Members will be asked to approve three Code of Regulations amendments dealing with patronage capital credits at the June 13 annual meeting.  

If approved, the amendment most members will likely notice is the cooperative would no longer be required to publish the unclaimed capital credits list in Ohio Cooperative Living magazine. Currently, this list must be published each year in consecutive months and has grown to five columns of names covering nine pages. Under the code amendment, the North Central Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees would have the option of only publishing the list on the North Central Electric website — which has been the cooperative’s practice the past several years. This list is routinely updated on the website throughout the year. 

For the most part, this list contains names of former members who no longer receive the magazine. Publishing the names solely on the cooperative’s website is consistent with how the State of Ohio publishes names of those with unclaimed funds.  

North Central plans to promote the list in Ohio Cooperative Living magazine by publishing the names of those who appear on the list for the first time.

Another amendment would allow the cooperative to refund capital credits as long as the balance does not exceed $400. The code currently allows for balances to be refunded when the balance is $100 or less. These refunds are refunded on a discounted basis as long as the cooperative is financially able to do so. This provision normally applies to former members of the cooperative who continue to receive a capital credits check.  

The third amendment would allow the cooperative to apply the cost of legal fees and other expenses incurred to collect a past due account against a member’s capital credits refund.   

The board has recommended passage of each of these amendments. Ballots will be distributed to registered members at the annual meeting. A more detailed description of each amendment with the actual Code of Regulations language will be published in the June issue of Ohio Cooperative Living. 

Since 1980, the cooperative has refunded $19.1 million in capital credits. The board usually approves a capital credits refund at its November meeting, and most members receive a credit on their December electric bills.