Jump to content
The Official RONR Q & A Forums

"Receive and Place on File"


Watson

Recommended Posts

RONR 11th is the parliamentary authority. A major accounting firm sent a representative to address our city council and answer any questions about the 2011 Comprehensive Annual Finance Report and Independent Audit Report.

Everything being in good order, the administration's recommendation was for a motion to "receive and place on file" the above report. I mentioned to the Mayor that all aldermen as well as the city clerk had already received hard copies of the report, so what was the meaning of the motion?

The Mayor's response was that this was a motion commonly used in area municipalities when dealing with annual financial/audit reports. The city attorney/parliamentarian said nothing. I bit my tongue.

Comments, please.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
A common error is to move that a report "be received" after it has been read-- apparentlyh on the supposition that such a motion is necessary in order for the report to be taken under consideration or to be recorded as having been made. In fact, this motion is meaningless, since the report has already been received. Even befrore a report has been read, a motion to receive it is unnecessary if the time for its reception is established by the order of business, or if no member objects. . . .

RONR (11th ed.), p. 508, ll. 19-27.

It is equally meaningless to entertain a motion that the report "be placed on file":

When written reports are received from boards or committees, the secretary should record on them the date they were received and what further action was taken on them, and preserve them among his records. It is not necessary for an assembly to vote that a board or committee report be "placed on file," as that should be done without a vote.

RONR (11th ed.), p. 460, ll. 6-12.

While under the facts described the report was from an auditing firm rather than from a board or committee, the same logic applies, as the audit must be reported to the assembly. Id. p. 479. What the assembly should have done was to vote on whether to adopt the auditors' report, id. p. 479, l. 31 to p. 480, l. 2.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...