Parliamentarian Hired by Board for Election Meeting

[SKelly1313]

The annual meeting and election for board of directors is coming up for our club. 

 

Recent minutes from the board stated: "A motion was made to hire a professional parliamentarian to attend and advise the Board of Directors at our next club meeting. The motion was adopted."

 

The election is expected to be contentious, and the current board wants to retain power. They disallowed voting from the membership at a special meeting, and many members are concerned that hiring a parliamentarian to "advise the Board" is intended to disempower the membership.

 

Members intend to ask for the credentials of the parliamentarian ahead of time, but not sure if we will get the information.

 

Questions:

 

1. What should we expect in having an outside parliamentarian attend our annual meeting and election?

 

2. What rights does the membership have to review the credentials of a parliamentarian hired with club money?

 

3. Is it permitted to have an outside advisor attend a closed meeting of the membership?

 

4. If the membership present feels that the advisor is biased toward the board, what recourse do we have?

 

I would hope that having a parliamentarian present would be beneficial to all, but we are concerned about the motives of the current board.

 

Thank you very much for your attention.

 

Shannon 

[Josh Martin]

The election is expected to be contentious, and the current board wants to retain power. They disallowed voting from the membership at a special meeting, and many members are concerned that hiring a parliamentarian to "advise the Board" is intended to disempower the membership.

If this is parliamentarian is associated with either the National Association of Parliamentarians or American Institute of Parliamentarians, this should not be a concern.

1. What should we expect in having an outside parliamentarian attend our annual meeting and election?

The role of the parliamentarian is primarily to advise the chair on the proper application of parliamentary procedure, including the parliamentary authority and the society's own rules. On especially involved questions, the parliamentarian might be asked to address the assembly directly.

2. What rights does the membership have to review the credentials of a parliamentarian hired with club money?

Individual members have no rights in this regard, but it doesn't hurt to ask. I would imagine such a request would normally be readily agreed to, as it is in everyone's best interest for the members to trust the parliamentarian. If such a request is refused, the membership may adopt a motion on the subject.

3. Is it permitted to have an outside advisor attend a closed meeting of the membership?

Only with the membership's permission.

4. If the membership present feels that the advisor is biased toward the board, what recourse do we have?

The membership can order him to be removed from the hall. You might still have to pay the fee the board has agreed to - that's more of a legal issue than a parliamentary one. If the parliamentarian is associated with NAP or AIP, you could also file an ethics complaint with his organization.

[SKelly1313]

Thank you so much for your speedy and thorough reply, Mr. Martin! I'm so impressed with this forum. It's wonderful to have access to experts that are so willing to share info.

 

Could you expand a bit on "Only with the membership's permission." By that, you are referring to the steps that we could take to ask to remove the parliamentarian from the hall? I hope it does not even approach that, but would like to be clear. 

[Josh Martin]

Could you expand a bit on "Only with the membership's permission." By that, you are referring to the steps that we could take to ask to remove the parliamentarian from the hall? I hope it does not even approach that, but would like to be clear.

It depends on the circumstances. Generally speaking, I would presume that the membership wishes for a parliamentarian who has been hired for the meeting to be present, so I would generally say that the parliamentarian should be present unless he is asked to leave.

If the assembly enters executive session during its meeting, however, I would say the parliamentarian should leave unless he is asked to stay.

[Edgar Guest]

The annual meeting and election for board of directors is coming up for our club. 

 

Recent minutes from the board stated: "A motion was made to hire a professional parliamentarian to attend and advise the Board of Directors at our next club meeting. The motion was adopted."

 

 

I'm not at all sure that the Board can hire a parliamentarian to serve at a meeting of the general membership.

 

In any case, the parliamentarian certainly can't "advise the Board" at such a meeting since the Board, as a board, wont be there.

[Richard Brown]

I agree with Mr. Martin's thorough response.  Based on your comments about the behavior of the board, I believe that a knowledgeable parliamentarian, especially one accredited through either AIP or NAP, would do more to protect the rights of the membership than you expect.  He will almost certainly have familiarized himself with your bylaws (or certainly should do so) unless he has been hired for the very limited purpose of advising solely on RONR. 

 

I'm concerned about this statement in your first post:  "The election is expected to be contentious, and the current board wants to retain power. They disallowed voting from the membership at a special meeting, and many members are concerned that hiring a parliamentarian to "advise the Board" is intended to disempower the membership."  

 

Could you elaborate a bit on your statement that "they disallowed voting from the membership at a special meeting"?   What type meeting was it.... a board meeting or a general membership meeting?   How did they disallow voting by the membership if it was a membership meeting?   What type motion was it that the board would not allow the members to vote on?  Was it a motion on a matter not included in the call of the meeting?  .

[Josh Martin]

I'm not at all sure that the Board can hire a parliamentarian to serve at a meeting of the general membership.

RONR notes that if a parliamentarian is needed, the chair should be free to appoint one in whom he has confidence. So long as the board is authorized to approve the fee (which would not be unusual), I don't see a problem. The membership is ultimately free to order the parliamentarian to be removed, if it wishes to do so.

Speaking from personal experience, the decision to hire a parliamentarian is usually made by the board, with the task of selecting the particular parliamentarian delegated to an officer or staff member.

[Tom Coronite]

Could you elaborate a bit on your statement that "they disallowed voting from the membership at a special meeting"?   What type meeting was it.... a board meeting or a general membership meeting?   

 

Certainly in "RONR Land" it would be one or the other. Unfortunately, it seems far too common that organizations create a third option where a board runs a membership meeting.  SKelly1313, is that what you have?

[Richard Brown]

If you have the name of the parliamentarian, you easily find out if he is accredited by or even a member of either AIP or NAP by contacting  the two groups or checking their websites.  By the way, many very good and highly qualified parliamentarians are not members of or accredited by either group, but the accreditation does give you some  degree of confidence that the person is qualified.  Becoming accredited by those organizations isn't easy.

 

Here is the contact information for both groups:

 

National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP)
213 South Main St.
Independence, MO  64050-3850
Phone: 888-627-2929
e-mail: hq@NAP2.org  
www.parliamentarians.org

 

American Institute of Parliamentarians (AIP)
618 Church Street, Ste 220
Nashville, TN 37219
Phone: 888-664-0428
e-mail: aip@aipparl.org

www.aipparl.org

 

(Edited to add the website of AIP which I inadvertently left off of my copy and paste).

 

[George Mervosh]

Speaking from personal experience, the decision to hire a parliamentarian is usually made by the board, with the task of selecting the particular parliamentarian delegated to an officer or staff member.

 

This is absolutely the most common way one gets hired.

[SKelly1313]

I'm concerned about this statement in your first post:  "The election is expected to be contentious, and the current board wants to retain power. They disallowed voting from the membership at a special meeting, and many members are concerned that hiring a parliamentarian to "advise the Board" is intended to disempower the membership."  

 

Could you elaborate a bit on your statement that "they disallowed voting from the membership at a special meeting"?   What type meeting was it.... a board meeting or a general membership meeting?   How did they disallow voting by the membership if it was a membership meeting?   What type motion was it that the board would not allow the members to vote on?  Was it a motion on a matter not included in the call of the meeting?  .

 

Dear Mr. Brown, 

 

I consulted this group about the Special Meeting previously in this thread: http://robertsrules.forumflash.com/index.php?/topic/25098-voting-at-a-special-meeting/?view=findpost&p=140926

 

I came to accept the responses that we didn't word our petition for a Special Meeting correctly, so the Board was able to block all motions, etc. from happening. That said, they did not run the meeting as a regular meeting. It was not called to order, and they didn't take minutes. They treated it as some informal gathering where they shared some info with the membership. After the meeting they sent a scolding email to the membership saying there would be a "no tolerance" policy for any antics, because they didn't like the membership making demands of them. They said they are responsible for the business of the club, and they don't have to explain themselves to the membership.

 

So we are trying to win the upcoming election (5 of 10 BOD members up for election). We are worried that they will try to use the parliamentarian against us, because they pulled out a letter from a lawyer at the "special non-meeting" to tell us we can't vote at the meeting or tell them  how to conduct business. Very frustrating situation.

 

Best,

Shannon 

[SKelly1313]

To be clear, this is the upcoming meeting where the parliamentarian will presumably be present: "Section 1. Annual Meeting. The annual Meeting of the Club shall be held in the greater XXXX area within the first three weeks of the month of June each year, at such hour and place as may be designated by the Board of Directors. Members shall be notified in writing by the Secretary of each such meeting at least fourteen days prior to the date of the meeting. The quorum for such meetings shall be 15% of the voting members in good standing."

[Tom Coronite]

That sounds like a membership meeting. As noted in post #5, the board as a board is not present at such a meeting. But other things you've said seem to indicate the board does indeed exist at and runs those meetings.

[Richard Brown]

That sounds like a membership meeting. As noted in post #5, the board as a board is not present at such a meeting. But other things you've said seem to indicate the board does indeed exist at and runs those meetings.

That absolutely should not be happening, though, and the board has no authority to do it, unless there is a very strange bylaw provision giving the board the power to do this at a general membership meeting. 

[Tom Coronite]

Agreed!