bonnieblink Posted April 22, 2015 at 09:13 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 09:13 PM If the bylaws state as below, can an informal (not voted on) or formal (voted on) decision be made by the board to make exceptions for one or more individuals? If it was informally decided to extend an offer, made by phone, mail or email, to a list of people who failed to pay dues by the deadlines specified in the bylaws, are those people who paid after the deadline members or not? Section 2. Dues Membership dues shall be set by a 2/3 majority vote of the Board of Directors. The dues shall not exceed thirty-five ($35.00) per year, to remain in effect until such time as an increase is deemed necessary by the Board of Directors. Dues are payable in U.S. funds and are due and payable on or before the first (1) day of July each year. Upon renewing the dues each year the member is agreeing to abide by the current Constitution, By-Laws and Code of Ethics that are in force as of the year in renewal. Past due indebtedness to the Club and any bank charges for returned checks will be paid by the applicant/member before membership is valid or is renewed. No member may vote whose dues are not paid for the current year. During the month of May, the Treasurer shall send to each member a statement of his dues for the ensuring year. Family dues will be available for those individual members living in the same household (ie. Husband and wife and/or husband wife and junior member). The cost of the family dues will be the price of each individual membership with a 15% discount. Section 4. Termination of Membership Membership may be terminated: (a) by resignation. Any member in good standing may resign from the Club upon written notice to the Corresponding Secretary. No member may resign when in debt to the Club or when facing charges pursuant to Article VI, Section 2 of the Bylaws. Dues obligations and advertising obligations are considered a debt to the Club. Dues are incurred on the first day of each fiscal year; ( by lapsing. A membership will be considered as lapsed and automatically terminated if such member's dues remain unpaid thirty (30) days after the first day of the fiscal year. After this time the member has an additional 30 days to pay their dues in full, plus a $25.00 late fee. In no case may a member be entitled to vote whose dues are delinquent. A member whose dues have lapsed after this time must reapply for membership as outlined in Article I. Section 3. Election to Membership. © by expulsion. A Membership may be terminated by expulsion as provided in Bylaws Article VI. If it has been determined that exceptions were made, how far back can/must we go to resolve this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted April 22, 2015 at 10:32 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 10:32 PM It will ultimately be up to your organization to interpret your bylaws. If a motion has been adopted that is in violation of the bylaws, such a motion is null and void and a point of order can be made at any time. If there is ambiguity in the bylaws, the bylaws should be amended to remove the ambiguity. Is your question related to this thread? If so, it may have been better to ask follow up questions in that thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnieblink Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:05 PM Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:05 PM Yes it is related. Sorry. New to the forum. Seemed like an issue that might be valuable to consider separately, because it actually affects as many as 70 people, not just the one in the other thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:06 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:06 PM The assembly is the ultimate arbiter (short of the courts) when it comes to interpreting its bylaws. If the majority of the membership is determined to do something a certain way, even if you (and those of us on this forum weighing in) are convinced it violates the bylaws, and even if it does in fact violate the byaws, the determination of the majority that it is permissible is the end of it. The assembly has the right to decide the issue, even if that decision is wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:11 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:11 PM The assembly is the ultimate arbiter . . . And by "the assembly" Mr. Brown is referring to an assembly of the general membership, not to, for example, the board members assembled at a meeting of the board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonnieblink Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:21 PM Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:21 PM And by "the assembly" Mr. Brown is referring to an assembly of the general membership, not to, for example, the board members assembled at a meeting of the board. Thank you for clarifying that; I would have had to ask. So, can a Point of Order on this be brought up at an upcoming meeting even though the topic is not on the agenda? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:23 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:23 PM And by "the assembly" Mr. Brown is referring to an assembly of the general membership, not to, for example, the board members assembled at a meeting of the board.Well, maybe and maybe not. I was thinking of that as I was posting. As a general rule, yes, I agree. But, if I recall correctly from the other thread, this board appears to have pretty much full (and maybe exclusive) authority to conduct the society's affairs between the very infrequent meetings of the membership. If the board has full authority to act for the society between meetings of its general membership, it's my understanding that it can make interpretations of the bylaws to the same extent that the general membership could by means of appeals of points of order. Edited to add: But, unless the board has the exclusive authority over the affairs of the society, any decision of the board can be overturned by the general membership. See official interpretations 2006-12 and 2006-13, paying particular attention to 2006-13. http://www.robertsrules.com/interp_list.html#2006_12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:24 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:24 PM Thank you for clarifying that; I would have had to ask. So, can a Point of Order on this be brought up at an upcoming meeting even though the topic is not on the agenda?Yes, a Point of Order may be raised whether or not it is on the agenda. I'm more concerned with what exactly the Point of Order is regarding and whether the "upcoming meeting" is a meeting of the board or a meeting of the membership.Well, maybe and maybe not. I was thinking of that as I was posting. As a general rule, yes, I agree.But, if I recall correctly from the other thread, this board appears to have pretty much full (and maybe exclusive) authority to conduct the society's affairs between the very infrequent meetings of the membership. If the board has full authority to act for the society between meetings of its general membership, it's my understanding that it can make interpretations of the bylaws to the same extent that the general membership could by means of appeals of points of order.I think it goes too far to say that the board can make interpretations of the bylaws to the same extent that the general membership could. For example, I do not think it would be appropriate for a board, even one with full power and authority to conduct the society's affairs between meetings, to make a ruling on a Point of Order regarding an election by the membership, unless the society or its rules granted it that authority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edgar Guest Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:53 PM Report Share Posted April 22, 2015 at 11:53 PM The assembly is the ultimate arbiter . . . And by "the assembly" Mr. Brown is referring to an assembly of the general membership . . . Well, maybe and maybe not. My apologies. Which assembly were you referring to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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