Is a guest at an Executive Board meeting supposed to make motions ?

[Sally Jean]

A recent uninvited guest at our monthly Executive Board meeting made a motion during a discussion...This person is a board member, but not on the Executive Committee.

Is it proper to allow such a motion of a non-member of the committee? or should the person wait until the regular monthly board meeting to do so..?

The motion was not seconded..so as secretary, I am not sure what to include in the minutes..or how to proceed. Thank you for any input...

[tctheatc]

If the person is a member of the body that is meeting, the person has rights to participate. A non-member does not, unless the body somehow grants him that permission.

[jstackpo]

And since the motion came from a completely improper source, there is no reason to include it in the minutes.

[Chris Harrison]

...However, as soon as the EC started considering the motion it is irrelevant who made the motion as far as to whether it is valid. The minutes should reflect what happened so they should state that a nonmember made the motion (stay tuned whether it is necessary to give the nonmember's name).

And since the motion came from a completely improper source, there is no reason to include it in the minutes.

If the EC considered the motion wouldn't it be valid no matter who made it? If so, wouldn't it need to be included in the minutes?

[Sally Jean]

The motion was considered..only as a suggestion.

Should said person be advised that she is not a member of this committee and only come to the meeting if she has a suggestion or is invited to make a proposal or specific comment?

She just shows up as if it were a regular board meeting..I think she is unaware she is not a member of this committee..

.If everyone on the regular board did that.we would be there all night....

[Trina]

The motion was considered..only as a suggestion.

If you mean that the motion never was placed before the assembly, don't bother including it in the minutes.

Should said person be advised that she is not a member of this committee and only come to the meeting if she has a suggestion or is invited to make a proposal or specific comment?

She just shows up as if it were a regular board meeting..I think she is unaware she is not a member of this committee..

.If everyone on the regular board did that.we would be there all night....

A non-member (of the body that is meeting) doesn't even have a right to attend without the permission of the body. By letting her attend regularly, you've tacitly given that permission. However, that doesn't obligate you to continue letting her attend -- if the committee would rather not have her there, the members should speak up.

A non-member can be allowed to attend by majority vote.

The rules can even be suspended to allow a non-member to make a motion (two-thirds vote required), should the assembly wish to allow this on occasion.

[Sally Jean]

Who should be the one to advise the lady? Our president?

I would have to be the one to tell him this.

Very few seem to be interested in following Robert's Rules or to refer to our By-laws/constitution.

[Trina]

See RONR (11th ed.) p. 648, the section entitled PROTECTION FROM ANNOYANCE BY NON-MEMBERS IN A MEETING; REMOVAL OF AN OFFENDER FROM THE HALL. It starts:

'Any nonmembers allowed in the hall during a meeting, as guests of the organization, have no rights with reference to the proceedings. An assembly has the right to protect itself from annoyance by nonmembers, and its full authority in this regard -- as distinguished from cases involving disorderly members -- can be exercised by the chair acting alone. The chair has the power to require nonmembers to leave the hall...'

If the chair does not want to be seen acting alone, the person could also be asked to leave by means of a motion (made by any member, and adopted by the group).

A (perhaps less direct) way, if the other members of the assembly are clearly tired of the extra guest, is to arrange for someone to make a motion 'to allow Ms. Butinsky to attend tonight's meeting as a guest'... and then to resoundingly vote down the motion. Of course, it would be more diplomatic, and less of a waste of her time, if she were clearly informed of the facts before showing up at the next meeting.

[Sally Jean]

Thank you very much for all the input. I greatly appreciate this forum.

I will relay this information to our president, and hopefully he will act upon it.

by our next meeting.

[jstackpo]

If you feel generous (and slightly affluent) get and give him a copy of...

RONRIB:

"Roberts Rules of Order Newly Revised In Brief", Updated Second Edition (Da Capo Press, Perseus Books Group, 2011). It is a splendid summary of all the rules you will really need in all but the most exceptional situations. And only $7.50! You can read it in an evening. Order it here.

You can tell him it is in celebration of the summer solstice. Or the 4th of July. Or something.

[Guest Nancy N.]

...If the chair does not want to be seen acting alone, the person could also be asked to leave by means of a motion (made by any member, and adopted by the group).

A (perhaps less direct) way, if the other members of the assembly are clearly tired of the extra guest, is to arrange for someone to make a motion 'to allow Ms. Butinsky to attend tonight's meeting as a guest'... and then to resoundingly vote down the motion. Of course, it would be more diplomatic, and less of a waste of her time, if she were clearly informed of the facts before showing up at the next meeting.

I think that the mere adoption of the motion would send the message clearly that Ms. Butinsky was in attendance at the sufferance (please nobody don't!) of the assembly. If nobody would mind if she sat quietly and observed, the EC can choose that, too. One would hope that Ms. Butinsky would be forewarned that if she continues to attend, any participation would not only be at the sufferance of the EC, but would actually require suspending the rules to allow a non-EC member to participate.

(It could be as simple as a script like this:

1. Butinsky starts to talk.

2 (a). The chair interrupts, advising Butinsky that she does not have the floor;

2 ( b ). A member promptly gets up, ideally cutting off the last couple of the chair's syllables, gets recognized, and moves that the rules be suspended to allow this non-member to speak for two minutes;

2 (c ) The chair advises the assembly of the motion, mentions the 2/3 vote threshold, and asks if there is no objection;

2. (d). There's no objection, and the chair cordially advises Butinsky that she has two minutes.

3. Alternatively to 2 (a), a member raises a point of order, pointing out the violation of the rules in Butinsky's speaking without permission, before the chair makes that point on his own.

4. Another wrinkle, to further emphasize the point, can be a member, serving as timekeeper, announcing when Butinsky's time is up, and a member promptly rises and asks for a further suspension to allow Butinsky another minute to finish.

All this assumes that the relaxed rules of procedure, for small boards, are being followed. Otherwise, nobody, member of the body or non-member like Butinsky, gets to say anything before being recognized by the chair in the first place.

(Not meaning to step on your toes, Trina.)

2 tries

[Sally Jean]

Mrs. Butinsky has already taken my name off my mailbox in the office, and put her own name up there because she is the new office manager and I am just the measly board secretary..

It's okay..next year she can be secretary and have all the fun of taking and typing minutes..

[Gary Novosielski]

A recent uninvited guest at our monthly Executive Board meeting made a motion during a discussion...This person is a board member, but not on the Executive Committee.

Is it proper to allow such a motion of a non-member of the committee? or should the person wait until the regular monthly board meeting to do so..?

The motion was not seconded..so as secretary, I am not sure what to include in the minutes..or how to proceed. Thank you for any input...

I'm confused. You say this was an executive board meeting, and that the person is a member of the board. So why wouldn't he be allowed to make a motion?

Or did you mean to say that this was an executive committee meeting?

[Sally Jean]

I did specify that this person is a member of the Board of trustees but she is NOT on the Executive Committee.

[Trina]

I think that the mere adoption of the motion would send the message clearly that Ms. Butinsky was in attendance at the sufferance (please nobody don't!) of the assembly. If nobody would mind if she sat quietly and observed, the EC can choose that, too. One would hope that Ms. Butinsky would be forewarned that if she continues to attend, any participation would not only be at the sufferance of the EC, but would actually require suspending the rules to allow a non-EC member to participate.

[snip]

(Not meaning to step on your toes, Trina.)

2 tries

I like your version better -- instructive to Butinsky, without being a slap in the face.

On the other hand, if this is the sort of assembly that normally engages in very little formal procedure (see post #7), someone (such as the chair) should probably just get up the nerve to have an informal chat with Ms. B in between meetings.

[Trina]

I'm confused. You say this was an executive board meeting, and that the person is a member of the board. So why wouldn't he be allowed to make a motion?

Or did you mean to say that this was an executive committee meeting?

I think post #5 clarified the situation; you're right that the original post is confusing as to which body was meeting.

[Sally Jean]

My original post said she was a member of the board but not the executive committee.

I do not want to embarass the person, so I think I will follow Trina's advice and tell the president to take her aside and

inform her of our rules as in the by-laws..Thanks you.

[Guest Edgar]

. . . you're right that the original post is confusing as to which body was meeting.

My original post said she was a member of the board but not the executive committee.

But you also said it was a meeting of the executive board, not the executive committee, and I think that's where the confusion began.

A recent uninvited guest at our monthly Executive Board meeting made a motion during a discussion...This person is a board member, but not on the Executive Committee.

[Sally Jean]

The Executive Board (Committee) in our organization consists of President, Vice-president,Treasurer,Secretary, and one person appointed from the "Board of Trustees". We use the terms synonymously as it is a board within a board ( We do not consider The Board of Trustees as being Executive)

\ I am sorry for the confusion..I should have been clearer.