Joshua Katz Posted April 12, 2018 at 02:28 AM Report Share Posted April 12, 2018 at 02:28 AM I repeat my question - why does the board just listen and do as they're told? Just make your motion. Someone will say it's out of order. Appeal the ruling of the chair. But before you do any of that, talk to your fellow board members about it so you have people on your side. I have no idea where they get off thinking they can give you an agenda (as opposed to proposed agenda), not let you make motions at your own meeting - and I have no idea why your board apparently goes along with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Brown Posted April 12, 2018 at 03:14 AM Report Share Posted April 12, 2018 at 03:14 AM I'm beginning to understand what is going on. Your bylaws do have some unusual provisions regarding the board and the executive Council. I agree that the board members can and should... if they want to... take back control of their own meetings. But, based on these bylaws and the way the EC controls things, it may not be all that easy. Based on the quoted bylaw provisions and the fact that the EC is actually controlling the meetings and the conference call setup, it might be hard for a board member to even seek or obtain recognition for the purpose of making a motion... any kind of motion. It seems like the "system" keeps the phone system muted, that someone else controls it during meetings, and there is no option for a member to seek recognition to make a motion. This is indeed strange. How do you make a motion if you cannot be recognized and all meetings are via conference call and the phone system is kept muted except for voting by pressing a number on the keypad? If someone else is controlling the microphone, it seems your voice is pretty effectively muted. Is it really that bad? Is the phone system during a conference call meeting really that tightly controlled? I think one thing is obvious: You probably can't do this on your own. You will need to get some other board members to support you in your efforts. If for no other reason, you will need their support if you are ever able to appeal from a ruling of the chair that what you are trying to do is out of order. Where would the president come down on efforts by you and other board members to take back control of your own meetings? Would he support you or would he take the same position that the rest of the EC is taking? Have you tried talking to him about this? What is his response? As your presiding officer, he SHOULD conduct your meetings properly and provide an opportunity for motions, etc. Whether he will do so is a different matter. btw, I still think you will be best served by consulting with a professional parliamentarian. I see several approaches you can take, but it's too much to go into here and requires personal dialogue and a much deeper understanding of what is going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theguyontheright Posted April 12, 2018 at 04:32 PM Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2018 at 04:32 PM You nailed in on the conference call bit that is exactly how it works, that's why I posed the question - if I cannot motion the floor during our con calls then how are we to move forward....and the president of the EC is on the side of the EC - again their justification (out of the blue mind you, I had to ask) was that our BOD is too big and that is not an excuse...one day we had this right the next day we didn't Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted April 12, 2018 at 05:42 PM Report Share Posted April 12, 2018 at 05:42 PM 1 hour ago, theguyontheright said: You nailed in on the conference call bit that is exactly how it works, that's why I posed the question - if I cannot motion the floor during our con calls then how are we to move forward....and the president of the EC is on the side of the EC - again their justification (out of the blue mind you, I had to ask) was that our BOD is too big and that is not an excuse...one day we had this right the next day we didn't Do you ever meet in person? If so, that would open up a lot of possibilities. Alternatively, is there a higher body (a general membership meeting, a convention of delegates) which meets in person. If the answer to both of the above questions is no, then I wonder if you may need a lawyer, not just a parliamentarian. Frankly, you may need one anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zev Posted April 13, 2018 at 12:12 AM Report Share Posted April 13, 2018 at 12:12 AM If the Board of Directors cannot gain control of their own meetings and agenda then, in my opinion, all is lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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