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Filling a vacancy


Guest Aimee

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We have an elected, seven person board. In this last election, only two people ran for three openings which leaves us with a vacancy. The outgoing trustee stated she would stay (fill the vacancy) on until the next election. Our bylaws state the following regarding filling vacancies:

BEGIN: The Board shall fill a vacancy forthwith by appointment by the remaining trustees, by vote, requiring a majority of quorum for approval at any regular or special meeting.

Candidate Selection Options:

A.    Appoint an individual who previously served the office of Library Trustee.

B.    Appoint an individual who previously interviewed for the office of Library Trustee.

C.    Interview individuals who previously ran for the office of Library Trustee. Appoint a viable candidate.

If there are no viable candidates to appoint, the Board will publicize the vacancy, interview candidates in executive session, and appoint selected candidate at a regular meeting. END

My question is, do we need a motion to vote for this board member to fill the vacancy or can we simply vote for her when it comes time on the agenda? Should someone formally nominate her before voting? The appointment will be on the agenda and notice given.

Thank you in advance!

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2 hours ago, reelsman said:

Well, since the board would seem to "select[] [a] candidate" in executive session, I would think a reporting member (probably the chair) would announce the appointment at the next open meeting.

I don't see anything in the OP that suggests that this will be done in executive session. That only seems to apply if there are no viable candidates and we are told that there is a candidate who meets criterion A. 

Your bylaws as quoted tell you the process to follow to fill this vacancy (and the Elections Board has told you that you have a vacancy rather than an incomplete election). A motion "To appoint [Outgoing Trustee] to fill the vacant position as per Bylaws Article [x]" would seem to do the trick.

I don't know the definition of "a majority of quorum" is so I hope your board does.

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I took "...appoint the selected candidate..." (i.e., the candidate who had been "selected" in executive session) to mean that the election was carried out in executive session, and the "selected candidate" was then "appointed" in open session. I suspect this is done to prevent the candidate and the public from knowing who voted what way as political cover.

At any rate, if the candidate was duly elected in executive session, there is nothing more to be done beyond reporting the action in open session, so that the candidate can accept his election and take his seat.

Edited by reelsman
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