Art

This is very helpful. Thank you for the detail.

In this instance I don't believe the prevailing side was representative of the full organization. It was a staffing issue and a vocal group large enough to sway the vote came unannounced. Do the members present need to vote and pass the "Reconsider and Enter on the Minutes"? If so, that would be unlikely to pass also due to the biased group. I was thinking about proposing we pass a motion that in the future any motion related to staff must be announced as an agenda item two weeks in advance and not dealt with as a surprise floor motion. And if it is not announced in advance, then it can be brought as motion from floor for discussion but not voted on in that same meeting. If we announce this proposal as a topic in a future meeting, then discuss and pass (without the pressure of a "hot" topic), that could help avoid this in the future.

Thank you for the responses. It sounds like there is no way to stop a group from getting together ahead of time and then bringing a surprise motion that they want to pass knowing the opposition won't be in attendance because it's not on the agenda.

Hi. In Roberts Rules do we have to allow members to make a motion from the floor? And if so, do we have to vote on that motion in that meeting or can it be held until the next meeting? We have members that bring up a motion for an important "surprise" issue at a meeting. They bring supporters that will vote in their favor but other members were not aware of the topic so they are uninformed or people that would oppose the motion don't attend the meeting because it wasn't an agenda item. As the president, can I allow discussion but rule that the vote will be held at the next meeting so that people can research and consider it more instead of making a quick decision. Our members say they can bring anything up in a motion and it must be voted at that meeting. Then they can "stack the deck" by only informing some people of the topic in order to have supporters attend. Thank you.