These are the policies of the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands, compiled from issues of the Althing published from September 1999 to April 2005 and as posted on the Baronial website in March 2005.

BARONY-MARCHE OF THE DEBATABLE LANDS POLICIES

The Barony's policies must be published in the Althing in full at least once every two years. When published, they supersede all former Baronial policies. Changes or additions to these policies become official upon their publication in the Althing. Baronial policy is subordinate to Kingdom Law & Policy, Corpora, and civil law. It may not contradict them and need not duplicate them.
The Officers of the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands are those required by Kingdom Law, the Seneschals of the Barony's subsidiary groups, the Captain of Archers, the Marshal of Fence, and the Chirurgeon Liaison. These officers constitute the financial committee of the Barony for the purpose of setting financial policy and approving financial activities.

Unless otherwise stated, decisions of the officers are by consensus of the people attending a scheduled officers meeting at which a majority of the Officers are present. (Officers may be represented by proxy.) Any Officer may call for a vote, in which case each Office gets one vote, with a simple majority of the votes cast deciding the issue.

Officers serve for a term of twenty-four months from the officers' meeting at which their appointment was approved. Notification of an Officer's intent to renew or resign must be published in the Althing at least two months before the end of the Officer's term. This notification must solicit letters of intent for a successor. Letters of intent must be sent to the Officer in question, as well as the baronial seneschal; if the office is the seneschalate, a letter must also be sent to the baron/ess. An officer may recommend a successor or offer to serve another term, but either choice must be ratified by the officers. If the recommendation of the Officer is not followed, the remaining candidates will be voted upon in succession by the Officers until one is accepted or all candidates have been rejected. If an Officer resigns unexpectedly, the Drop-Dead Deputy will take over the duties of the office, and solicit letters of intent for a successor. Subsidiary groups are not required to follow this policy in choosing their seneschals and officers. A two-thirds majority of Baronial Officers may petition to remove any Officer or person in a Baronial position, though a proposal to do so must appear on the meeting's agenda and in the previous Althing.

Whenever an office or baronial position changes hands, the outgoing officer is responsible for transferring all files and baronial property related to the office to his or her successor in a timely fashion.

Should an officer be absent and not represented at two consecutive officers meetings and an interim barony meeting, his/her Kingdom Superior may be petitioned by the remaining officers to have him/her removed.
Baronial policies may be created or changed by the officers. Proposed additions or changes to Baronial policies must appear on the agenda of the meeting at which they are considered, and in the previous Althing.
Expenditures greater than $50 must be approved by the financial committee. Expenditures of $50 or under may be authorized jointly by the Baronial Seneschal and Exchequer. Such expenditures must be reported at the following officers meeting. The Seneschal and Exchequer must be represented at any meeting of the financial committee.

Officers will not approve expenditures for proposed events unless they are presented with a written event bid which contains, at a minimum, the names of the autocrat and the head cook, a site, a date, a break-even analysis, and a budget (if baronial finds are to be used). The event budget shall include estimates for income and for expenses by category based upon expected attendance, rates charged and any free admissions.
Baronial Succession
1. Requirements of office: The Baron and/or Baroness (hereafter referred to as Baron/ess) must meet the requirements stated in Corpora and Kingdom Law. He or she must be a paid member of the SCA, 18 years of age or older, may not hold the office of Baronial Seneschal, and must be a resident in the territory of the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands. The position of Territorial Baron/ess of the Debatable Lands is not subject to a term limit.
2. When Selection of a New Baron/ess Will Occur: Selection will take place when a Baron/ess is removed, expresses a desire to retire, or wishes to take a consort.
3. Removal of a Baron/ess: A majority of the Barony's Officers may call for the removal of the Baron or Baroness. The motion must appear on the officers' meeting agenda and in the previous issue of the Althing. If the motion passes, the result will be announced at the next Barony meeting and in the next issue of the Althing. At the Barony meeting after that, those attending the meeting will decide, by majority vote, whether to petition the Crown for the removal of the Baron or Baroness.
4. The Vicar: If a Vicar is appointed, the Vicar may not give Baronial Awards but may otherwise preside over Baronial Courts and functions.
5. The Selection Committee: The selection committee consists of the Baron/ess (if there is one), the Vicar (if there is one), and enough officers in precedence order to bring the total to 5 with the Baron and/or Baroness together counting as one seat. If a member of the committee accepts a baronial nomination, he is replaced by the next officer in precedence order. Notification of the election and these policies will be printed in the first Althing following the appointment of the selection committee. The Committee members will elect a Chairman from among their members by simple majority vote.
6. The Selection Process
  1. Eligible Voters: Any person residing in the zip codes of the Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands who is 17 years of age or older and is on the corporate membership list may vote. The list of eligible voters will be finalized immediately before nominations begin.
  2. The Nominating Meeting: The Nominating meeting will be held at the general Barony meeting one month after an announcement of the election appears in the Althing and is given at a general Barony meeting. Candidates will be nominated by petition of the populace, either in writing or by voice at the nominating meeting. Written nominations must be received by the Chair of the Selection Committee at or before the nomination meeting. The committee must notify candidates within one week of the nominations. To be considered, candidates must accept nominations in writing to the Chair of the Selection committee by the next barony meeting. Individuals or couples may be nominated, but no individual can occur on the ballot more than once.
  3. The Voting: A written ballot with the list of nominees will be distributed by mail to all eligible voters. Each ballot shall be numbered and a record kept of the total number of ballots mailed, but no record shall be kept of which numbers was mailed to which voters. Voting will be as follows:
    1. Voters will mark those candidates they consider not acceptable as NA. All other candidates are to be ranked in order of preference, with 1 being the voter's first choice, 2 the second choice, and so on. A group status poll will appear on the election ballots; voters will mark their preferred option.
    2. Voters will have until the beginning of the second general barony meeting after the ballots were mailed to vote, returning their ballots by mail or in person to the Selection Committee Chairman. Voters shall not be required to write their names on the ballots. The Committee Chairman will hold the ballots unopened until the Committee meets to count the ballots.
    3. Tallying the ballots: The Selection Committee will meet during the general barony meeting of the voting deadline to open and count the ballots. Ballots will be tallied in the following sequence:
      1. Ballot numbers will be checked off on the master list. If any duplicate ballot numbers or numbers which are not on the list of those mailed are found, those ballots will be discarded. The group status poll will be counted first. If a majority of the voters choose not to remain a Barony, then the Baronial election process will be terminated and the election ballots will not be tallied.
      2. Any candidate receiving votes of NA on 33% or more of the ballots received shall be eliminated from consideration. The remaining candidates on each ballot will be re-ranked accordingly.
      3. If any remaining candidate receives a majority (greater that 50%) of first place votes, that candidate will immediately be declared the winner.
      4. If no remaining candidate receives a majority of first place votes, all remaining candidates shall receive a score based on the numerical placement table below:
        
        1st place = 5 points
        2nd place = 4 points
        3rd place = 3 points
        4th place = 2 points
        5th place = 1 point
        6th place or lower = 0 points
        No vote = 0 points
        NA = -1 points
        
        The candidate with the highest aggregate score shall be declared the winner. If there is a tie for first, a runoff election will be held starting from V.F.3. with only the tied candidates on the ballot.
  4. The petition: The Selection Committee Chairman will produce a petition in accordance with kingdom law.
  5. Special selections
    1. If an existing solo Baron/ess desires to take a consort, a vote on the Baron/ess's chosen consort will be held at the general Barony meeting one month after an announcement of the vote appears in the Althing and is given at a general Barony meeting. Should the consort be accepted by the populace, a petition will be prepared as in V.F.4. above.
    2. Written proxy ballots will be permitted.
The autocrat of an event may require any person behaving disruptively to leave the event. If a minor is behaving disruptively at an event, the autocrat may require the adult(s) responsible for that minor to leave the event as well. Children may not be unattended at events; if a child is found unattended, they and the adult(s) responsible may be asked to leave the event. It is the responsibility of the autocrat of any event for which the Nonmember Surcharge must be collected to determine the means of collection.
The Barony-Marche of the Debatable Lands does not serve alcoholic beverages.