Guest Allan Posted January 31, 2012 at 11:57 AM Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 at 11:57 AM Can a board member be re-instated without a vote?I ask because we have a board member that was voted to be removed two years ago. Now he has attended our last two meetings as if they are back on the board. He claims that there was some discussion on him being re-instated, but there is nothing in our minutes to prove so. Any discussion concerning his re-instatement must have been after one of our meetings with a few select board members.My agrument is that is without a vote to re-instate, then he cannot "officially" be re-instated as a board member.Doesn't robert's rule of order protect something like this from happening?Thanks, Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Foulkes Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:10 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:10 PM Can a board member be re-instated without a vote?I ask because we have a board member that was voted to be removed two years ago. Now he has attended our last two meetings as if they are back on the board. He claims that there was some discussion on him being re-instated, but there is nothing in our minutes to prove so. Any discussion concerning his re-instatement must have been after one of our meetings with a few select board members.My agrument is that is without a vote to re-instate, then he cannot "officially" be re-instated as a board member.Doesn't robert's rule of order protect something like this from happening?Thanks, AllanIf he was properly removed from the board (you'll be the judge of that, I'll take you're word for it), and if your bylaws don't include a process to "re-instate" that was also properly followed, then I'd say he's not on the board. I'll assume one gets on the board by election or by a vacancy-filling appointment perhaps. If neither of these has taken place, then he's not back on the board. But I haven't been keeping an eye on things over there, so you tell me.Robert's does include a brief mention using the word reinstatement, on p. 308 in the section found between lines 24 an 30.Do your rules even include a re-instatement procedure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Allan Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:22 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:22 PM The bi-laws do not call out a procedure for re-instatement.They are also 100 years old and do not specificly call out a voting procedure for board members.They simply list the requirements for being a board member, and requires that the board members are elected.So wouldn't that last requirement mean a vote is required for all elected board members? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Foulkes Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:41 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:41 PM The bi-laws do not call out a procedure for re-instatement.They are also 100 years old and do not specificly call out a voting procedure for board members.They simply list the requirements for being a board member, and requires that the board members are elected.So wouldn't that last requirement mean a vote is required for all elected board members?Well, you're not going to suck is into bylaw interpretation that easily. It's frowned upon here, and the best I can do is point you to RONR (11th Ed.) page 588 and beyond for some helpful insights into figuring it all out.But do your bylaws also cover removal of a board member, as happened to Mr. X in question? And have your bylaws in fact not been revised or updated at all since the early 20th century? My my my. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Ralph Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:44 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:44 PM I suspect you are at risk of finding that this member was never validly removed two years ago. What do your bylaws say about removal of board members? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Allan Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:54 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 at 12:54 PM Our bi-laws to do not specificaly call out a removal process.He was voted to be removed from the board for lack of participation.He did not attend or participate in a meeting until Nov. 2011.All of our meetings are open to the public, so it was mever clarified if he was attending as board member or patron of facility.Since all of our members were nominated and voted upon to receive board member status, i'm assuming the same would be required for this board member.I wasn't sure if robert's rule of order had a voting procedure requirement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Foulkes Posted January 31, 2012 at 01:10 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 at 01:10 PM Our bi-laws to do not specificaly call out a removal process.Then it may be that he wasn't actually "removed."He was voted to be removed from the board for lack of participation.He did not attend or participate in a meeting until Nov. 2011.RONR has no requirements for attendance, and little to say on participation. Do your bylaws?All of our meetings are open to the public, so it was [n]ever clarified if he was attending as board member or patron of facility.Well, this seems to cast a shadow on the third sentence of your original post.Since all of our members were nominated and voted upon to receive board member status, i'm assuming the same would be required for this board member.There are other ways of becoming a board member, but it's a fair assumption to start from.I wasn't sure if robert's rule of order had a voting procedure requirement?It comes up here and there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Allan Posted January 31, 2012 at 01:20 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 at 01:20 PM Our bi-laws do call out that a board member may be removed for lack of participation.If a board member is absent from 3 consecutive meetings without reasonable excuse, than they are eligible to be removed.This board member missed over 3 years of meetings, and we voted to have him removed.He was never voted to be re-instated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Ralph Posted January 31, 2012 at 02:23 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 at 02:23 PM "They are eligible to be removed"? Is that a direct quotation? Who decides if they're going to be removed once eligible? The gardener? The FLOTUS? The King of Norway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Wynn Posted January 31, 2012 at 02:39 PM Report Share Posted January 31, 2012 at 02:39 PM "They are eligible to be removed"? Is that a direct quotation? Who decides if they're going to be removed once eligible? The gardener? The FLOTUS? The King of Norway?Without any specification otherwise, the authority would be vested in the assembly of the society.... or the Princess of Finland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted February 1, 2012 at 12:23 AM Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 at 12:23 AM Robert's does include a brief mention using the word reinstatement, on p. 308 in the section found between lines 24 an 30.Yeah, but that's about reinstatement of members of the society.Our bi-laws to do not specificaly call out a removal process.He was voted to be removed from the board for lack of participation.He did not attend or participate in a meeting until Nov. 2011.All of our meetings are open to the public, so it was mever clarified if he was attending as board member or patron of facility.Since all of our members were nominated and voted upon to receive board member status, i'm assuming the same would be required for this board member.I wasn't sure if robert's rule of order had a voting procedure requirement?It's still not entirely clear that the board member was validly removed, but since you say he missed over three years of meetings and that he was removed two years ago, I imagine the board member's term is over by now anyway, so questions of "removal" and "reinstatement" are likely moot at this point.The board member may be elected by the society during the next regular election of board members or he may be elected by the society to fill a vacancy (unless your Bylaws provide some other method for filling vacancies). In either case, see RONR, 11th ed., pgs. 438-446 for more information on elections. The threshold for election is majority vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Foulkes Posted February 1, 2012 at 12:40 AM Report Share Posted February 1, 2012 at 12:40 AM Robert's does include a brief mention using the word reinstatement, on p. 308 in the section found between lines 24 an 30.Yeah, but that's about reinstatement of members of the society.Well, that section does refer to expulsion from membership or office, and the mention of reinstatement doesn't refer singularly to expulsion from membership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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