Guest Brandi Posted February 9, 2020 at 07:45 PM Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 at 07:45 PM Our board voted to approve a set of resolutions and a position statement to be presented outside of our organization. We had a quorum. The vote prevailed in the vote 12-2 with one abstention. One of the "no" votes is from our board chair (our board has a history of board chairs voting.....we are a small board). A few weeks after the board meeting, the board chair sent a request via email for board members to reconsider their vote, citing her opinions about why the board should revoke the vote. I believe this is improper...maybe even out of order? Can you advise? Is this out of order? What should be our next steps to either allow a vote or discuss at a future meeting? Thank you, Brandi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted February 9, 2020 at 08:08 PM Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 at 08:08 PM (edited) 23 minutes ago, Guest Brandi said: Our board voted to approve a set of resolutions and a position statement to be presented outside of our organization. We had a quorum. The vote prevailed in the vote 12-2 with one abstention. One of the "no" votes is from our board chair (our board has a history of board chairs voting.....we are a small board). A few weeks after the board meeting, the board chair sent a request via email for board members to reconsider their vote, citing her opinions about why the board should revoke the vote. I believe this is improper...maybe even out of order? Can you advise? Is this out of order? What should be our next steps to either allow a vote or discuss at a future meeting? It is correct that it is too late to revote or for a motion to reconsider. There is no time limit, however, on a motion to Rescind or to Amend Something Previously Adopted (unless the motion has been fully carried out, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here - rather, these seem to be resolutions expressing the board’s positions on various issues, which have continuing force and effect and could be changed in the future). The motion to Rescind or Amend Something Previously Adopted requires a 2/3 vote, a vote of a majority of the entire membership (of the board, in this case), or a majority vote with previous notice. Given the rather overwhelming vote in the affirmative the first time, it appears the chair will need to convince quite a few people to change their minds for this motion to be successful. Nonetheless, the motion is in order. Edited February 9, 2020 at 08:09 PM by Josh Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atul Kapur Posted February 9, 2020 at 09:14 PM Report Share Posted February 9, 2020 at 09:14 PM There is nothing in RONR to prohibit the Chair or any member to lobby people to rescind the resolution. So it's not out of order. Since you're using small board rules, she could do the same within a meeting. Whether it's improper is a judgement that only your board can say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua Katz Posted February 10, 2020 at 02:25 AM Report Share Posted February 10, 2020 at 02:25 AM 6 hours ago, Guest Brandi said: Our board voted to approve a set of resolutions and a position statement to be presented outside of our organization. Has this already happened? When is it scheduled to happen? 6 hours ago, Guest Brandi said: A few weeks after the board meeting, the board chair sent a request via email for board members to reconsider their vote, citing her opinions about why the board should revoke the vote. I believe this is improper...maybe even out of order? Politicking outside the meeting is allowed. And "out of order" can only apply to things that happen at a meeting. The chair might have trouble maintaining an appearance of impartiality when it comes up at a meeting, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Martin Posted February 10, 2020 at 02:50 AM Report Share Posted February 10, 2020 at 02:50 AM 24 minutes ago, Joshua Katz said: Politicking outside the meeting is allowed. And "out of order" can only apply to things that happen at a meeting. The chair might have trouble maintaining an appearance of impartiality when it comes up at a meeting, though. We are told that this board uses the small board rules, so the appearance of impartiality is not required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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