min13mag Posted August 24, 2011 at 02:17 PM Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 at 02:17 PM I am secretary for our club. A month ago I was late getting to a meeting, at which 2 of the board members do not like me at all. One of them made several motions, and it is these motions and some made at our club I am asking about. 1. Motion made to have secretary NOT to blind copy any emails to members, and to include these to board members on every email. 2. Motion made to send all minutes to all board members. 2. A: Motion made at regular business meeting for all documents to be kept in house with the secretary, and if a need arises for anyone to look at them they may do so at her descretion. RONR states about not harassing secretary. 2.B: In our constitution/by-laws, the duties of the secretary are described as the secretary shall keep a record, have charge of correspondence, notify members,notify officers of elections,keep a roll, and carry out other such duties as are described in these by-laws. 2. C: Order of Business: minutes of last meeting. This is all that is in our constitution/by-laws. So I am up holding my job as secretary by going with my job description, and up holding the motions made and approved by the membership, and not giving out any of the minutes. I am catching flack all the time about this and I just keep telling them no. I need to say this. I have been taking parliamentarian classes, and have passed my first test so far. So I am knowledgeable in a lot of this, and the parliamentarian that the club hired is my teacher. I try my best not to bother her, especially about the petty stuff. She is gone right now and we are having a meeting on thursday, so need to know I am doing things correctly. The president of our club is one of my younger sisters, tha has been steered wrong in many things. We have had a talk, but do not think she believes me in things. 1. She called for a board meeting this thursday to discuss the new constitution/by-laws (we are redoing it completely), and I told her because of a motion made at last months meeting, to not discuss the new constitution, until october, voted on by the entire membership and passed, we could not discuss it at all. She is in disagreement with me. 2. The motions made by the board to change my job discription, should have been taken to the membership and put in as an amendment? She said we do not have to take any motions made by the board to the membership. I disagree. Where in RONR do I go to back up what I am saying or am I wrong? I would appreicate any answers as soon as possible our meeting is tomorrow evening. Thank you Martha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert B Fish Posted August 24, 2011 at 02:40 PM Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 at 02:40 PM 1. She called for a board meeting this thursday to discuss the new constitution/by-laws (we are redoing it completely), and I told her because of a motion made at last months meeting, to not discuss the new constitution, until october, voted on by the entire membership and passed, we could not discuss it at all. She is in disagreement with me. 2. The motions made by the board to change my job discription, should have been taken to the membership and put in as an amendment? She said we do not have to take any motions made by the board to the membership. I disagree. Where in RONR do I go to back up what I am saying or am I wrong? I would appreicate any answers as soon as possible our meeting is tomorrow evening. Thank you Martha1. The motion to "not discuss" was out of order as one meeting (technically:session) may not tie the hands of a future meeting in that manner. If a point of order were raised at the upcoming meeting that you voted to "not discuss," then the chairman should declare the earlier motion to be voided. However, a motion to refer the discussion to a committee or to postpone it until the next regularly scheduled meeting would be in order.2. The Board is likely within its bounds to give instructions to the secretary as long as the instructions do not violate superior rules such as the bylaws, applicable statutes, actions by prior meetings that have not been completed or rescinded, etc.-Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Ed Posted August 24, 2011 at 03:41 PM Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 at 03:41 PM 1. Motion made to have secretary NOT to blind copy any emails to members, and to include these to board members on every email.Why would you be blind copying e-mails to members? Board members should be kept in the loop, so there is no reason to object to Board members receiving copies of e-mails and to approve correspondence before it is sent out - unless the issues was dealt with at a meeting and a particular Board member is responsible for the response. 2. Motion made to send all minutes to all board members.Again, nothing wrong here. As a Board Secretary myself, I actually like this idea - I never have to read out Minutes at the next Board meeting and most corrections are made before the meeting when everyones' memory is still fresh. 2. A: Motion made at regular business meeting for all documents to be kept in house with the secretary, and if a need arises for anyone to look at them they may do so at her descretion. RONR states about not harassing secretary. Documents can be kept "on site" as in on the property of the Society. However, members do have a right to review certian doucments but should not harass the Secretary. I don't see the issue here - as long as a member is not too bothersome, he/she should be given access if possible. 2.B: In our constitution/by-laws, the duties of the secretary are described as the secretary shall keep a record, have charge of correspondence, notify members,notify officers of elections,keep a roll, and carry out other such duties as are described in these by-laws. Okay, nothing wrong there. However, I have seen the last part read as "and other duties as assigned." 2. C: Order of Business: minutes of last meeting. This is all that is in our constitution/by-laws. So I am up holding my job as secretary by going with my job description, and up holding the motions made and approved by the membership, and not giving out any of the minutes. I am catching flack all the time about this and I just keep telling them no. Again, what's wrong with providing a copy of the Minutes before the meeting? 1. She called for a board meeting this thursday to discuss the new constitution/by-laws (we are redoing it completely), and I told her because of a motion made at last months meeting, to not discuss the new constitution, until october, voted on by the entire membership and passed, we could not discuss it at all. She is in disagreement with me. As stated by Robert, the motion to "not discuss" was out of order. Anyway what is wrong with discussing this? 2. The motions made by the board to change my job discription, should have been taken to the membership and put in as an amendment? She said we do not have to take any motions made by the board to the membership. I disagree. Where in RONR do I go to back up what I am saying or am I wrong? If the Constitution is being updated, why not update the Secretary's description - also, normally a motion to have someone deal with an issue, as long as he/she does not disagree, would be in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted August 25, 2011 at 12:05 AM Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 at 12:05 AM 1. Motion made to have secretary NOT to blind copy any emails to members, and to include these to board members on every email.The motion appears to be in order based on the facts presented. 2. Motion made to send all minutes to all board members. The motion appears to be in order based on the facts presented. 2. A: Motion made at regular business meeting for all documents to be kept in house with the secretary, and if a need arises for anyone to look at them they may do so at her descretion. RONR states about not harassing secretary. The motion appears to be in order based on the facts presented. 1. She called for a board meeting this thursday to discuss the new constitution/by-laws (we are redoing it completely), and I told her because of a motion made at last months meeting, to not discuss the new constitution, until october, voted on by the entire membership and passed, we could not discuss it at all. She is in disagreement with me. The "not discuss" motion was not in order and is null and void as it interferes with the freedom of future sessions. It seems the President is correct. 2. The motions made by the board to change my job discription, should have been taken to the membership and put in as an amendment?Unless the orders of the board actually conflict with your current job description in the Bylaws, I don't believe that would be necessary.She said we do not have to take any motions made by the board to the membership. I disagree.Well, I think the President goes too far with that statement, but I think she's right about these particular motions.Where in RONR do I go to back up what I am saying or am I wrong? Unless I'm missing something, I think you are wrong about these particular motions. Nothing in RONR would prevent the board from giving extra duties to the Secretary. Now, if the board's orders actually conflict with the Bylaws (or with another rule or motion adopted by the membership), see RONR, 10th ed., pg. 106, lines 20-25; Official Interpretation 2006-12. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted August 25, 2011 at 12:22 AM Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 at 12:22 AM Ed and Josh...I might be a lone wolf on this, but anytime the question is parsed into a half-dozen or more boxes a piece makes it impossible to read, even if what you're saying is brilliant. Is there a better way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted August 25, 2011 at 12:25 AM Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 at 12:25 AM Is there a better way?What would you suggest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted August 25, 2011 at 12:31 AM Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 at 12:31 AM What would you suggest?Whatever you did on the old simple boring forum. I happen to value your responses because I think they're almost always spot on and intuitive but I'm sending you my bill for Excedrin.....poor Gary and Fluffy's brains are probably exploded all over Flatbush Avenue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted August 25, 2011 at 12:37 AM Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 at 12:37 AM Whatever you did on the old simple boring forum. I happen to value your responses because I think they're almost always spot on and intuitive but I'm sending you my bill for Excedrin.....poor Gary and Fluffy's brains are probably exploded all over Flatbush Avenue. If I recall correctly, I did essentially the same thing, but used ">>" and "<<" to enclose the quotations from the original post, since the fancy quoting technology was not available on the old forum.So is it mainly the addition of the blue quote box every few lines that is causing your headaches, rather than the division itself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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