Committee Membership

[Guest Ron Westman]

I live where we have an Association for a Board of Directors, along with Committees such as Property, Safety, Utiliites, etc to work on issues necessary to operate the association and the use of the lake we live on.

My questions pretain to the membership of persons on the committees. It appears the Board President doesn't like some of the issues brought to the Board, thus recorded in the minutes and placed on the association website for everyone to read. So he had his wife and a wife of another Board member join the committee, via two open positions, to influence the committee. Another committee member resigned today, thus opening another possible position for the Board to place another "Board Friendly".

I need to check to see if a wife is authorized to be on a committee because of co-owner of the property. But it seems as a minimum it appears to be a conflict of interest to have the Board authorize family members onto committees.

What guidance can you offer me and what items should I look into?

Thank you,

Ron Westman

[George Mervosh]

No rule in Robert's Rules would prohibit a spouse from serving.

[Kim Goldsworthy]

What guidance can you offer me and what items should I look into?

Committees are appointed via majority vote.

If the majority of the body responsible for committee appointments sees no problem with a family member sitting on a committee, then that is that. It violates no rule.

[hmtcastle]

What guidance can you offer me and what items should I look into?

Read your bylaws to see just what authority the board and the president has.

Elect people to the board who are more sympathetic to your views. Run for the board yourself. Run for president.

[Josh Martin]

I need to check to see if a wife is authorized to be on a committee because of co-owner of the property.

Nothing in RONR would prohibit it.

But it seems as a minimum it appears to be a conflict of interest to have the Board authorize family members onto committees.

Well, it might be a personal interest for individual board members. I don't see how it's a personal interest for "the board." Presumably not all of the board members are related to these individuals.

What guidance can you offer me and what items should I look into?

Check your Bylaws to see what authority the board and the President have. Unless either is exceeding their authority, your problems are political in nature, not parliamentary. It also seems to me the problem is that the board is "stacking" the committees with supporters, so I'd get over the idea that "relatives" is the issue.

[Rev Ed]

I agree with checking the By-laws. Here are some common examples of arriving at Committee membership:

1) The President has the authority to appoint all members of a Committee.

2) The Board (or general membership) will appoint members to each Committee.

3) The President will appoint the Committee Chairmen, but other members will be elected by the Board (or general membership.)

What do the By-laws of the organization state about appointing members to a Committee?