Bringing back a motion that was voted on and passed months ago

[Guest DeeDee]

A motion was made and passed by 5 of the 6 council members in February.  The 6th council member was out of the State.  In July, the absent council member brought the same action back.  It is a personnel matter and was not held in an executive session.  Members of the community were still in the meeting.  What I am reading and understanding in ROR is that a motion to reconsider should have been done on the same night (February) and that council member #6 cannot bring this motion back to council since he wasn't there for the first meeting.  The original motion did not fail.  What is the time limit for a motion to reconsider?  I can't see where this would be a motion to renew since the original motion passed.   This motion has to do with keeping the part time clerk in her current position along with the full time clerk.  Both Clerk's have been working since the vote in February.  What I understand is that if the motion has been adopted and any part of the motion's provisions have been executed, it's too late to reconsider the vote.     Please advise...  Thank you

[Rob Elsman]

The member is wanting to make a motion to Rescind.  See RONR (11th ed.), pp. 305-310.

[Josh Martin]

25 minutes ago, Guest DeeDee said:

What is the time limit for a motion to reconsider? 

At the same meeting, or at the meeting on the next business day in a multiple day session.

25 minutes ago, Guest DeeDee said:

What I understand is that if the motion has been adopted and any part of the motion's provisions have been executed, it's too late to reconsider the vote.

Yes, this is correct, and if this motion was adopted in February it's too late to reconsider the vote anyway.

This doesn't necessarily mean there is no way for the member to accomplish their objective. I think we might need more facts about the situation to know what the proper tool is. Rescind seems like a reasonable guess.

 

27 minutes ago, Guest DeeDee said:

This motion has to do with keeping the part time clerk in her current position along with the full time clerk.

Could you clarify why this motion was adopted to begin with? Was there a time limit on the original appointments for these persons? Did the motion to keep these persons in their positions specify a length of time?

[Joshua Katz]

56 minutes ago, Guest DeeDee said:

It is a personnel matter and was not held in an executive session.

That may violate one of your rules, but is not a problem so far as RONR is concerned.

56 minutes ago, Guest DeeDee said:

What I am reading and understanding in ROR is that a motion to reconsider should have been done on the same night (February) and that council member #6 cannot bring this motion back to council since he wasn't there for the first meeting. 

Mr. Martin has already explained the time limits on reconsideration. As for the second part of this sentence, that would matter for a motion to reconsider, but not for a motion to rescind/amend something previously adopted.

 

58 minutes ago, Guest DeeDee said:

What I understand is that if the motion has been adopted and any part of the motion's provisions have been executed, it's too late to reconsider the vote

But it may still be rescinded or amended as to any unexecuted part. If people have been working since the vote, obviously they can't be fired for the period between February and now, but it is likely that the motion could be rescinded or amended to fire them now, at least as far as parliamentary procedure is concerned, unless a contract has been executed.

[Josh Martin]

22 minutes ago, Joshua Katz said:

But it may still be rescinded or amended as to any unexecuted part. If people have been working since the vote, obviously they can't be fired for the period between February and now, but it is likely that the motion could be rescinded or amended to fire them now, at least as far as parliamentary procedure is concerned, unless a contract has been executed.

I'm not necessarily certain that a motion to Rescind or ASPA is the appropriate tool. Generally, it seems to me that if a person is hired, that is a motion which is fully executed, and firing the person would be an ordinary main motion. Rescind or ASPA may be appropriate if the motion to hire the person specified that the person would serve for a particular period of time.

[Joshua Katz]

I agree with your clarification, Mr. Martin. 

[Richard Brown]

I agree that a motion to reconsider is not the appropriate motion.  A motion to rescind or amend  something previously adopted may or may not be the appropriate motion, depending on the circumstances.  And  a new main motion to terminate the employee may well be the most appropriate motion.

[Gary Novosielski]

4 hours ago, Guest DeeDee said:

A motion was made and passed by 5 of the 6 council members in February.  The 6th council member was out of the State.  In July, the absent council member brought the same action back.  It is a personnel matter and was not held in an executive session.  Members of the community were still in the meeting.  What I am reading and understanding in ROR is that a motion to reconsider should have been done on the same night (February) and that council member #6 cannot bring this motion back to council since he wasn't there for the first meeting.  The original motion did not fail.  What is the time limit for a motion to reconsider?  I can't see where this would be a motion to renew since the original motion passed.   This motion has to do with keeping the part time clerk in her current position along with the full time clerk.  Both Clerk's have been working since the vote in February.  What I understand is that if the motion has been adopted and any part of the motion's provisions have been executed, it's too late to reconsider the vote.     Please advise...  Thank you

The motion to Reconsider not having been made at the February meeting, it is too late now.  The motion to Rescind might be in order, (see RONR §35).  But as you note, it is not possible to rescind any actions that have already been carried out.