Guest Elayne Posted May 24, 2017 at 05:54 PM Report Share Posted May 24, 2017 at 05:54 PM The chairman holds all power to call a special meeting. Having submitted a petition to call a special meeting with ample names he is rejecting my petition because it lacks signatures and now refuses to call a meeting until I submit a signed petition. The issue of the petition for a special meeting is to remove the chairman and to discus a lawsuit we are now facing because of our bylaws inconsistency with state law. The current by-laws state, Special meetings of the X Committee may be called by the Y Chairman or by petition to the Y Chairman by twenty (20) percent of the X Committee members. The chairman shall call the meeting within fourteen (14) days of receiving the petition. A written notice shall be sent to each member of the X Committee, by electronic or US Postal Service, specifying the purpose of the meeting five (5) days prior to the meeting. RONR (11th ed.) p. 438, I. 9-16 is the only indexed reference to petitions and offers suggestions for what to include. Looking at special meetings I find RONR (11th ed.) p. 92, I. 13-26 specifies what bylaws should prescribe RONR (11th ed.) p. 576 makes no mention of petitions RONR (11th ed.) p. 586 shows only a sample bylaw petition provision for calling a special meeting Parliamentary Authority is granted to RONR "in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the by-laws or any special rules (none) adopted by the X Committee, Federal or State Law. I don't think the state or federal law is interested in how we define petition for calling a special meeting so the focus is at RONR. Am I missing something? I think this is simply a delay tactic by the chairman. Even the notice for the meeting says written where the petition could be verbal, since the specificity of written is not clearly stated in the same paragraph. Would a written petition with ample names, contact method, and standing in the committee certified with the following statement I declare that the above members have instructed me to include their names on this request ___ signed and dated followed by a received ___signed and dated (by the chairman) suffice to meet the requirement of our current by-laws? Ideally the by-laws would be more clear as to what a petition is, but it is what we have right now. If the chairman refuses to call a meeting in 14 days would the vice-chairman be expected to act in the chairman's absence as prescribed in the vice-chairman's duties? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Who's Coming to Dinner Posted May 24, 2017 at 06:13 PM Report Share Posted May 24, 2017 at 06:13 PM What does or doesn't constitute a proper petition is up to your organization to decide. Moreover, only your organization can determine if the chairman's failure to act constitutes an "absence" which empowers the vice-chairman to act. Since a lawsuit is involved, you may wish to consult an attorney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted May 24, 2017 at 07:01 PM Report Share Posted May 24, 2017 at 07:01 PM Elayne, I concur with the answer by the guest above. I'm weighing in simply because that guest, although very knowledgeable, is still posting as a guest and I suspect you would like to know that your advice is coming from someone who is actually a contributing member of the forum. You can see how many posts our members have made and weigh our answers accordingly, but not so with guests who post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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