You CAN Participate DURING Board Meeting Discussions!

In the past, the Boards have occasionally invited members to come to the microphone and comment on agenda items when they are deliberating on a matter.  It has been a rare event only allowed when the Board President finds it useful.

But, the governing documents of Sun City Anthem give ALL members the right to participate in the deliberation and discussion before the board of all items–during the time the board calls for deliberation and discussion on agenda topics. 

Our by-laws specifically allow YOU to ask questions and express your views in favor or opposition–DURING the deliberations and discussions.   SCA’s 3rd Amended & Restated Bylaws dated May 2008, Section 3.15/page 14 on Open Board Meetings is quoted as follows:

“3.15. Open Board Meetings. Subject to the provisions of Section 3.16, all Board meetings shall be open to all Members. Members other than directors may participate in any discussion or deliberation except those taking place in executive session; provided, the President may place reasonable limitations on the time any such individual may speak on any matter.”

You can not be limited to only speaking during the member comment periods before and after the board meeting.  The Board must allow you to directly participate during the deliberation and discussion of financial matters, lifestyle matters, committee reports, or anything else on the agenda for that meeting.

AnthemVOICE encourages members to take advantage of this important right during future board meetings.   Participate in the governance of your community by attending board meetings, and contribute during the time when it is possible to influence the outcome of a decision.

When exercising these rights, you can anticipate the board rules are likely to be similar to the following:

1. Our bylaws grant the right to participate in any deliberations and discussions, but you can not vote.
2. Your views, questions, etc. must be limited to the deliberation and discussion of the specific agenda topic before the board at that time.
3. If you wish to participate in more than one deliberation and discussion, do so separately.  Wait until each agenda item comes before the board at the meeting to approach the microphone.
4. The polite way to participate would be to approach the podium when the president calls the agenda item for consideration.  Respect the board members and let all board members talk first–if that is their desire–then it should be your turn.  Regardless of the board’s choice on the sequence, the Board President is obligated by our By-Laws to allow members to speak before a vote is taken.

Remember, this important SCA By-Laws right is in addition to your rights to make comments at the beginning and end of the board meeting.  If you choose to do so, you could comment at three different times on a given agenda topic.  Your rights to participate in all such deliberations and discussions are guaranteed by our governing documents.  Our governing documents are the contract between you and the Sun City Anthem Association.  Nevada law guarantees those rights. 

This entry was posted on October 14, 2010 at 10:20 and is filed under Truth Squad, Ann_Small, SCA Board, Community Affairs, Laws & Rules, Operations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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