Requiring the Executive Committee to report to the board

[Guest Motti]

Hello all,

 

The executive committee of our association does not currently give a report to the board as a whole. The actions taken in executive committee meetings are thus seldom known about by the rest of the board.

 

I, as a board member, want to make a motion that the executive committee be required, at each board meeting, to report all of its actions taken since the last board meeting (man that was quite the split infinitive). However, making this motion seems to me to give a sense of legitimacy to the way the executive committee has been proceeding before. I believe it needs to be clearly understood by everyone involved that the methods before were not appropriate. Furthermore, it seems of absurd to me to make a motion that basically states "The executive committee shall follow the rules to which it is bound according to the bylaws and Robert's Rules."

 

How do I bring up this issue at the meeting in a way that does not make it appear as if the current practice is acceptable, or in a way that the board does not need to make a motion simply to commit to following it's own rules?

 

Thank you for any advice.

 

 

[Josh Martin]

The executive committee of our association does not currently give a report to the board as a whole. The actions taken in executive committee meetings are thus seldom known about by the rest of the board.

 

I, as a board member, want to make a motion that the executive committee be required, at each board meeting, to report all of its actions taken since the last board meeting (man that was quite the split infinitive). However, making this motion seems to me to give a sense of legitimacy to the way the executive committee has been proceeding before. I believe it needs to be clearly understood by everyone involved that the methods before were not appropriate. Furthermore, it seems of absurd to me to make a motion that basically states "The executive committee shall follow the rules to which it is bound according to the bylaws and Robert's Rules."

 

How do I bring up this issue at the meeting in a way that does not make it appear as if the current practice is acceptable, or in a way that the board does not need to make a motion simply to commit to following it's own rules?

 

If you want the board to follow the existing rules, you could raise a Point of Order that the Executive Committee is required to report to the board, and Appeal from the decision of the chair if necessary. It would also be appropriate to make a motion to censure the Executive Committee for failing to report to the board.

 

I would note, however, that while the Executive Committee is required to report to the board, what that report might contain and how often it is given can vary widely from organization to organization. If you want the Executive Committee "at each board meeting, to report all of its actions taken since the last board meeting," then you should still make a motion to that effect.

[Chris Harrison]

If the Executive Committee hasn't been instructed to report what they are doing to the Board I don't see what they are doing wrong (though there probably is more to the situation that you aren't telling us).  Isn't it possible that the EC doesn't think there is anything worthy of reporting to the Board and if the Board wanted a report they would ask for one (maybe they think they are being courteous by not taking up the Board's time with things the Board wouldn't be interested in)?  If the Board want reports they merely need to adopt a motion instructing the EC to do so and how often to give the report.  Telling them what the Board wants and expects lends neither legitimacy nor illegitimacy to what the EC has done in the past.

 

If the EC has been instructed (by the Board or bylaws) how often they are to make a report and have failed to do so I don't see why the Board couldn't adopt a resolution first chiding the EC for not reporting when they are supposed to do so and then directing them to perform their duties as the bylaws (and/or Board) have directed.

[Josh Martin]

If the Executive Committee hasn't been instructed to report what they are doing to the Board I don't see what they are doing wrong (though there probably is more to the situation that you aren't telling us).  Isn't it possible that the EC doesn't think there is anything worthy of reporting to the Board and if the Board wanted a report they would ask for one (maybe they think they are being courteous by not taking up the Board's time with things the Board wouldn't be interested in)?  If the Board want reports they merely need to adopt a motion instructing the EC to do so and how often to give the report.  Telling them what the Board wants and expects lends neither legitimacy nor illegitimacy to what the EC has done in the past.

 

If the EC has been instructed (by the Board or bylaws) how often they are to make a report and have failed to do so I don't see why the Board couldn't adopt a resolution first chiding the EC for not reporting when they are supposed to do so and then directing them to perform their duties as the bylaws (and/or Board) have directed.

 

If the EC has simply not been reporting as much (or as often) as the board would prefer, that's one thing. The original post suggests, however, that the EC has not been reporting at all, which I don't think is appropriate, even if the board has not instructed the EC on how often or how much it should report. It strains belief to think that the EC honestly believes that nothing it ever does would be of interest to the board.

[Guest Motti]

If the Executive Committee hasn't been instructed to report what they are doing to the Board I don't see what they are doing wrong (though there probably is more to the situation that you aren't telling us).  Isn't it possible that the EC doesn't think there is anything worthy of reporting to the Board and if the Board wanted a report they would ask for one (maybe they think they are being courteous by not taking up the Board's time with things the Board wouldn't be interested in)?  If the Board want reports they merely need to adopt a motion instructing the EC to do so and how often to give the report.  Telling them what the Board wants and expects lends neither legitimacy nor illegitimacy to what the EC has done in the past.

 

If the EC has been instructed (by the Board or bylaws) how often they are to make a report and have failed to do so I don't see why the Board couldn't adopt a resolution first chiding the EC for not reporting when they are supposed to do so and then directing them to perform their duties as the bylaws (and/or Board) have directed.

 

The EC has made several decisions in the name of the board: setting policy for handling money for staff members of the organization, policies for usage of the organization's facilities, evaluation of employees, setting employee salaries, and approving expenditures on promotional materials. And these are only the actions I know about through other avenues, because they literally report nothing. Not one of the actions I mentioned was specifically allowed to the e committee in our bylaws, and not one of these issues was delegated by the board to the e committee. The executive committee takes up the issues it wishes, acts on them, and tells the board nothing about them, unless someone on the board makes a motion that would interfere with something the executive committee already took it upon itself to decide.

 

[Josh Martin]

Not one of the actions I mentioned was specifically allowed to the e committee in our bylaws, and not one of these issues was delegated by the board to the e committee.

 

Well, it doesn't necessarily need to be specifically allowed. Your bylaws might grant the Executive Committee "full power and authority over the affairs of the Society between meetings of the board," or something along those lines.

 

If the Executive Committee is, in fact, acting beyond its authority, that's a much bigger problem. I recommend FAQ #20.

[Guest motti]

 This is the statement from our bylaws regarding the executive committee:

The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors shall be made up of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. This Committee shall have such power to act between meetings of the Board as may be delegated by the Board and to make decisions necessitated by emergencies.       

 

Let's say I make a motion that "At board meetings, the executive committee shall make a report of its activity since the last board meeting.

 

If this motion fails, and it looks like on page 487 the RONR only says that the executive committee "should" make a report, how do I as a board member find out if the executive committee is indeed only acting on what is delegated, and that those actions in taken in the name of an emergency could not have waited until the next board meeting? Am I out of luck at that point?

 

  

[Josh Martin]

 This is the statement from our bylaws regarding the executive committee:

The Executive Committee of the Board of Directors shall be made up of the President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary. This Committee shall have such power to act between meetings of the Board as may be delegated by the Board and to make decisions necessitated by emergencies.       

 

Let's say I make a motion that "At board meetings, the executive committee shall make a report of its activity since the last board meeting.

 

If this motion fails, and it looks like on page 487 the RONR only says that the executive committee "should" make a report, how do I as a board member find out if the executive committee is indeed only acting on what is delegated, and that those actions in taken in the name of an emergency could not have waited until the next board meeting? Am I out of luck at that point?  

 

I think you're pretty much out of luck until you get board members who are willing to do their jobs, yeah. You could make that same motion at a meeting of the general membership, but I don't know that it would do any good. If the board is unwilling to even require that the Executive Committee make regular reports about the EC's activities, I'm not sure they'll be that willing to do anything about those reports when they get them.