“Postponing” beyond the next regular mtg

[laser158689]

Is there a way to move an item past the next regularly scheduled business mtg (more frequent than quarterly)?

My town legislative body tries to reserve our May mtg for approving the budget.  
 

What options are there to “postpone” an item from our April mtg to our June mtg?

Refer to a committee and have the committee report in June

suspend rules and postpone to the June Mtg

anything else?

 Make a motion that it be a general order for June?  If so, would that require 2/3s?

[puzzling]

It depends more on the bylaws and other regulations for your meeting.

But you could maybe make the may meeting a special meeting with as only agenda point the budget. 

Maybe making the budget the special order of the day might also work. 

[Dan Honemann]

On 4/27/2023 at 10:04 PM, laser158689 said:

Is there a way to move an item past the next regularly scheduled business mtg (more frequent than quarterly)?

My town legislative body tries to reserve our May mtg for approving the budget.  
 

What options are there to “postpone” an item from our April mtg to our June mtg?

Refer to a committee and have the committee report in June

suspend rules and postpone to the June Mtg

anything else?

 Make a motion that it be a general order for June?  If so, would that require 2/3s?

As far as the rules in RONR are concerned, a motion that is pending during your regular monthly meeting in April cannot be postponed to your regular meeting in June, thus skipping the May meeting, and the rules cannot be suspended in order to do so. The motion can, as you suggest, be referred to a committee with instructions to report at the June meeting but it would be preferable, if postponement is necessary, to postpone it to your next meeting in May and then, when the time comes to take it up at the May meeting, adopt a motion to postpone it again to the June meeting. If it is not taken up for some reason or other at your May meeting, it will automatically come up as unfinished business in June.

[Richard Brown]

On 4/28/2023 at 1:31 PM, puzzling said:

It depends more on the bylaws and other regulations for your meeting.

But you could maybe make the may meeting a special meeting with as only agenda point the budget. 

Maybe making the budget the special order of the day might also work. 

See the answer above by Dan Honemann.  He answers the question and provides the best options.

[Josh Martin]

While I concur with Mr. Honemann so far as the rules in RONR are concerned, I would note we are told that this is "a town legislative body," which very well may have its own rules on this matter in applicable law or the council's rules. If so, such rules would take precedence over RONR.

So far as RONR is concerned, it is not in order to postpone a motion beyond the next regular meeting, nor is it in order to make a motion a general order for a meeting beyond the next regular meeting, nor is it in order to suspend the rules to do either of these things, because the motion to Suspend the Rules cannot be used to suspend rules which have effect beyond the current session.

It is in order to refer the motion to a committee and instruct it to report back at the June meeting, however, this should not be done for the sole purpose of serving as a workaround for the time limits on postponement, but instead should be used if having a committee study the motion is what the assembly actually wants to do.

Unless there is something else in the council's rules on this matter, I concur with Mr. Honemann that the simplest solution is simply to postpone the motion to the May meeting, and then when the May meeting arrives, postpone it again.

On 4/28/2023 at 1:31 PM, puzzling said:

But you could maybe make the may meeting a special meeting with as only agenda point the budget. 

No. There is no way to transform a regular meeting into a special meeting.

On 4/28/2023 at 1:31 PM, puzzling said:

Maybe making the budget the special order of the day might also work. 

No, it wouldn't. Making an item the special order for a meeting ensures that it is considered very early in the meeting, before almost any other business, but the assembly still proceeds to consider its other business after consideration of the special order has been completed. See RONR (12th ed.) 41:57

[laser158689]

Thanks to @Josh Martin (now I don't have to ask @Dan Honemann about why suspending the rules is out of order!)

Thanks to all, including @Dan Honemann for the insights.
 

This may prompt a follow-up question, for which I will open another thread...