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Can a President Cancel a Regular Meeting


Guest Steve Britton

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Guest Steve Britton

Background: I am a newly elected Director to a Connecticut Non-Profit Board. Although not adopted in the Bylaws, the organization has always looked to RONR as persuasive when involving itself in Parliamentary Situations.

Even though the bylaws are silent regarding Regular Meetings and not Special Meetings (However, Regular Meetings are provided for in Non-Profit Statutes). In the May of 2006, this Board adopted a Standing Rule and established A Regular Monthly Meeting date for the Third Tuesday of each month.

Question: Can the new elcted Presiding Officer Order the Secretary to Cancel the May Monthly meeting that has been established by the May 2006 standing rule?

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Background: I am a newly elected Director to a Connecticut Non-Profit Board. Although not adopted in the Bylaws, the organization has always looked to RONR as persuasive when involving itself in Parliamentary Situations.

Even though the bylaws are silent regarding Regular Meetings and not Special Meetings (However, Regular Meetings are provided for in Non-Profit Statutes). In the May of 2006, this Board adopted a Standing Rule and established A Regular Monthly Meeting date for the Third Tuesday of each month.

Question: Can the new elcted Presiding Officer Order the Secretary to Cancel the May Monthly meeting that has been established by the May 2006 standing rule?

Nothing in RONR would support cancelling the meeting. Check provisions covering Non-Profits in your area.

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In the May of 2006, this Board adopted a Standing Rule and established A Regular Monthly Meeting date for the Third Tuesday of each month.

Question: Can the new elcted Presiding Officer Order the Secretary to Cancel the May Monthly meeting that has been established by the May 2006 standing rule?

RONR doesn't specifically address cancelling or rescheduling a meeting, but the general principle in RONR is that the body or person with the power to act has the power to rescind the action. (This is seen in RONR's discussion of appointments to committees: when by the president alone, the president can remove them, but when by the assembly, only the assembly can remove a person from the committee.)

This principle would seem to apply to some degree to calling meetings. In May 2006 the board called a meeting for the third Tuesday of each month. The board can rescind any of those calls, and in effect, cancel them.

If the rules allow the president to call meetings, then the president could cancel those meetings he/she called, but not the meetings called by the board.

However, despite the rules, if circumstances make having a meeting impractical (say the river is threatening to flood the community), then the president might "cancel" a meeting, have the secretary notify all members, and hope a quorum doesn't show up and conduct business without him/her.

If anyone did show up at the "cancelled" meeting, they could still have a meeting, but of course would need a quorum to conduct business.

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