Tammy Ray Posted June 30, 2017 at 07:22 PM Report Share Posted June 30, 2017 at 07:22 PM We are a 501(c)3 philanthropic organization. Our Bylaws state that the membership is required to be notified 20 days in advance of any meetings, financial voting, etc. The membership was notified 20 days in advance that they would be voting on the upcoming fiscal year budget. However, the budget was not attached for review. Just the notification that they were voting on it. The budget was sent to the membership approximately 6 hours prior to the meeting. The discussion is whether or not the motion to approve the budget was legitimate if the membership did not have the opportunity to review prior to voting. Insight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Mervosh Posted June 30, 2017 at 07:39 PM Report Share Posted June 30, 2017 at 07:39 PM Here is how RONR defines previous notice of a motion - "The term previous notice (or notice), as applied to necessary conditions for the adoption of certain motions, has a particular meaning in parliamentary law. A requirement of previous notice means that announcement that the motion will be introduced—indicating its exact content as described below—must be included in the call of the meeting (p. 4) at which the motion will be brought up, or, as a permissible alternative, if no more than a quarterly time interval (see pp. 89–90) will have elapsed since the preceding meeting, the announcement must be made at the preceding meeting." RONR (11th ed.), p. 121 It appears announcing it at a meeting isn't an option for your group, but you can look at exactly what your bylaws say and see if it seems to fit what RONR has in mind for previous notice. If you feel your rule has been violated, raise a point of order as soon as the motion is made to adopt the budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jstackpo Posted June 30, 2017 at 07:44 PM Report Share Posted June 30, 2017 at 07:44 PM Since RONR doesn't go into the sort of detail you are asking about (see "Previous Notice" on p. 121), it will be up to the members assembled at the meeting to decide whether the notice they did get was adequate, when the motion to adopt the budget is offered. If a member is unhappy he/she can raise a point of order, as George M. points out -- see p. 247 for all the details about that process. Eventually a majority will decide what to do next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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