Accepting Dues

[Guest Ronda Nash]

I have a member of a local group that has caused nothing but turmoil within the club. We are members of the State club and Federal and neither bylaws specify the ability to remove a member. Our bylaws dont specify either which now we revert back to Roberts Rules Do we have to accept her dues ? If my entire board votes not to accept the dues am I ok ? do I need to have a letter drafted for cause of removal ?? Please help she has accused me of theft of the treasurey and not even a signer on the account she was the treasurer , her daughter was and now someone else is. She has challenged every bylaw and also now is telling people I have been convicted of embezzeling..which is far far from the truth. She has called every state officer stating all of the above.

Thanks

Ronda Nash

[Kim Goldsworthy]

...

Do we have to accept her dues?

Within Robert's Rules of Order there is NO ANSWER.

"How one becomes a member" is ALWAYS a customized process. -- There is no "default" process for "joining" in RONR Tenth Edition 2000.

There is nothing in RONR which implies "Thou shalt accept dues checks from whatever source."

Since an organization is free to suspend its members and expel its members for noncompliance with its rules, I think it would consistent for an organization to stop accepting money from someone who does not obey the rules of the organization.

But, again, that is an opinion of my own, and not a rule from Robert's Rules of Order.

[David A Foulkes]

Your bylaws should have a section which clarifies how one becomes a member, including any qualifications they may need to possess, any approval process they are subject to, and the like. It may also include mention of a vote by the existing membership to accept new candidates. Since it sounds like she is already a member, and is simply renewing her annual dues, if there is nothing in your bylaws that stipulates some kind of annual review of members in order to continue their membership, you may as a last option need to resort to some sort of disciplinary action, a challenging process indeed.

My experience so far with organizations I've been involved with is that once a person is accepted as a member (meeting whatever qualifications and procedures necessary), their only requirement to maintain (i.e. "renew") their membership is payment of dues by a certain date, such payment not being subject to rejection.

Your bylaws are the key here. As Mr. Goldsworthy noted, RONR defines what a member is, but not how one becomes a member. That's always a customized process within each organization.

[hmtcastle]

If my entire board votes not to accept the dues am I ok ?

I think it's worth noting that, per RONR, the mere non-payment of dues is not sufficient to strip a member of his rights, let alone expel him from the organization. You'll very likely need to follow the disciplinary procedures outlined in Chapter XX.

Further, though it's probably an innocent figure of speech, statements such as "I have a member" and "my board" may suggest an inflated sense of the president's authority.

[Dan Honemann]

I have a member of a local group that has caused nothing but turmoil within the club. We are members of the State club and Federal and neither bylaws specify the ability to remove a member. Our bylaws dont specify either which now we revert back to Roberts Rules Do we have to accept her dues ? If my entire board votes not to accept the dues am I ok ? do I need to have a letter drafted for cause of removal ?? Please help she has accused me of theft of the treasurey and not even a signer on the account she was the treasurer , her daughter was and now someone else is. She has challenged every bylaw and also now is telling people I have been convicted of embezzeling..which is far far from the truth. She has called every state officer stating all of the above.

Thanks

Ronda Nash

Unless there is something in your organization's governing documents which permits your organization to expel a member from membership simply by refusing to accept his dues (and I gather that there isn't), you cannot do it. Take a look at Section 61 in RONR (10th ed.), and simply ignore the initial response which you received here.

[Gary Novosielski]

I have a member of a local group that has caused nothing but turmoil within the club. We are members of the State club and Federal and neither bylaws specify the ability to remove a member. Our bylaws dont specify either which now we revert back to Roberts Rules Do we have to accept her dues ? If my entire board votes not to accept the dues am I ok ? do I need to have a letter drafted for cause of removal ?? Please help she has accused me of theft of the treasurey and not even a signer on the account she was the treasurer , her daughter was and now someone else is. She has challenged every bylaw and also now is telling people I have been convicted of embezzeling..which is far far from the truth. She has called every state officer stating all of the above.

Thanks

Ronda Nash

If there is nothing in your bylaws regarding discipline, refer to Chapter XX in RONR, which specifies the procedures for bringing charges, holding trials, and the like.

Note well that (absent a rule in your bylaws) you do not have the power, as president or as a board, to remove a member. Ultimately it will be the decision of the assembly as a whole. Measures such as refusing dues and drafting letters will not do the job, and if they go so far as to violate the basic rights of the member, could subject you or the board to disciplinary action of your own.

The member should be held to the strictest standards of decorum during meetings, as should all members. When unruly members become a problem and begin to obstruct the workings of an organization, it is often due to a weak or ineffectual chair, who does not know or enforce the rules properly. A good chair will not tolerate breaches of decorum such as imputations of motive, but will encourage members in the minority to air their grievances by the proper channels to the fullest extent allowable, by engaging in debate, offering motions, amendments, voting, even running for office.

If the allegations made by this person rise to the level of slander, consult a lawyer.

[Josh Martin]

Since an organization is free to suspend its members and expel its members for noncompliance with its rules, I think it would consistent for an organization to stop accepting money from someone who does not obey the rules of the organization.

But, again, that is an opinion of my own, and not a rule from Robert's Rules of Order.

I think your classic "Your board is POWERLESS" response may have been closer to the mark in this situation.

Or did you miss that it was the board the poster was asking about?

[Kim Goldsworthy]

I think your classic "Your board is POWERLESS" response may have been closer to the mark in this situation.

Or did you miss that it was the board the poster was asking about?

It wasn't the "board" factor that I was keying on.

Dues payment only entitles a member to one cycle of membership. (Monthly? Yearly?).

Exceptions would be life-memberships.

A member cannot be a two-year or multi-year member, except by fulfilling the definition of "member" in one's bylaws.

Once that definition is not fulfilled, then you are not a member.

A treasurer who loses a check, or a postman or loses the envelope, will cause a person to lose membership, despite no action being taken by the organization, and despite unaffiliated third parties being responsible for the loss of dues money.

Since an organization may take away membership due to a misplaced check, then it makes no difference how that check never gets processed.

It is the failure of the check to arrive which triggers the loss. Not the sender's act. Not the receiver's act.

That was my reasoning. -- The board has nothing to do with the principle. The rule in one's bylaws is triggered. They bylaws must be obeyed. When the definition fails to be fulfilled, then it makes no difference how the definition failed, how the rule got triggered.

[Gary Novosielski]

A treasurer who loses a check, or a postman or loses the envelope, will cause a person to lose membership, despite no action being taken by the organization, and despite unaffiliated third parties being responsible for the loss of dues money.

This would not happen under the rules in RONR, or any well-written bylaws. RONR has no rule that being in arrears on dues would cause one to lose their membership. Quite the contrary, it holds that a member who is in arrears on their dues gives up the right to resign.

[Josh Martin]

A treasurer who loses a check, or a postman or loses the envelope, will cause a person to lose membership, despite no action being taken by the organization, and despite unaffiliated third parties being responsible for the loss of dues money.

Since an organization may take away membership due to a misplaced check, then it makes no difference how that check never gets processed.

It is the failure of the check to arrive which triggers the loss. Not the sender's act. Not the receiver's act.

That was my reasoning. -- The board has nothing to do with the principle. The rule in one's bylaws is triggered. They bylaws must be obeyed. When the definition fails to be fulfilled, then it makes no difference how the definition failed, how the rule got triggered.

Surely you're not suggesting it would be proper for the board to intentionally "lose" the check? Additionally, as has been noted, delinquency in dues does not cause automatic loss of membership, at least as far as RONR is concerned.

[Dan Honemann]

Surely you're not suggesting it would be proper for the board to intentionally "lose" the check? Additionally, as has been noted, delinquency in dues does not cause automatic loss of membership, at least as far as RONR is concerned.

Post #2 and #8 in this thread should both be ignored.