Table it ?

[Guest Troy]

At my Fire Dept Relief meeting we had a motion with a second to purchase a ring for A Firefighter who had reached his 20 years.

Without and discussion the board Secretary blurted out “Table it”

We asked what’s up with this and the Board President said it is now tabled till next month.

Members asked how you can just do this without discussion and the president said anyone can table a matter at anytime.

The Secretary then said he felt uncomfortable discussing this at this time, and he was overwhelmed by the people that showed up to support this. So that’s why he tabled it.

I know the way this was handled was wrong, but I want to go back to the next meeting and inform the way it should have been.

A co-worker told me that when this comes up at the next meeting only those at the previous meeting should be the ones allowed to vote. Is this true?

Thanks in advance,

Troy

[Rev Ed]

Both the Presidend and the Secretary were wrong. It is up to the Board to decide what to do with the motion - and if the Board chooses to it can wait until next month to make a final decision, but only if it passes a motion to postpone definitely - in this case to postpone until the next meeting. Tabling is rarely in order, and only if a more impotant issue comes up that needs an immediate decision and then the first motion would be back under discussion.

[Dan Honemann]

A co-worker told me that when this comes up at the next meeting only those at the previous meeting should be the ones allowed to vote. Is this true?

No.

[Guest Jon]

Under Robert's Rules, a motion to "table" something has a meaning not intended by most people who move to table. The popular usage of this term differs from the Robert's Rules meaning.

Under Robert's Rules, a motion to lay the pending business on the table is appropriate when there is an urgent need to consider something else. If approved, the pending business is laid on the table, the urgent business can be considered, and when that is done someone makes a motion to take from the table the business that was laid upon it.

In practice, when most people make a motion to "table" something, they are not trying to do that, but rather something else that under Robert's Rules should really be done by a different motion. Typically, the peron who proposes tabling may mean to:

* Kill the pending business entirely, in which case they should make a motion to postpone indefinitely,

* Postpone the pending business to a fixed time, usually at a later meeting, in which case they should make a motion to postpone definitely, or

* Send the pending business to committee (or back to committee) in which case they should make a motion to commit (or recommit).

But any of these cases requires a motion adopted by the meeting, not just the agreement of the Secretary and President of the meeting.

[Trina]

,,,

anyone can table a matter at anytime.

...

only those at the previous meeting should be the ones allowed to vote.

...

Both statements are utter nonsense... as you have probably concluded by now .

[Gary Novosielski]

Members asked how you can just do this without discussion and the president said anyone can table a matter at anytime.

Rubbish. Anyone can move to table something, but it requires a second, and a majority vote. And it can later be taken from the table by another majority vote.

A co-worker told me that when this comes up at the next meeting only those at the previous meeting should be the ones allowed to vote. Is this true?

More rubbish. Doubly so, since it resembles no known rule within all of RONR, even remotely.