minutes of BOD

[mrart]

I asked to view past minutes of BOD of a specified month and year and was told they are not available to the membership. mrart

[Chris Harrison]

Only Board members have access to Board minutes. However, if you can get the votes you could get the Membership to order the minutes read at a Membership meeting. That would require previous notice and a majority vote. If previous notice is not given a 2/3 vote or a majority vote of the ENTIRE membership is required. See RONR p. 470

[mrart]

Only Board members have access to Board minutes. However, if you can get the votes you could get the Membership to order the minutes read at a Membership meeting. That would require previous notice and a majority vote. If previous notice is not given a 2/3 vote or a majority vote of the ENTIRE membership is required. See RONR p. 470

Thank You Chris H.

[Rev Ed]

This is one thing I do not understand about RONR - if the Board is subordinate to the general membership, why would the general membership even have to vote on making their Minutes accessible to their superiors?

[hmtcastle]

This is one thing I do not understand about RONR - if the Board is subordinate to the general membership, why would the general membership even have to vote on making their Minutes accessible to their superiors?

Well, the short answer is: because that's the rule.

But I suspect you're asking about the rationale and that would have to be provided by someone on the authorship team.

That said, I think that, since the board is an instrumentality of the general membership, it's only the general membership, not the board or an individual member, that can authorize the disclosure of minutes. In other words, the general membership is free to adopt a rule that gives every member the right to view the board's minutes and, in many organizations, there may be no reason not to. All RONR does it set the defaults. They're not carved in stone. If you don't like one of the rules, adopt another one.

[Chris Harrison]

This is one thing I do not understand about RONR - if the Board is subordinate to the general membership, why would the general membership even have to vote on making their Minutes accessible to their superiors?

I agree with you. If the Board is subordinate to the Membership there should be total transparency (being able to attend Board meetings and having access to the minutes) so the members know what the people they put in office are doing. But RONR says no to both so there we are. I guess the membership would have to put such transparency in the bylaws.

[STA]

Well, the short answer is: because that's the rule.

All RONR does it set the defaults. They're not carved in stone. If you don't like one of the rules, adopt another one.

I would say the "default" is that each assembly controls its own workings. The Board can vote to release its minutes. But "ordering" the release by an outside body (even a superior one) takes a higher threshold.

[Rob Elsman]

This is one thing I do not understand about RONR - if the Board is subordinate to the general membership, why would the general membership even have to vote on making their Minutes accessible to their superiors?

Though not explicitly stated, one gets the impression from RONR (10th ed.), p. 470, ll. 7-10, that the motion in the general membership assembly is in the nature of a motion to Amend Something Previously Adopted, RONR (10th ed.), §35, pp. 293ff. The something previously adopted is, apparently, the board's decision to meet in executive session. It is important to remember that the board, when making decisions within the scope of its powers, is acting in the name of the society as a whole.