Ann Macfarlane
Do you want committees that run smooth and effective meetings? Download our paper, “Committees in Robert’s Rules,” to learn how they can. Committees in Robert’s Rules – Introduction A committee is a group of volunteers who have agreed to do a job defined by someone else. The key fact about a committee is that it…
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Updated September 20, 2023 A reader wrote, saying that he had been running a summer camp for 23 years, and would like a change of occupation. What would it take to become a parliamentarian? I had to reply that becoming a parliamentarian is not an easy career path. Most parliamentarians I know either have another…
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Dear Dinosaur: A board member at a condo association meeting made a motion. The motion did not receive a second. The board member then said, “Point of Information,” and continued to state his opinion of why the motion was important. Was this the proper use of “Point of Information? If so, what is the use of…
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Dear Dinosaur: Our board voted to eject a member from our social club. The next week, one of the directors changed his mind and said he wanted to take back his vote. Can he do this? Answer: No, once a vote has been taken, the chair has announced the result, and the board has gone…
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When confronted with the book, Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition, readers sometimes falter in their enthusiasm. The bulk and heft of this book are daunting to anyone—they certainly were to me when I was getting started in the study of parliamentary procedure. If you hesitate to plunge into the official book, start…
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One of the useful techniques to add to your voting toolkit is “unanimous written consent in lieu of a meeting.” If allowed by state law, you can use this approach when it’s not feasible to hold a live board meeting. In order to do this, prepare a written motion proposing the action that you would…
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Dear Dinosaur: At our church council meetings, the chair calls for the vote by saying, “All those in favor, please raise your right hand.” One of our members raises his left hand, upon which the chair refuses to count his vote. Is this correct? Answer: It seems as if your chair is a pedantic stickler…
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At a recent council meeting I attended, the city issued a proclamation honoring efforts to assist the homeless. In responding to the proclamation, a local pastor asked the council to provide extra funding for their project. Before the mayor could move on to public comment, a council member made a motion to provide the funding.…
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Dear Dinosaur: A secretary forwarded a board member’s question: “I have always been told that we could not take an official vote in committee. Can you find anything about this?” This came up in a governance committee where members were “voting” to move a policy change to the whole board for vote. Is this straw…
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A client is running Zoom meetings for 300-400 members. Not surprisingly, the meetings are challenging! People fail to follow common courtesy, Points of Order are rife, sometimes discourse collapses. It doesn’t have to be that way. Jurassic Parliament has developed a set of “sample Zoom rules,” based on Robert’s Rules of Order and adapted to…
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