Ann Macfarlane
Readers of this blog know that I am conflicted about Robert’s Rules of Order. On the one hand, they offer key insights for fair and democratic meetings. On the other, the official book is too long, too complex, and too hard to read for most of us.
Read MoreReaders may enjoy this article published by the Auburn Reporter about a recent Jurassic Parliament assignment. Parliamentarian schools City Council on how to be civil council
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Updated November 20, 2022 On the first evening of my exciting trip to Alaska in 2018, Lon Garrison and Timi Tullis treated me to dinner. We spent the entire evening in energetic discussion of Robert’s Rules and meeting management. Lon’s wife shook her head when he got home and said, “You should call yourselves the…
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Sometimes after a voice vote that is not unanimous, we see an odd scenario. The chair or the clerk starts trying to figure out who voted for and who voted against. “Let’s see, it looks like the motion passed, with Member B and Member C voting against—you did vote against, didn’t you?” Don’t do this! Trying…
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Updated September 20, 2023 The public comment period is an essential part of local government meetings. This new publication offers 50 guidelines for public comment, and includes a sample public comment announcement. It is an update from our 2018 guidelines. These guidelines refer to ordinary business and work or study meetings of councils, boards and…
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When city councils, school boards or other public bodies hold their meetings, it is usual to reserve a time in the meeting for members of the public to speak to their elected officials. One common name for this is the public comment period. We recommend that detailed public comment should not be included in the…
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Guest post by Colette Collier Trohan. Directors of nonprofit boards will find this outline of their duty of care an invaluable guide. Do you remember being a teenager and ignoring the potential consequences of your actions? Did anyone ever look at you and ask: “What were you thinking?!!!” You weren’t expected to be a perfect child, but…
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When city councils, school boards or other public bodies hold their meetings, it is usual to reserve a time in the meeting for members of the public to speak to their elected officials. One common name for this is the public comment period. We strongly recommend that elected officials should not get into back-and-forth exchanges…
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Do you feel flummoxed by the language of Robert’s Rules? Is it a challenge for you to keep things running smoothly at your meetings? We have just what you need!
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Here in Salt Lake City for the Utah School Boards Association, I find an interesting news item. The Kaysville city council is scheduled to pass a motion to censure a council member and request his resignation at this evening’s meeting. Read the Salt Lake Tribune news story here. Why pass a motion to censure? The…
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