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"Emergency" Board Meeting


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The newly elected President of our chapter has requested a "Emergency" Board Meeting to discuss financial issues. I am unable to locate in the Robert's Rules of Order In Brief where 1. The President is allowed to do this and 2. If the meeting happens is it considered an official Board Meeting? Minutes will be taken by the Secretary.

If someone can point me to the section in the book, it will be helpful in dealing with this problem. Thanks in advance.

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The newly elected President of our chapter has requested a "Emergency" Board Meeting to discuss financial issues. I am unable to locate in the Robert's Rules of Order In Brief where 1. The President is allowed to do this and 2. If the meeting happens is it considered an official Board Meeting? Minutes will be taken by the Secretary.

If someone can point me to the section in the book, it will be helpful in dealing with this problem. Thanks in advance.

I didn't even see Special (Emergency) Meetings discussed in RONRIB. However, Special Meetings are not allowed unless they are specifically permitted in the bylaws (and they should say who is authorized to call one). That is located in the full length RONR on pp. 89-90. If Special Meetings are allowed per the bylaws it would be considered a separate session.

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I didn't even see Special (Emergency) Meetings discussed in RONRIB. However, Special Meetings are not allowed unless they are specifically permitted in the bylaws (and they should say who is authorized to call one). That is located in the full length RONR on pp. 89-90. If Special Meetings are allowed per the bylaws it would be considered a separate session.

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If the meeting happens is it considered an official Board Meeting?

If it's a legitimate special meeting, then it's official.

There are two types of meetings: regular (e.g. monthly) and special (i.e. emergency). Special meetings are called to consider a specific question (or questions) that can't wait until the next regular meeting. Only the business mentioned in the "call" (the notice) of the meeting can be considered. Calling a special meeting just to "discuss financial issues" sounds a bit vague to me. If it's a true emergency, the call of the meeting might be "to decide whether to buy a new beer cooler before the sale ends on Sunday".

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If it's a legitimate special meeting, then it's official.

There are two types of meetings: regular (e.g. monthly) and special (i.e. emergency). Special meetings are called to consider a specific question (or questions) that can't wait until the next regular meeting. Only the business mentioned in the "call" (the notice) of the meeting can be considered. Calling a special meeting just to "discuss financial issues" sounds a bit vague to me. If it's a true emergency, the call of the meeting might be "to decide whether to buy a new beer cooler before the sale ends on Sunday".

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The financial issues have to do with transfering signatures of old Board Members to new Board Members for bank records and check signing. The bank is requesting specific documentation which has been lost by previous Board Members.

The bank will probably require you to sign a statement that the names you are providing them were authorized as signers by a resolution duly adopted at a regular or properly called meeting at which a quorum was present. Read what you're signing.

If your president, secretary, (or whoever) cannot truthfully make that statement, then he had better not sign that paper or he'll be needing a criminal lawyer rather than a parliamentarian.

And since RONR prohibits "Special" meetings, your bylaws must contain that provision or you can't have any. The bylaws should spell out exactly who can call special meetings (usually the president, and often some number of members by petition, in case the president does not want to but the membership does). There should also be a provision for what constitutes proper prior notice of special meetings (often by postal mail to all members), and how far in advance it must be mailed or otherwise given. The notice ("call") of the meeting must include a description of the business to be discussed or acted upon, and that business (and only that) may be considered at the meeting.

If your bylaws are silent then the matter will have to wait until your next regular meeting.

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