Jump to content
The Official RONR Q & A Forums

Filling more than one position


Guest Jeff

Recommended Posts

I am soon to be the immediate past president of our learning society. After the description of duties for the president in our bylaws, an asterisked section states:

*At the end of his/her term, the President automatically becomes a Member-At-Large, Chair of the Nominating Committee and Parliamentarian and thus cannot be nominated for another office. However, he/she may be nominated for any office in a subsequent year.

We have no one currently willing to be treasurer for the short term. Can I be "acting treasurer" until we find someone to fill that position without having to amend the bylaws?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can I be "acting treasurer" until we find someone to fill that position without having to amend the bylaws?

There's no such thing as "acting treasurer". You're either the treasurer or you're not.

But a rule that says you can't be nominated isn't the same as a rule that says you can't hold the office. So if you're looking for loopholes, that might be one place to look.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am soon to be the immediate past president of our learning society. After the description of duties for the president in our bylaws, an asterisked section states:

*At the end of his/her term, the President automatically becomes a Member-At-Large, Chair of the Nominating Committee and Parliamentarian and thus cannot be nominated for another office. However, he/she may be nominated for any office in a subsequent year.

We have no one currently willing to be treasurer for the short term. Can I be "acting treasurer" until we find someone to fill that position without having to amend the bylaws?

This forum is not the appropriate place to interpret bylaws, as such requires a thorough reading in their entirety.

However, a better question might be, "Can the president, at the end of his term, be elected to or serve in another office." The excerpt you posted here only mentions being nominated, which is a different thing and not necessarily a requirement of election or appointment to an office.

It's not clear from your posting what disqualifies the president, at the end of his term, from being nominated. Is it the fact that he's the parliamentarian or the chair of the nominating committee? If he leaves one or both of those offices, can he become nominated for another office?

In any event, if you're not eligible to hold an office, you can't fill it in the "short term" in an "acting" capacity.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have no one currently willing to be treasurer for the short term.

Can I be "acting treasurer" until we find someone to fill that position without having to amend the bylaws?

Yes.

If the position of "treasurer" is vacant, then the organization has no choice but to delegate the duties to a non-officer, i.e., a volunteer.

(That is, you must continue to pay your bills; you must continue to reconcile your monthly bank statement; you must continue to collect dues; you must continue to deposit dues money into your bank account; etc.)

You may call the volunteer "acting treasurer" if you wish, just to affirm to others that the volunteer has not stolen the checkbook and isn't writing checks without permission.

But let's be clear:

Whoever volunteers (or whoever is elected or appointed or stays on, etc.) to act as the interim treasurer is not an officer:

• The volunteer does not hold the title of the office of Treasurer.

• The volunteer does not have the perqs of the office of Treasurer.

He is a member. Period. But with a new duty, or new set of duties, in addition to whatever duties he already had.

He is not the Treasurer. (The office of Treasurer remains vacant, while the vacancy-filling process is begun or is continued.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...

*At the end of his/her term, the President automatically becomes a Member-At-Large, Chair of the Nominating Committee and Parliamentarian and thus cannot be nominated for another office. However, he/she may be nominated for any office in a subsequent year.

We have no one currently willing to be treasurer for the short term. Can I be "acting treasurer" until we find someone to fill that position without having to amend the bylaws?

This forum is not the appropriate place to interpret bylaws, as such requires a thorough reading in their entirety.

However, a better question might be, "Can the president, at the end of his term, be elected to or serve in another office." The excerpt you posted here only mentions being nominated, which is a different thing and not necessarily a requirement of election or appointment to an office.

It's not clear from your posting what disqualifies the president, at the end of his term, from being nominated. Is it the fact that he's the parliamentarian or the chair of the nominating committee? If he leaves one or both of those offices, can he become nominated for another office?

In any event, if you're not eligible to hold an office, you can't fill it in the "short term" in an "acting" capacity. (emphasis added-daf)

Although, as both you and Mr. Mountcastle point out, as long as Jeff isn't nominated to be Treasurer, that loophole does exist. Whether that is what Jeff's bylaw means is, of course, up to the learning society membership.

I'd be concerned about that third item, making the past president the parliamentarian, as if having held the president's office better qualifies you for that role. And Jeff - as you will soon be the parliamentarian, your job (in part) would be to help the Chair and membership figure out what to do in this sort of situation.:o

And I'd take another look through the bylaws to see if anything in there addresses filling vacancies, such as the Treasurer's office.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am soon to be the immediate past president of our learning society. After the description of duties for the president in our bylaws, an asterisked section states:

*At the end of his/her term, the President automatically becomes a Member-At-Large, Chair of the Nominating Committee and Parliamentarian and thus cannot be nominated for another office. However, he/she may be nominated for any office in a subsequent year.

We have no one currently willing to be treasurer for the short term. Can I be "acting treasurer" until we find someone to fill that position without having to amend the bylaws?

You cannot serve as the "acting treasurer" unless such a position is defined in your Bylaws. Under RONR, you're either the Treasurer or you're not. Determining whether you can serve as Treasurer requires an interpretation of your Bylaws. Interpretation of the organization's Bylaws is beyond the scope of this forum. The Bylaws must be properly interpreted in their entirety, and it is up to the organization to interpret its own Bylaws. See RONR, 10th ed., pgs. 570-573 for some Principles of Interpretation. The first thing I would look for in the Bylaws is to see if there are any other rules regarding members serving in multiple positions. The way the IPP rule is worded seems makes it seem like a reference to a broader rule.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...