Class 3 city quorum

[Arison]

I live in a class 3 city in MO, and we have 8 council members for 4 wards. There was a motion brought up and unfortunately there were only 6 council members there. The motion came to a tie, but the mayor said he was unable to be the tie breaker due to there not being a quorum. Is this true? If there was not a quorum how was a council meeting even held? I am very confused about this and would greatly appreciate any help given. Thank you!

[Josh Martin]

On 9/21/2021 at 8:35 AM, Arison said:

I live in a class 3 city in MO, and we have 8 council members for 4 wards. There was a motion brought up and unfortunately there were only 6 council members there. The motion came to a tie, but the mayor said he was unable to be the tie breaker due to there not being a quorum. Is this true? If there was not a quorum how was a council meeting even held? I am very confused about this and would greatly appreciate any help given. Thank you!

So far as RONR is concerned, the default quorum for an assembly with a defined membership is a majority of the assembly's members. In a council with eight members, that would be five members. If the organization's own rules or applicable law provide for a different quorum, those rules take precedence.

In the event a quorum is not present, the meeting can and should still be held, however, the members present are unable to conduct any business save for a handful of procedural actions, such as establishing an adjourned meeting. In the event a quorum was not present, therefore, it seems likely the Mayor should not have stated the question on the motion to begin with.

Since this is a public body, it is highly likely there are rules on these and other matters in the council's rules and applicable law, and such rules will take precedence over RONR. It would be advisable for the council to consult an attorney.

Edited September 21, 2021 at 02:03 PM by Josh Martin