local government
Updated November 18, 2022 Counting a vote wrong can land you in big trouble. As readers know, the QUORUM is the minimum number of voting members who must be present for business to be done. Once you have your quorum in place, you can take action by discussion and voting. (Read “what is a quorum”…
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Under Robert’s Rules of Order, the chair of a meeting has 11 duties. These duties are listed in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, 12th edition, the only official and current version of Robert’s Rules, in section 47:7. Download PDF THE MEETING may be that of a city council, a nonprofit board, a professional society,…
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The Washington Citizen’s Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials chooses half its 20 members by lottery.
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In the 20 years since Jurassic Parliament began, we’ve seen a lot of dumb things happen at meetings. Here’s our dirty dozen—a list of the 12 stupidest meeting mistakes. If you have more to add, let us know! Failing to give notice Poor agenda Ignoring the quorum requirement Chair acting like a dictator A few…
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May is the month when we celebrate municipal clerks, and Jurassic Parliament is delighted to join in offering kudos to these unsung heroes of our society. When you look under the hood of local government, you find clerks everywhere. They are the dedicated, quiet, consistent, reliable, and hard-working “go to” people who keep our country…
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Meeting minutes recording the actions taken by your council or board are a fundamental part of the meeting process. These are our guidelines for meeting minutes in local government. They refer to ordinary business and work or study meetings of councils, boards and committees. Public hearings are governed by different rules. Download PDF WHAT KIND…
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Unanimous consent is one of the most useful tools in Robert’s Rules of order. Yet this method of voting is little known. Use it well, and your meetings will be much more efficient. Your members will also be grateful!
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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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