Jump to content
The Official RONR Q & A Forums

Number of members


Guest Jan

Recommended Posts

The By-laws of an organization require a minimum and maximum number of Directors.  If, for reasons of inattention, the Board has let the number of Directors fall below the minimum number, what are the consequences?  Can the Board conduct business if the minimum number requirement has not been met?  (This is not a question about quorum.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Guest Jan said:

The By-laws of an organization require a minimum and maximum number of Directors.  If, for reasons of inattention, the Board has let the number of Directors fall below the minimum number, what are the consequences?  Can the Board conduct business if the minimum number requirement has not been met?  (This is not a question about quorum.)

As to consequences, the organization should act as quickly as possible  to elect the required number of directors, whether by holding a special election or using the organization's vacancy filling provisions, whichever is appropriate as provided in the bylaws.

In the meantime, as long as the quorum requirement is met, the board as currently constituted may conduct business. 

Note:  Check the wording of your bylaws carefully regarding terms of office.  If directors serve until their successors are elected, you might have some  holdover board members if the proper number have not yet been elected.

Edited by Richard Brown
Typographical correction
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Guest Jan said:

The By-laws of an organization require a minimum and maximum number of Directors.  If, for reasons of inattention, the Board has let the number of Directors fall below the minimum number, what are the consequences?  Can the Board conduct business if the minimum number requirement has not been met?  (This is not a question about quorum.)

The board should act as soon as possible to fill the vacancies (at least up to the minimum number - as Dr. Stackpole suggests, what to do after that is less clear), but the board may continue to conduct business in the interim (assuming that a quorum may be obtained). There are no automatic consequences. If the board unnecessarily delays taking action to fill the vacancies, perhaps the membership will decide this is cause for disciplinary action.

Many organizations do not have a “range” for board members and simply set the board’s size at a fixed number of members. This does not mean that the board becomes unable to function in the event of the resignation, removal, or death of one of the board members - it just means that there is a vacancy which needs to be filled. In my view, the situation is no different here.

Edited by Josh Martin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...