Ann Macfarlane
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.…
Read MoreDear 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…
Read MoreDear Dinosaur: A motion is made and seconded to not to allow Sally Sue to operate a lemonade stand at 123 Main St. Upon vote majority vote Nay… is the lemonade stand now allowed? Answer: No, no action has been taken with regard to the lemonade stand. The fact that this motion was defeated says…
Read MoreWe’ve had inquiries recently about elected officials who lost a vote, and then actively worked against the outcome. This amounts to trying to sabotage the council. It is wrong, wrong, wrong. Download PDF The majority rules General Henry Martyn Robert, the original author of Robert’s Rules of Order, expresses it this way: The great lesson…
Read MoreA reader contacted us with some concern because a member of her local government body had changed their vote in order to be able to move reconsideration at the next meeting. Was this legitimate? A note about “reconsideration” First off, readers should know that ordinarily, the motion “to reconsider” can be made only during the…
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Citizen attacks fellow citizen, swears – what can be done?
Dear Dinosaur: During public comment at a virtual meeting, one citizen was making blasphemous comments about another citizen in attendance, was escalating in emotion, and calling him names and added a few cuss words. Then he pulls out pictures and past memos, etc. I’m clear about allowing the citizen his freedom of speech. He can…
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