Removal of President from Office

[Aux]

Our bylaws read that the President is an elected officer by majority vote of active members The elected officer shall serve a one year term. Can the membership remove the president from office at a Business meeting by making a motion citing actions detrimental to the organization and the motion seconded, debated and voted on and the motion to remove the president was approved by more than 2/3 vote of the active voting members at the meeting. Our bylaws do not state anything about removing the elected officer from office. Please advise.

[puzzling]

On 9/12/2022 at 10:58 PM, Aux said:

Our bylaws read that the President is an elected officer by majority vote of active members The elected officer shall serve a one year term. Can the membership remove the president from office at a Business meeting by making a motion citing actions detrimental to the organization and the motion seconded, debated and voted on and the motion to remove the president was approved by more than 2/3 vote of the active voting members at the meeting. Our bylaws do not state anything about removing the elected officer from office. Please advise.

if the bylaws have no disciplinary procedure  and RONR is the parliamentary authority then you should use the procedure in RONR 62 and 63 to remove the president from office. The rules are very substantial and the whole procedure should be followed very closely.

[Richard Brown]

On 9/12/2022 at 4:58 PM, Aux said:

Our bylaws read that the President is an elected officer by majority vote of active members The elected officer shall serve a one year term.

Please quote EXACTLY what your bylaws say regarding the length of term of the officers.  Please don't paraphrase but instead quote exactly as we need the exact wording.  Also, be sure to include any language to the effect that officers serve until their successors are elected.  We need the exact language.  That provision might be in a different section of the bylaws.

In the meantime, 62:16 of RONR (12th ed.) is the controlling provision in RONR as to the method of removing an officer if your bylaws are silent. You might also take a look at FAQ # 20.  It is the last of the frequently asked questions: https://robertsrules.com/frequently-asked-questions/

 

[Bruce Lages]

Can you quote exactly what your bylaws say regarding the president's term of office?

[Josh Martin]

On 9/12/2022 at 5:37 PM, puzzling said:

if the bylaws have no disciplinary procedure  and RONR is the parliamentary authority then you should use the procedure in RONR 62 and 63 to remove the president from office. The rules are very substantial and the whole procedure should be followed very closely.

The substantial procedures in Section 63 may or may not be required, depending on the wording the bylaws use for the term of office. I suggest that you review RONR (12th ed.) 62:16.

[Aux]

I was asked to quote exactly what the bylaws saying length of term of the Officers. Below is the exact wording.

Please respond back with your opinions.

Thank you

 

Elected Officers

The elected officers of the department shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Fire Chief, Deity Fire Chief, Deputy EMS Chief and the Board of Directors. The elected officers shall be elected by majority vote in accordance with Article V, Section G and procedures set forth in Article VII. The elected officers shall serve a one ( 1) year term with exception for Board of Directors referenced in Article VI, Section D. All elected officers shall meet minimum qualifications set forth in Article VIII.

 

[Richard Brown]

Thanks for the additional information. However, I still feel like we are missing something. What do your bylaws say about when the terms start and end? Surely they say something about that. Do they say nothing about when the newly elected officers and board members take office?

What do the other bylaw sections which are referenced in the quoted section say about the terms of office or when the terms start or end? 

Finally, do the bylaws say ANYWHERE in any section anything to the effect that officers or board members continue to serve until their successors are elected? That provision might be in a different section of the bylaws, but it is critical to properly answering your questions.
 

[Josh Martin]

On 9/13/2022 at 9:12 AM, Aux said:

Elected Officers

The elected officers of the department shall be the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Fire Chief, Deity Fire Chief, Deputy EMS Chief and the Board of Directors. The elected officers shall be elected by majority vote in accordance with Article V, Section G and procedures set forth in Article VII. The elected officers shall serve a one ( 1) year term with exception for Board of Directors referenced in Article VI, Section D. All elected officers shall meet minimum qualifications set forth in Article VIII.

Assuming this is an accurate and complete statement of the rules pertaining to the term of office, and assuming it is correct that your bylaws are silent regarding the removal of officers, it would require the lengthy formal disciplinary procedures in Section 63 of RONR to remove an officer. Those rules should be reviewed thoroughly before proceeding. So no, it is not as simple as making a motion to remove the President. The wording shown here appears consistent with the second paragraph of 62:16.

"If the bylaws provide that officers shall serve “for __ years or until their successors are elected,” the officer in question can be removed from office by adoption of a motion to do so. The vote required for adoption of this incidental main motion is (a) a two-thirds vote, (b) a majority vote when previous notice (as defined in 10:44) has been given, or (c) a vote of a majority of the entire membership—any one of which will suffice. A motion to remove an officer from office is a question of privilege (19) affecting the organization of the assembly, and so also is the filling of any vacancy created by the adoption of such a motion.

If, however, the bylaws provide that officers shall serve only a fixed term, such as “for two years” (which is not a recommended wording; see 56:28), or if they provide that officers shall serve “for __ years and until their successors are elected,” an officer can be removed from office only for cause—that is, neglect of duty in office or misconduct—in accordance with the procedures described in 63; that is, an investigating committee must be appointed, charges must be preferred, and a formal trial must be held." RONR (12th ed.) 62:16

The alternative option would be to amend the bylaws, either so that they are consistent with the wording in the first paragraph of 62:16, or to provide the organization's own preferred mechanism for removal of officers (which would take precedence over RONR).

Edited September 13, 2022 at 08:00 PM by Josh Martin