Does a motion and second ever NOT require a vote?

[Guest W. Maynard Pittendreigh]

I attended my first HOA meeting tonight. A motion was made to adopt a budget, and the motion received a second. There was no discussion and the motion was adopted without a vote. I raised a question about this, and everyone told me that all a motion for the budget needed was a motion and a second and that meant it was adopted and that this was all Roberts Rules required. Surely this is not correct. Comments?

[Richard Brown]

No, it's not correct. The motion should have been discussed /debated If there was anyone who was anyone who wanted to. It is a debatable motion. It also should have been subject to requests for information.

Edited to add: there also should have been a vote on the motion unless it was adopted by unanimous consent.

 

Edited February 22, 2019 at 02:32 AM by Richard Brown
Added last paragraph

[Joshua Katz]

11 minutes ago, Guest W. Maynard Pittendreigh said:

Surely this is not correct.

I agree it was not correct (assuming we're told everything that happened and everything that was said - it's possible it was adopted by unanimous consent) but don't call me Surely. (Hmm, that doesn't work as well in writing as it does when said out loud.)

[Gary Novosielski]

35 minutes ago, Guest W. Maynard Pittendreigh said:

I attended my first HOA meeting tonight. A motion was made to adopt a budget, and the motion received a second. There was no discussion and the motion was adopted without a vote. I raised a question about this, and everyone told me that all a motion for the budget needed was a motion and a second and that meant it was adopted and that this was all Roberts Rules required. Surely this is not correct. Comments?

It surely is not correct.  The debate is optional, but the vote is not if the motion was moved in the normal way as you described.

There is an alternate method of passing a measure by unanimous consent which would not require a vote, but the chair must ask for objections, to give dissenters (if any) an opportunity to object, and if none, he must state that the motion is adopted "without objection".  If there is even a single objection the question is handled in the normal way and now we're back to voting.

But "everyone" who told you that a motion and second were sufficient to pass something is just flat wrong.