Guest John Schrunk Posted May 10, 2012 at 04:46 PM Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 at 04:46 PM Our bylaws state the order of authority as, first the membership, second the board. It also states that RONR is to be used. Our board drafted a ballot to change many parts of the bylaws, one of which removed "nominations for the board shall be made from the floor at the annual association meeting" and replace it with nominations must be made 60 days prior to the meeting and a slate of nominees will be sent to members 30 prior to the meeting and members have the option to vote via e-mail 7 days prior to the meeting. Results will be announced by the president at the annual meeting.This was prior to the vote on changing our bylaws, which still allowed for nominations from the floor and one additional member was nominated from the floor. Votes were counted for both "absentees" who voted and those votes from members at the meeting.Our members apparently do not understand RONR. I have informed everyone why absentee and proxy voting is not allowed (because issues can and do change at the meeting. There have been many other issues handled by our board, this is only oneI've tried to explain, but I've been unsuccessful. Any pointers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted May 10, 2012 at 05:10 PM Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 at 05:10 PM In your opinion are the members unaware of the rules in RONR but would be willing to learn if someone were invited to teach them? Or are they perfectly happy with the way things are now and you would encounter substantial resistance if you tried to educate them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted May 10, 2012 at 05:16 PM Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 at 05:16 PM The latter. I have tried to explain, both individually and a few in a group. We are a homeowner/lake association-small, 52 homeowners (1 vote per home on the lake) and a great place, but I haven't found anyone who is familiar with RONR. They just want to let the board do whatever they feel they should. Our latest President held up the brief RONR at a board meeting and said that "if no one else wants this, throw it in the fire place". The board did nothing. With only a couple of exceptions, these are good people who simply do not understand the importance and do not want to spend the time to learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted May 10, 2012 at 05:39 PM Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 at 05:39 PM Unfortunately if almost everyone else is happy with the way things are going you as the individual member or a small group of members aren't going to have much success in trying to enforce the rules. One suggestion (though it is likely to get many people VERY irritated with you all pretty quickly) is to raise a prompt Point of Order whenever a rule is being broken (make sure to have your citations on hand) and if the President rules against it have one of your allies ready to second your Appeal (see RONR pp. 247-260 for discussion on Point of Order and Appeal). Maybe if it is done enough folks will start to do things correctly to keep you and your buddies in your seats . Another suggestion is since this is a HOA there might be applicable laws and/or agencies that you can utilize to get them to follow the rules.I think this is a situation where you need to choose your battles wisely. If things are going smoothly and no one is getting hurt and no one's rights are being violated it might be just as well to leave things alone (I know I know I am probably going to go down in flames for saying that ). You of course could press the issue and you may end up getting what you want but it could end up being a Pyrrhic victory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted May 10, 2012 at 06:15 PM Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 at 06:15 PM You have grasped this very well and your reply is dead-on. I don't really want to involve any authorities unless there's something very dire. My concern is that this board has been able to gradually migrate authority from the membership to the board. In the future, with new members on the board, that could raise havoc. I guess I was hoping someone might have something I could send to members that's brief, albeit so well stated, that it might hit home with a majority of members. Obviously, I haven't been able to construct such a magic wand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted May 10, 2012 at 06:30 PM Report Share Posted May 10, 2012 at 06:30 PM I have informed everyone why absentee and proxy voting is not allowed . . .But that's not to say that there may not be instances where either or both is desirable. Remember that RONR is the low man on the parliamentary totem pole. It's where you start, not where you end up.Elections, in particular, seem to warrant the allowance of absentee voting. The options (i.e. nominees) usually are (or can be) fixed in advance and the goal of maximizing voter participation is seen as outweighing any concerns about being present at the meeting (i.e. on "Election Day"). If you've ever cast an absentee ballot in a governmental election (or know someone who has) I'm sure you appreciated the opportunity to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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