Calling two membership meetings with one set of signatures

[Guest John]

Our church bylaws state that with at least two weeks notice, special membership meetings (aside from our regular annual one) can be called by members numbering 15% of the quorum of the last membership meeting. 
 

Could that 15% call two special membership meetings simultaneously or must they only call one and then hold that meeting before calling another? 

[J. J.]

I am not sure why they would need to call two.

If they wished to deal with two separate items of business, they could call the meeting for both of them.  If for some reason they could not, then it would have to be to separate meetings, 

[Joshua Katz]

Quorum does not vary meeting to meeting, so I will assume this means something like 15% of the number who attended. Say meeting 0 was just held, and they want to call meetings 1 and 2. If attendance at meeting 0 was so high that 15% of that meeting will always be sufficient to call meeting 2, then I suppose they can call both. But if not, and it's possible that meeting 1's attendance will be so high that this group will not be able to call the next meeting, then it seems to me that they cannot call meeting 2 until they see who actually shows up at meeting 1.

[Dan Honemann]

On 4/21/2024 at 7:45 AM, J. J. said:

I am not sure why they would need to call two.

If they wished to deal with two separate items of business, they could call the meeting for both of them.  If for some reason they could not, then it would have to be to separate meetings, 

But if it has to be two separate meetings, the question asked is "Could that 15% call two special membership meetings simultaneously or must they only call one and then hold that meeting before calling another?".

I think they certainly do not need to wait for meeting A to be held before calling meeting B (unless, of course, what meeting B will be called for depends in part upon what happens at meeting A), but can they be called simultaneously? 

I see nothing in RONR which addresses this question, and I cannot at the moment think of any reason why this could not be done. One reason to do it might be to save postage.  If so, I would suggest that two separate calls be prepared to be included in one envelope.  Incorporating both calls into a single document is apt to lead to confusion.  If the cost of postage is not an issue, it would be best to mail out separate calls, and I see no reason why this could not be done on the same day.

[J. J.]

On 4/21/2024 at 9:06 AM, Dan Honemann said:

But if it has to be two separate meetings, the question asked is "Could that 15% call two special membership meetings simultaneously or must they only call one and then hold that meeting before calling another?".

I think they certainly do not need to wait for meeting A to be held before calling meeting B (unless, of course, what meeting B will be called for depends in part upon what happens at meeting A), but can they be called simultaneously? 

I see nothing in RONR which addresses this question, and I cannot at the moment think of any reason why this could not be done. One reason to do it might be to save postage.  If so, I would suggest that two separate calls be prepared to be included in one envelope.  Incorporating both calls into a single document is apt to lead to confusion.  If the cost of postage is not an issue, it would be best to mail out separate calls, and I see no reason why this could not be done on the same day.

There would be, in theory, the possibility of calling two simultaneous meetings at two different locations.  

15% could call one special meeting that would deal with two items of properly noticed business. 

[Josh Martin]

On 4/21/2024 at 2:00 AM, Guest John said:

Our church bylaws state that with at least two weeks notice, special membership meetings (aside from our regular annual one) can be called by members numbering 15% of the quorum of the last membership meeting. 

Could that 15% call two special membership meetings simultaneously or must they only call one and then hold that meeting before calling another? 

To be clear, by "simultaneously" I understand you to mean sending the call of both meetings simultaneously, not referring to holding both meetings simultaneously. If you mean the latter, that raises a bunch of issues.

I'm somewhat unclear on the purpose of calling two separate special meetings rather than just handling everything at one meeting and scheduling an adjourned meeting if necessary, but to the extent there is a need for two special meetings, I see no reason that the call of both special meetings cannot be sent simultaneously.

I am also unclear as to the meaning of "15% of the quorum of the last membership meeting." Could you quote what your bylaws say on that matter exactly and, while we're at it, what they say about quorum?

On 4/21/2024 at 7:41 AM, Joshua Katz said:

Quorum does not vary meeting to meeting, so I will assume this means something like 15% of the number who attended.

Well, actually the quorum could vary from meeting to meeting, depending on the manner in which quorum is defined.

If quorum is established as a percentage of the membership, rather than as a fixed number, quorum may fluctuate slightly as members join or leave the society. So the intent of "15% of the quorum of the last membership meeting" may be to fix a set time at which the quorum is set for purposes of this calculation.

To the extent that the rule does say "last membership meeting" and not "last regular membership meeting," it's conceivable this could affect the validity of the call for the second special meeting, but generally I would guess the fluctuations in quorum are small enough that it will not be an issue.

Edited April 21, 2024 at 03:26 PM by Josh Martin

[Joshua Katz]

On 4/21/2024 at 8:24 AM, Josh Martin said:

If quorum is established as a percentage of the membership, rather than as a fixed number, quorum may fluctuate slightly as members join or leave the society. So the intent of "15% of the quorum of the last membership meeting" may be to fix a set time at which the quorum is set for purposes of this calculation.

 

I suppose that is also a possible meaning. Maybe the OP can tell us how it's been calculated until now.

[J. J.]

On 4/21/2024 at 11:24 AM, Josh Martin said:

To be clear, by "simultaneously" I understand you to mean sending the call of both meetings simultaneously, not referring to holding both meetings simultaneously. If you mean the latter, that raises a bunch of issues.

 

This was my concern.  I think that, if it there would the requisite number of members that wanted to consider Item A and a requisite number of members that wanted to consider Item B, they could both be noticed on the same piece of paper (if anyone still uses that).  

[Josh Martin]

On 4/21/2024 at 10:49 AM, J. J. said:

This was my concern.  I think that, if it there would the requisite number of members that wanted to consider Item A and a requisite number of members that wanted to consider Item B, they could both be noticed on the same piece of paper (if anyone still uses that).  

I wonder if perhaps there is a mistaken belief that the call of a special meeting is limited to a single item of business, and that is what gives rise to this question.

Edited April 21, 2024 at 04:00 PM by Josh Martin