Who Chairs a joint committee meeting? the inviting board chair?

[Guest Susan B]

Our committee invited the Board of Selectmen to a meeting to discuss budget- who would act as chair of the meeting? our chair or the chair of the board of selectmen?

[Gary Novosielski]

If the members of the board of selectmen are invited guests at your committee meeting, then the chair of the committee would, as always, chair the committee meeting.

[Guest Edgar]

And the guests won't be able to vote. There are no "joint meetings" in RONR-Land.

[Rev Ed]

If one Committee is invited to another meeting, then it is not a joint meeting.  It is only a joint meeting if both Committees are going to hold a meeting in the same place at the same time.  In such a case, if there is a member who serves on both Committees could be asked to Chair the meeting (with permission of both Chairmen and the Committees), or the Chairmen could agree amongst themselves.

[Josh Martin]

Our committee invited the Board of Selectmen to a meeting to discuss budget- who would act as chair of the meeting? our chair or the chair of the board of selectmen?

 

The chair of the committee.

 

It is only a joint meeting if both Committees are going to hold a meeting in the same place at the same time.  In such a case, if there is a member who serves on both Committees could be asked to Chair the meeting (with permission of both Chairmen and the Committees), or the Chairmen could agree amongst themselves.

 

There is no such thing in RONR as a "joint meeting." If an assembly wishes to accomplish such an objective, it will need to either develop appropriate special rules of order, create a new committee which consists of the members of both bodies, or hold a mass meeting and invite the members of both bodies. Who the chair would be depends on which of these options is used.

[Arthur541]

I know this post dates back.  I live in an HOA.  My manager just held a "Joint Meeting" of the board and a finance committee. Then she forbid any owners from participating or having any of the documents they were discussing.  I am thinking of filing a complaint against her.  

Seems like lots of organizations, including cities and counties are having "joint meetings"  now. How did that get started?  I don't see what they hope to accomplish.   The way I read RONR, there is no room for joint meetings, unless you can somehow suspend rules.  Even then, I dont see how the property manager can forbid owners from any participation or from having copies of documents being discussed.  

[Josh Martin]

1 hour ago, Arthur541 said:

Seems like lots of organizations, including cities and counties are having "joint meetings"  now. How did that get started?

I haven’t the slightest idea.

1 hour ago, Arthur541 said:

I don't see what they hope to accomplish.

I’d ask them. Some organizations want joint meeting in order to make a decision in one meeting instead of two. Others just want to enable more people to discuss the issue. The objective will help determine the best way to achieve this goal.

1 hour ago, Arthur541 said:

The way I read RONR, there is no room for joint meetings, unless you can somehow suspend rules

A suspension of the rules isn’t sufficient to accomplish a true “joint meeting.” It would still be a meeting of one of the two bodies, but the rules could be suspended to permit the members of the other body to make motions and speak in debate (but not to vote). Accomplishing a true joint meeting would require amendments to the society’s rules (the level of rules depends on which bodies are “jointly” meeting), the establishment of a special committee which includes the members of both bodies, or a mass meeting with the members of both bodies invited.

1 hour ago, Arthur541 said:

Even then, I dont see how the property manager can forbid owners from any participation or from having copies of documents being discussed.

This seems more like a legal issue than a parliamentary one. As a parliamentary matter, only the members of the body that is meeting have a right to attend, or to view any documents from the meeting (although whether to permit others to attend or to view these documents is up to the body, not the property manager). There may, however, be applicable laws in your state for HOAs on this subject. Such rules supersede RONR, and discussion of such rules is beyond the scope of RONR and this forum.

For future reference, please post a new question as a new topic, even if an existing topic is similar.