Guest Preston Posted March 5, 2013 at 09:23 PM Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 at 09:23 PM Good afternoon. Here is the situation:Committee has been meeting for several years. For whatever reason, but most likely simple ignorance, some ex-officio members of the committee have not been participating in the committee meetings and decisions. New ex-officio member now wants to make null and void all the decisions made by the committee over the last few years because those other ex-officio members were not present or "invited" to the meeting.This is a committee of 12 (6 regulars members and 6 ex-officio members) in a small organization.Is there not some responsibility of the ex-officio members to inquire as to the committee's meetings?Your input is appreciated!Thank you,Preston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted March 5, 2013 at 09:28 PM Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 at 09:28 PM If a meeting notice is going out it needs to go out to all of the members, regular and ex-officio. Is the committee taking final action for the group, or is it simply making recommendations to the organization for their approval? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Ed Posted March 5, 2013 at 09:28 PM Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 at 09:28 PM What basis is this one member using that the other members have not been receiving notice? If the ex-officio members choose not to attend the meetings then it is their choice and if quorum is present business can still occur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkunda Posted March 5, 2013 at 10:54 PM Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 at 10:54 PM It seems the committee was not aware of the ex-officio members; The committee primarily makes recommendations to the organization for approval.An issue is are the previous actions of the committee null and void IF the ex-officio members were not given notice? This is a time frame of several years.Citations would be appreciated.Thank you,Preston Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted March 5, 2013 at 11:06 PM Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 at 11:06 PM Invalidating the actions is pointless since it doesn't invalidate the actions taken be the organization. Just get it right from now on. Ct1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rthib Posted March 5, 2013 at 11:11 PM Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 at 11:11 PM To be clear, were none of the ex-officio members given notice? And did you always have every other member there?If your committee is 12 people and only 5 or fewer attended, you may have quorum issues.If only 6 of the 12 people were given notice, you may have issues.That said, if the only actions of the group are advisory, then that action can not invalidate the actions of the larger group.But if there were things done that are the sole responsibility of this committee, then you might have issues.Take a look at RONR p. 251 which discusses timeliness requirement (and items that don't require it).Not giving notice to half of the membership would seem to fall in the violation of basic rights of a member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkunda Posted March 5, 2013 at 11:24 PM Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 at 11:24 PM Ex-officio members in this case do not count towards the quorum, so that is not an issue here.Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted March 6, 2013 at 02:17 AM Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 at 02:17 AM That said, if the only actions of the group are advisory, then that action can not invalidate the actions of the larger group.But if there were things done that are the sole responsibility of this committee, then you might have issues.It would also be a minor issue if there are currently any items which the committee has decided to report to the organization, but has not yet done so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Lages Posted March 6, 2013 at 02:59 AM Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 at 02:59 AM Just out of curiosity, since you have six 'regular' members and six ex officio members who do not count towards a quorum, how is your committee's quorum defined? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted March 6, 2013 at 03:07 AM Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 at 03:07 AM Just out of curiosity, since you have six 'regular' members and six ex officio members who do not count towards a quorum, how is your committee's quorum defined?Ex-officio members in this case do not count towards the quorum, so that is not an issue here.Apparently, the ex-officio members in question are not under the authority of the society.Which does explain how the society and the ex-officio members themselves didn't remember this until now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted March 6, 2013 at 03:10 AM Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 at 03:10 AM Ex-officio members in this case do not count towards the quorumIs that because your bylaws say so or just because you've never counted them?The fact that the committee didn't even know it had (six!) ex-officio members (and, presumably, the six ex-officio members didn't know they were members) suggests a disturbing level of ignorance.pJU95F Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted March 6, 2013 at 03:12 AM Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 at 03:12 AM Is that because your bylaws say so or just because you've never counted them?It could also be that RONR says so - the six members might not be under the authority of the society. Or perhaps one them is the President, who serves as an ex-officio member on all committees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Edgar Posted March 6, 2013 at 03:13 AM Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 at 03:13 AM Apparently, the ex-officio members in question are not under the authority of the society.Well, that's only apparent if you assume this organization is aware of this particular nuance of parliamentary law. Frankly, it seems unlikely. Six?8n53R4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Lages Posted March 6, 2013 at 03:18 AM Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 at 03:18 AM Let's hope that Preston will come back and clarify these issues. Preston? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkunda Posted March 6, 2013 at 07:27 PM Report Share Posted March 6, 2013 at 07:27 PM Hi. Sorry for the delay in responding.This organization and its leaders have nominal knowledge of Robert's Rules, though their bylaws specifically choose it for meetings, etc.As with many smaller organizations, Parlimentary procedure seems to be utilized when someone wishes to use to accomplish their particular purpose. Very informal meetings have now become the subject of heated discussion. I apologize, but I do not have the file with me to answer your particular questions.Thank you for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.