Jump to content
The Official RONR Q & A Forums

Selectboard chair resigns but stays on board - can he make a motion to appoint his successor?


MaraBrooks

Recommended Posts

If a select board chair resigns as chair mid session but remains on the board as a regular member, does the vice chair automatically become the chair? Or can the resigning chair make a motion to appoint another member as chair at the same time he makes the motion to resign?

This happened in a town I cover as a news reporter - the resigning chair made a double motion to resign and to appoint another member (not the vice chair) as his successor.

He also disclosed that he had been preparing the member to take over as chair before he even informed the rest of the board he was leaving. 

This sounded pretty fishy to me, but the chair said the town attorney said it was "kosher" because there was "no guidance" in the board rules of procedure for what to do when a chair resigns mid session. The other board members, except for the vice president, voted to appoint the leaving chair's choice for new chair. 

The vice president voted against, and said he objected to the chair appointing his own successor in a double motion.

The town has a Robert Rules cheat sheet for small boards posted to its official website, so I'm wondering about the resigning chair's claim that there was "no guidance" available (as it would seem the town refers to Robert's Rules in at least some instances.)

Oh, and the town has no bylaws.

I'd really appreciate any insight the experts here could offer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/13/2021 at 7:31 PM, MaraBrooks said:

Oh, and the town has no bylaws.

I am going to make a bet that the first thing the experts on this forum will ask is where does the city get its authority to even have a city board in the first place.

Also, how does "...the town refers to Robert's Rules in at least some instances" if the town has no bylaws, charter, or some other governing document?

And please explain the current status of this motion. Was it adopted? Defeated? Perhaps postponed to a future meeting?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/13/2021 at 9:31 PM, MaraBrooks said:

If a select board chair resigns as chair mid session but remains on the board as a regular member, does the vice chair automatically become the chair?

Yes, unless the organization's rules provide otherwise. For a public body, however, it seems very possible they would provide otherwise.

On 10/13/2021 at 9:31 PM, MaraBrooks said:

Or can the resigning chair make a motion to appoint another member as chair at the same time he makes the motion to resign?

No, at least so far as RONR is concerned.

I suppose the board could, however, ultimately accomplish the same objective by removing the Vice President from their new office as Chair, and then electing a person of their choice, although this may depend upon the board's rules and/or applicable law for removal of officers, or if those rules are silent, it would depend upon the wording of the term of office. Since it appears no one but the Vice President wanted the Vice President to serve as chair, it seems likely this is what would have ultimately occurred.

On 10/13/2021 at 9:31 PM, MaraBrooks said:

This sounded pretty fishy to me, but the chair said the town attorney said it was "kosher" because there was "no guidance" in the board rules of procedure for what to do when a chair resigns mid session. The other board members, except for the vice president, voted to appoint the leaving chair's choice for new chair. 

The town attorney is presumably more familiar with the board's rules (and any applicable laws) than I am, so I do not think I am in a position to question his advice on this matter.

On 10/13/2021 at 9:31 PM, MaraBrooks said:

The vice president voted against, and said he objected to the chair appointing his own successor in a double motion.

I would note that there is nothing particularly wrong with the fact that the chair was making the motion to appoint his successor. If not for the rules in RONR which provide that the Vice President becomes President in the event of a vacancy, the procedure you described would violate no rule in RONR.

On 10/13/2021 at 9:31 PM, MaraBrooks said:

The town has a Robert Rules cheat sheet for small boards posted to its official website, so I'm wondering about the resigning chair's claim that there was "no guidance" available (as it would seem the town refers to Robert's Rules in at least some instances.)

I'm not sure the town board posting "a Robert Rules cheat sheet" is quite the same as the town adopting Robert's Rules of Order as its parliamentary authority. To the extent that the town board has adopted Robert's Rules of Order as its parliamentary authority, it is correct that under those rules, the Vice President becomes President in the event of a vacancy in that office.

On 10/13/2021 at 9:31 PM, MaraBrooks said:

Oh, and the town has no bylaws.

Yes, I quite understand that, but the town presumably has something that is the equivalent of bylaws, which defines the basic structure of the town's government. That may be in the nature of a local document such as a "town charter," or such rules may be prescribed generally for towns in state law.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/14/2021 at 2:35 AM, Guest Zev said:

I am going to make a bet that the first thing the experts on this forum will ask is where does the city get its authority to even have a city board in the first place.

Also, how does "...the town refers to Robert's Rules in at least some instances" if the town has no bylaws, charter, or some other governing document?

And please explain the current status of this motion. Was it adopted? Defeated? Perhaps postponed to a future meeting?

Here's what happened: 

The chair came to a recent select board meeting and said he intended to announce his plan to resign as chair in executive session, but the town attorney advised him that he had no grounds to do that. So it was done in an open session. The resigning chair said he wanted to make a two part motion to both resign as chair (but stay on the board) and elect a member he had already chosen to be the new chair. (The "new chair" was not the sitting vice chair.) 

The resigning chair indicated he had been "working with" the proposed new chair for six months and felt "confident" he would do a great job, so he wanted to have a hand in steering the board forward as he announced his resignation. 

There was some indication that the other board members, except for the Vice Chair, had been tipped off to the chair's impending resignation. The vice chair only learned of it at the meeting. The chair admitted later that the "new chair" was told about the chair's intention to resign soon after he made the decision, even though the chair didn't inform anyone else on the board (supposedly.) 

The vice chair objected to the two part motion and to the chair's efforts to choose his own successor, rather than resigning in one motion and then letting the board decide as a group on electing a new chair. The two part motions were passed despite the vice chair's objections, with only the vice chair voting against them.

The resigning chair initially refused to answer press inquiries about when he told each of the other members he was planning to resign, and the other members refused to disclose that information on the record. (Except for the vice chair, who openly said he found out about the resignation for the first time at the meeting.)

At the most recent SB meeting, the resigning chair said the town attorney advised the board to "ratify" the two part motion by making another two, separate motions (i.e., to resign, and to elect the new vice chair.) Again the motions were passed, and again the vice chair voted against. 

Just seems to me there was some effort made to bypass what is standard practice of having the vice chair take over as chair. In other meetings when the chair was not present, the vice chair would step in as chair. Robert's Rules indicate the vice chair should become the chair. It seems like the resigning chair just made a decision to pick his new successor without any guidance (he seemed to state that he did not seek the town attorney's input or guidance on the issue until after his two part motion aroused concern among the public.) 

One thing that might figure into this -- there was a recent scandal involving a member of another board, and the resigning chair had made some public comments in the press about the person involved in the scandal that the vice chair publicly disagreed with. I don't get the feeling they like each other a whole lot.  

I contacted the town attorney to inquire as to what guidance the town uses in cases where the policies and procedures do not address a situation, and he refused to answer any questions. He said he has not been given the authority to speak to the press about anything involving the town or its general policies and procedures. I guess they keep him on a tight leash.  

And that's where it stands right now. The new chair has been appointed, the former chair remains on the board as a member, and the vice chair remains the vice chair.  

 

   

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/14/2021 at 8:15 AM, Josh Martin said:

I would note that there is nothing particularly wrong with the fact that the chair was making the motion to appoint his successor. If not for the rules in RONR which provide that the Vice President becomes President in the event of a vacancy, the procedure you described would violate no rule in RONR.

So if the town's position, hypothetically, is they don't have an obligation to follow Robert's Rules (beyond the small board cheat sheet they posted on their website) and they don't have any existing policies and procedures about what to do in a given situation, then it's ethical for the chair to just kind of decide what should happen, and to perhaps choose a successor that is not the vice chair?

It does seem to me that the town looks to Robert's Rules (Selectboard adopted RR for Small boards officially, and state requires annual meetings to abide by Robert's Rules.)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/14/2021 at 6:38 PM, MaraBrooks said:

So if the town's position, hypothetically, is they don't have an obligation to follow Robert's Rules (beyond the small board cheat sheet they posted on their website) and they don't have any existing policies and procedures about what to do in a given situation, then it's ethical for the chair to just kind of decide what should happen, and to perhaps choose a successor that is not the vice chair?

If it is in fact correct that RONR is not the assembly's parliamentary authority, then it is at the assembly's discretion to determine its own procedures, including on such matters as determining the successor in the event of a vacancy in the office of chair. The chair alone cannot make that decision, but if the assembly is willing to back him on it, then that is the decision that will be made.

Whether this is "ethical" is a matter of opinion.

Edited by Josh Martin
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...