Council member resignation

[Guest FBR]

If an employee of a church has a seat on the church council and subsequently resigns their employee position via resignation letter (but will remain in the position for an extra month or two) is that individual entitled to remain a voting member on the council or does their seat on church council become vacant at the time of the submission of their resignation letter? 

[Joshua Katz]

As I understand it, the employee is a member ex officio of the council. Since the membership comes with the employment, they will be on the council exactly as long as they are employed. So if the employment will last a month or two, so will the council position.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 8/17/2023 at 5:38 PM, Guest FBR said:

If an employee of a church has a seat on the church council and subsequently resigns their employee position via resignation letter (but will remain in the position for an extra month or two) is that individual entitled to remain a voting member on the council or does their seat on church council become vacant at the time of the submission of their resignation letter? 

No, the seat does not become vacant until there is nobody in it.  An ex-officio membership comes to an end when the officio (office--in this case the employment position) comes to an and.

Edited August 17, 2023 at 10:12 PM by Gary Novosielski

[Guest FBR]

Does an ex-officio member of a church Council have voting privileges ?

[Joshua Katz]

As far as RONR is concerned, the word "member" conveys voting. The bylaws could provide that a person is an ex officio "member" without voting rights, but in general, a member can vote.

[Josh Martin]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:32 AM, Guest FBR said:

Does an ex-officio member of a church Council have voting privileges ?

Ex-officio members have all rights of membership, including the right to vote, unless the organization's bylaws provide otherwise.

It is a common misconception that ex-officio members do not have have the right to vote. In actuality, the term "ex-officio member" simply refers to the means by which the person becomes a member of the assembly and does not limit the rights of the member. See FAQ #2.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 8/18/2023 at 10:32 AM, Guest FBR said:

Does an ex-officio member of a church Council have voting privileges ?

Yes.  See: 

FAQ #2. Can ex-officio members vote, and are they counted in determining whether a quorum is present?

“Ex officio” is a Latin term meaning “by virtue of office or position.” Ex-officio members of boards and committees, therefore, are persons who are members by virtue of some other office or position that they hold. For example, if the bylaws of an organization provide for a Committee on Finance consisting of the treasurer and three other members appointed by the president, the treasurer is said to be an ex-officio member of the finance committee, since he or she is automatically a member of that committee by virtue of the fact that he or she holds the office of treasurer.

Without exception, ex-officio members of boards and committees have exactly the same rights and privileges as do all other members, including, of course, the right to vote. There are, however, two instances in which ex-officio members are not counted in determining the number required for a quorum or in determining whether or not a quorum is present. These two instances are:

1. In the case of the president, whenever the bylaws provide that the president shall be an ex-officio member of all committees (or of all committees with certain stated exceptions); and

2. When the ex-officio member of the board or committee is neither an ex-officio officer of the board or committee nor a member, employee, or elected or appointed officer of the society (for example, when the governor of a state is made ex officio a member of a private college board).

Again, however, it should be emphasized that in these instances the ex-officio member still has all of the rights and privileges of membership, including the right to vote. [RONR (12th ed.) 49:8–9, 50:16.]