hmtcastle

I suspect he could be "the immediate passed ___________".

I believe that pun appeared on the old Q&A forum, much to Mr. Honemann's delight. I only wish I had recalled it this time.

How do you refer to a board member who has recently died.

How about, "the late John Doe"?

You might even have welcomed him at meetings this way when he was alive.

So it isn't necessarily the person typing the minutes who signs them? As an example. If the Chairman is submitting for approval at the meeting, the Chairman would be noted as signing the minutes. Correct?

As it pertains to the "secretary" initialling them as approved. Do you mean the Executive Assistant who is typing the minutes or the Secretary of the Committee? If there is no appointed Secretary of the Committee, would it also be the Chairman?

The person who took the notes and drafts the minutes is the person who signs her work. The fact that someone else (the secretary's secretary?) may type them up for her is immaterial, as is the person who physically brings them to the meeting for approval.

The person serving as secretary at the meeting where the minutes are approved (i.e. the person taking the current minutes) is the one who initials them as approved.

These may be the same person or two different people and neither has to be the official "Secretary". In other words, forget titles and focus on who did what.

Can someone clarify, is this the elected Secretary and/or President of the committee or is this the Secretary and/or President of your company? If it is the committee, what if there is no elected Secretary or President? Would it then be the Chairman?

The person who submits the minutes for approval signs them. The person serving as secretary when they're approved initials them as approved.

What is your view on a voting member signing up for public comment?

Nothing in RONR permits or prohibits it.

We recently started allowing Public Comments at the beginning of our meetings. As the Secretary, I'm wondering how, or if, I'm supposed to record the comments in the minutes. I couldn't find a reference to this in Robert's Rules, and our Bylaws don't state anything. How do you think I should approach this?

The minutes should record what was done, not what was said. No comments, either by members or by "the public" (i.e. non-members) should be included.

See it now?

Well, that's what I get for assuming.

Yes, it does, but that doesn't answer my question.

I assumed that's what Mr. Elsman was referring to when he suggested the use of the "Edit" button, since he certainly couldn't have been referring to the content. But who knows.

Edit my own response? There was something wrong with it?

Your reply appears within the "quote" box. (Not that there's anything wrong with that!)

Why is it such a stretch that it should no be used until each voting member has spoken at least once???

It's not such a stretch but it's not supported by RONR.

the basic premise that everyone should be allowed to speak to a motion cannot be taken away be calling the question.

There is no such basic premise in RONR. If there were, it would defeat the very purpose of ordering the previous question which is to end debate regardless of whether everyone has had a chance to speak. The two-thirds vote required prevents "a temporary majority of only one vote [from denying] the remaining members all opportunity to discuss any measure that such a majority wanted to adopt or kill". (pp.192-193).

May the President in a Union Meeting relinquish his chair and give his personal opinion on a issue that we are about to vote on? Therefore, swaying votes prior to voting.

He can but he probably shouldn't. When he agreed to be the chair he agreed to maintain the appearance of impartiality. His departure from the chair should be an extraordinarily rare occurrence.

See also FAQ #1.