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can the Secretary opine?


wwdslovene

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The Chair (or President) of a board is not supposed to opine. Does the same restriction apply

to the Recording Secretary? Our organization is about to enact (we hope) a drastically revised

set of bylaws, and we would like everyone to have the opportunity to enter into any dialogue

or debate (except the Chair of course).

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The Secretary is under no obligation to keep his thoughts to himself in meetings (though the minutes he takes should only reflect what was done without any opinions included). Also, depending on the size of the Board the President may not have the duty to remain impartial. How many members does the Board have and typically how many attend the meetings?

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The Chair (or President) of a board is not supposed to opine. Does the same restriction apply

to the Recording Secretary? Our organization is about to enact (we hope) a drastically revised

set of bylaws, and we would like everyone to have the opportunity to enter into any dialogue

or debate (except the Chair of course).

In a small board (about a dozen), the chair is permitted to enter into debate.

There is no rule in RONR that prohibits the secretary from speaking in debate.

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The Chair (or President) of a board is not supposed to opine. Does the same restriction apply

to the Recording Secretary?

...

As a fairly opinionated recording secretary, I sure hope not :) .

Seriously, though, Chris H. summed it up well -- the secretary must be careful not to put his or her opinions into the minutes. However, that does not translate into any restriction on expressing opinions during a meeting. Sometimes, for practical reasons (being busy writing something down) the secretary has to pass up an opportunity to express an opinion, but that is in no way a restriction on that person's rights as a member of the assembly.

The fact that officers retain their membership rights is explicitly stated in the citation given by Mr. Mervosh.

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