCC does not plan to get involved in .eu Top-Level Domain issues other than running secondary DNS.
Kees reported that the audited RIPE NCC Financial Report 2001 was published on the RIPE NCC Web site and announced to the membership. He asked if there were any questions about the report and stated that the meeting could vote in favour or against the adoption of the report.
There were no questions brought forward.
- The formal resolution:
" The general meeting adopts the 2001 Audited Financial Report of the RIPE NCC."
It was unanimously accepted with no objections and no abstentions.
Jochem de Ruig presented the RIPE NCC Financial Status Report up to Q3 2002.
Kees remarked that each year it has been difficult to plan the growth. In previous years the RIPE NCC made a surplus. This year the prediction of membership growth will result in a loss. He explained that as the organisation only has one meeting a year decisions could not be corrected in time. He added that the RIPE NCC Board would investigate a solution for the future in order to secure the stability of the organisation.
There were no questions regarding the interim financial report.
Kees proposed to postpone the GM 2003 meeting as the approval of the financial results from the previous operating year does not justify holding a separate meeting.
- The formal resolution:
" As no special circumstances are foreseen the general meeting proposes to extend the period to approve the audited financial statements 2002 as stated in article 14.2 of the RIPE NCC Articles of Association to 31 October 2003. The board shall send the audited financial statements to the members upon receipt of the auditors final report and audited financial statements."
It was unanimously accepted with no objections and no abstentions.
Axel presented the proposed the Activity Plan, Expenditure and Charging Scheme 2003. He provided explanations regarding the growth plan and budget 2003.
Q: Lajos stated that the background for the fee adjustment is understood but he wanted some clarification on how it was possible that such a wrong prediction could be made.
A: Axel responded by saying that the RIPE NCC monitors the growth level throughout the year and makes a decision for the following year's membership growth prediction in September. Predicting this is very difficult as it relies heavily on the economy.
Q: Lajos pointed out that the RIPE NCC should be prepared for such difficulties both from the side of staffing and services provision.
A: Axel replied that the RIPE NCC is doing just that. When the previous charging scheme was drafted there was an increase in staffing but a large loss of new members. The RIPE NCC is working on measures to react more flexibly and to work on more efficiency for peak workload periods.
Q: Lajos expressed concern about the reserves of the RIPE NCC.
A: János Zsakó stated that the RIPE NCC management and Executive Board did take action and have taken measures to combat the decrease in revenue. The RIPE NCC has flexibility in this area.
Mike Norris thanked the RIPE NCC for coming through a difficult year and commented that the proposal for the way forward was comprehensive. He stated that he very much appreciated the TTM service and that it could not be done outside of the RIPE NCC. The charging scheme has gone back to 1999 figures but he sees more services currently provided for this money.
Kees asked the meeting to vote for the Activity Plan, Expenditure and Charging Scheme 2003.
The formal resolution:
" The general meeting adopts the RIPE NCC Activities, Expenditure and Charging Scheme 2003".
It was unanimously accepted with no objections and no abstentions.
Kees presented a report from the RIPE NCC Executive Board. The report included current and future focus of Executive Board activities.
Q: Lajos asked whether Rob Blokzijl's term on the ICANN Board had expired and whether he would stand for re-election
A: Rob stated that the ICANN Board elections had taken place and that Mohamet Diop had been elected.
Kees briefly handed over his duties as meeting Chair to Frode Greisen for the Executive Board elections as he was a candidate in the election process.
Frode explained the voting procedure and asked each of the candidates to present themselves to the meeting participants. Frode stated that there were 2 vacancies as the terms of Kees Neggers and Nigel Titley would expire. He stated that two rounds of elections were needed to fill the vacant Board seats.
Voting Results:
| ROUND 1: | |
| Kees: | 26 |
| Nigel: | 8 |
| Manfredo: | 0 |
| ROUND 2: | |
| Nigel: | 15 |
| Manfredo: | 17 |
Kees Neggers and Manfredo Miserocchi were appointed to the RIPE NCC Executive Board.
Kees returned as Chair of the meeting and pointed out that that the new appointments would commence on 12 November 2002
Kees thanked Nigel Titley for the work and experience he provided to the RIPE NCC Executive Board.
The meeting was brought to a close at 1:10 pm