Robert’s Rules of Order
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…
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…
We see so many instances of rude behavior in public life today that it is not easy to keep our bearings about civility. Polite people who have been well brought up sometimes feel stymied when public discourse disintegrates.
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!
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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!
