Roberts Rules of Order.

Started by CharlesG5 • 6 replies • 2253 views

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CharlesG5 (Florida)
Posts: 60

Posted:

Live in Florida in a HOA community.
One of our board members moved. One member stated that Roberts Rules of Order state that the person to be appointed comes from last years annual meeting and the person who received the highest number of votes BUT did not get elected to the board is the person that will be appointed to the board to fill out the term of the departed board member. Based on that information, that person was appointed to the board. I can not find anything in Roberts Rules of Order. Need help.

TimB4 (Tennessee)
Posts: 21,059

Posted:

Charles,

Unless State statute or your governing documents require you to adhere to Roberts rules, it doesn't matter if it's in there or not.

The board has the authority to appoint whom they desire to fill a vacancy.
How they decide who to consider is up to them.
Whom they actually appoint is decided by a majority vote of the Board.

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

Tim's right, Charles. And I doubt very much that Robert's Rules of Order would even touch upon what your director is claiming. If you asked a Robert's Rules website, the experts would say (I'm quite certain) go to your bylaws. For questions like yours, your bylaws might state how filling vacancies is supposed to be done. Generally it's as Tim says.

Now that someone already was appointed by the board, Charles, what do you think could be done????

BruceF1 (Connecticut)
Posts: 2,535

Posted:

Quote:

Posted By CharlesG5 on 11/20/2014 6:51 AM
Live in Florida in a HOA community.
One of our board members moved. One member stated that Roberts Rules of Order state that the person to be appointed comes from last years annual meeting and the person who received the highest number of votes BUT did not get elected to the board is the person that will be appointed to the board to fill out the term of the departed board member. Based on that information, that person was appointed to the board. I can not find anything in Roberts Rules of Order. Need help.

I have had over 40 years experience using Robert's Rules and I know of no such thing.

Ask the person to tell you on what page and in what edition he found such a rule. Chances are, he won't be able to find it either. He just thinks such a rule exists.

BobD4 (up north)
Posts: 1,002

Posted:

". . . One member stated that Roberts Rules of Order state that the person to be appointed comes from last years annual meeting and the person who received the highest number of votes BUT did not get elected to the board is the person that will be appointed to the board to fill out the term of the departed board member.. . ."

What do the electoral site specifics provide and how at that AGM ? Otherwise how could a meeting procedurals guideline - howsoever widely embraced like Wainmans too - be determinant of site- specific electoral practice ?

JimS30 (North Carolina)
Posts: 5

Posted:

As several posters have noted, much of what people say Robert's Rules requires isn't actually in the book. Robert's has no provision that a board vacancy must be filled by going back to a previous vote and seeing who almost got elected.

In the community association world (and for nonprofits generally), board vacancies are usually filled by following (1) mandatory language in state statutes (that often provides vacancies are filled for the remainder of the term by the remaining board members); or (2) by language in the governing documents, that may provide for the board to fill the vacancy or may provide for a special meeting to be called and an election held. In those associations where the board has authority to fill the vacancy, some boards automatically assume the runner-up should be appointed, but that's not always the best approach as it does not take into account current needs of the board or community, the aspects of balancing board membership based on the community, etc., the board's fiduciary responsibility to make an appointment that is best for the community, or even that the runner-up may have been a poor candidate who never would have been elected by the members.

Since state law will likely impact this issue, you may wish to speak with the association's lawyer or run it by an attorney in your area who practices community association law.

Jim Slaughter
www.jimslaughter.com
Author, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Parliamentary Procedure Fast-Track
Notes and Comments on Robert's Rules (Fourth Edition)

KerryL1 (California)
Posts: 14,550

Posted:

As others pointed out, in our HOA our bylaws specify how vacancies are filled. If there were silent, CA Corps Code tells us how to fill vacancies.

Wow! Jim Slaughter-- we should feel honored! I mean it!

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