How can we prevent someone from participating in a civic organization?

[Guest seg88888@yahoo.com]

We are an apartment complex Resident Council.  It is similar to an HOA but the residents do not own their apartments.  All residents are automatically considered members of the council.  There is an elected Board of Directors.

We have one resident who does not participate in council activities or elections but considers herself as a self-appointed overseer of everything that goes on. She attends council meetings but feels as thought she has a right to attend all Board meetings as well.  She tries to direct how everyone should handle their activities.  She is considered an unwelcome nuisance by most everyone else in the council.  

Is there a way we can vote to have her excluded from all council activities, including meetings?

Thank you for any advise anyone can give us.  

[Gary Novosielski]

Since she is not a board members, she does not have the right to attend Board meetings, unless you have a rule that allows it.  What happens when she is informed that she does not have this right?

You can't vote to keep her, or any member, out of a meeting unless they are disruptive or otherwise breach the rules of decorum.  It is the duty of the presiding officer to enforce these rules.  If this member is being disruptive and the chair does nothing, then any member can raise a Point of Order that the meeting is not in order, and the chair should be prodded into action.  

[RONR (12th ed.) 43:19-28 and 61:6 ff.]

If there is a problem member who is not getting any better, it is often the case that the chair is half the problem.

[Josh Martin]

On 9/9/2023 at 6:31 PM, Guest seg88888@yahoo.com said:

We are an apartment complex Resident Council.  It is similar to an HOA but the residents do not own their apartments.  All residents are automatically considered members of the council.  There is an elected Board of Directors.

We have one resident who does not participate in council activities or elections but considers herself as a self-appointed overseer of everything that goes on. She attends council meetings but feels as thought she has a right to attend all Board meetings as well.

A person who is a member of the council, but not a member of the board, does not have the right to attend board meetings unless the council's rules or applicable law so provide.

On 9/9/2023 at 6:31 PM, Guest seg88888@yahoo.com said:

Is there a way we can vote to have her excluded from all council activities, including meetings?

As a parliamentary matter, the member may be suspended from meetings as a disciplinary penalty in response to misconduct. It's somewhat unclear to me from the facts provided if such misconduct exists or if the member is just annoying - the latter is not, in my view, sufficient cause for discipline. The procedures for discipline vary on whether this is in response to misconduct occurring during the present meeting. See RONR (12th ed.) Ch. XX for more information on these procedures, and see also what your bylaws say concerning discipline, as those rules will take precedence. (In an ordinary society, there is also the option of expelling the member from the organization entirely, but I generally do not imagine this is an option in a society where membership is tied to residence.)

In regard to other "activities" that are not meetings, I think that as a parliamentary matter, an ordinary motion would suffice for this, unless the organization's rules provide otherwise.

The part which concerns me, however, is that you say this organization is similar to an HOA. Organizations in the nature of HOAs tend to be highly regulated by applicable law, and rules found in applicable law will take precedence over RONR and the organization's bylaws. As a result, I would strongly advise consulting an attorney before proceeding with any attempts to suspend the rights of this member.

Edited September 10, 2023 at 02:08 AM by Josh Martin

[Drake Savory]

Is your Chair actually enforcing RONR or letting her speak whenever she wants (probably without a motion on the floor), letting her speak up and interrupt Board meetings, etc.  If so, then the first step is to get the Chair to enforce the rules.

[Gary Novosielski]

On 9/10/2023 at 8:29 AM, Drake Savory said:

Is your Chair actually enforcing RONR or letting her speak whenever she wants (probably without a motion on the floor), letting her speak up and interrupt Board meetings, etc.  If so, then the first step is to get the Chair to enforce the rules.

On of the (perhaps surprisingly) most effective rules of decorum is that all remarks must be addressed to the chair.  When crosstalk occurs, and especially if the word you is uttered by a member toward another, a Point of Order should be raised that members must direct their remarks to the chair.  

If nothing else, this will interrupt the train of thought of the perpetrator, and establish the chair as being in charge.  Members of the British parliament are expert at roasting the chestnuts of another member by remarks or rhetorical questions directed to the chair, yet without crossing any boundaries of the decorum rules.  Members of the average HOA are not, and may try to frame their remarks to comply, but ultimately give up in frustration.  

The chair only needs to clamp down until things return to something approaching normalcy, but be watchful for attempted violations.

You may be surprised how quickly the group will give up its bad behavior when it becomes apparent that the chair won't tolerate it. Left without the ability to use the meeting as a gripe session, they will either get down to business and accomplish something, or finding board service to be a barren source of amusement, not seek reëlection. 

Edited September 10, 2023 at 04:34 PM by Gary Novosielski