Meeting cancellations

[Guest Dave]

Can the chairman of an elected commission with an agreed and published meeting schedule unilaterally cancel a scheduled meeting?

[Joshua Katz]

Probably not, but look to your relevant statutes as this is an elected body.

[Transpower]

Is this an emergency situation???

[Guest JH222]

Followup question -- if the organizations founding documents are silent on the ability to cancel a regularly scheduled or special meeting, can the chair cancel a meeting?

[Richard Brown]

10 minutes ago, Guest JH222 said:

Followup question -- if the organizations founding documents are silent on the ability to cancel a regularly scheduled or special meeting, can the chair cancel a meeting?

No, unless some superior document or state law gives him that power.

[Guest Dave guest]

This is not an emergency situation. 

 

[Richard Brown]

RONR does not give anyone the authority to cancel a properly scheduled meeting. Such authority would have to be in the organization's governing documents or controlling law. 

However, as a practical matter, if the chairman announces that a meeting has been canceled and everyone takes him at his word and nobody (or less than a quorum) shows up, the meeting has pretty effectively been canceled.

Now, if a quorum shows up anyway, those present can have the meeting regardless of the "cancelation notice" and regardless of whether the chairman is there. That is the risk of trying to cancel a properly scheduled meeting.

[Guest Delegate guy]

Would it make sense to add a propose bylaw that requires 75% (debatable) of the original members to cancel the meeting? As long as the meeting met all other requirements for calling it in the first place it should be protected from a cancelation. I think this protects the minority that called the meeting in the first place. Any suggestions?

[Gary Novosielski]

12 hours ago, Richard Brown said:

RONR does not give anyone the authority to cancel a properly scheduled meeting. Such authority would have to be in the organization's governing documents or controlling law. 

Not any one, but certainly if the meeting was scheduled by an assembly, that body could reschedule or un-schedule its meetings via the motion to Rescind / Amend Something Previously Adopted.

The problem of course is that this would have to be done at a valid meeting, which makes last-minute cancellations problematic.

 

23 minutes ago, Guest Delegate guy said:

Would it make sense to add a propose bylaw that requires 75% (debatable) of the original members to cancel the meeting? As long as the meeting met all other requirements for calling it in the first place it should be protected from a cancelation. I think this protects the minority that called the meeting in the first place. Any suggestions?

Well, it's very well protected from cancellation right now. And as I noted above, any voting would have to be done in a meeting, so it would not be of much use if there is no intervening meeting between "now" and the meeting you're trying  to cancel (or keep from canceling).

Also what do you mean by "original members"?  The right to vote applies to all members.

[Guest Who's Coming to Dinner]

Seems unnecessary to me. Regular meetings cannot be canceled outside a meeting. Special meetings cannot be canceled except (perhaps) by the calling authority.

[Guest Delegate guy]

 

23 minutes ago, Gary Novosielski said:

Also what do you mean by "original members"?  The right to vote applies to all members.

I meant the members who called the special meeting in the first place. 

It does sound unnecessary based on your comments. Thanks!

[Richard Brown]

11 hours ago, Guest Who's Coming to Dinner said:

. . . . Special meetings cannot be canceled except (perhaps) by the calling authority.

I don't think the "calling authority " can cancel one either unless authorized by an appropriate rule. 

This has been the subject of much discussion in this forum, but I think the response by Shmuel Gerber in what I believe post # 5 in this thread (please give us back post numbers!) provides the correct answer: 

 

[Joshua Katz]

39 minutes ago, Richard Brown said:

I don't think the "calling authority " can cancel one either unless authorized by an appropriate rule. 

 

I agree.  I also question how they could in practice.  What if the "calling authority" is the board - how will it act without a meeting (unless there are special provisions laid out)?