There are 7 members on our council. At the last meeting we had a quorum, with 5 in attendance.
The Chair announced that the resolution about to be considered would need 4 votes to pass, a majority of all members of the Council.The Resolution was then moved and seconded. During discussion a motion to amend was moved and seconded. A roll call vote on the amendment was taken and the recorded results were 3 ayes 2 nays. Everybody assumed the amendment had failed because it didn't get the 4 votes that the Chair had mentioned before discussion took place.
The Chair did not announce any results but entertained another motion slightly different than the first, to once again amend the main motion which was moved and seconded, a roll call vote was taken and the 2nd amendment was not adopted by a 4-1 vote.
The Chair then announced we would return to consideration of the Resolution as presented in the packet neglecting to include the amended language. The Resolution was then passed by a vote of 4-1. As I recall an amendment to a motion only needs a majority of those present even if the Main motion requires an affirmative vote of 4. I reported this to the chair 3 days later when while reading a newspaper story about the vote, it occurred to me that a mistake had been made.
Any suggestions on how to proceed?
Thank you.
Dave D
