ACROSS THE BOARD

Good board meetings are well-planned meetings. They are purposeful, businesslike, informative, challenging and short. And they are not boring.

Parliamentary procedures, properly applied, can ensure effective and productive meetings. Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised is an excellent procedural guide for board meetings.

How to Make Meetings More Interesting

1. Don't let meetings become meetings of the bored. There is nothing worse than having meetings dominated by a few long-winded people. Every board member should have an opportunity to participate and keep discussion lively, but limits should be placed on discussion. Some board members belabor every issue. Board members should adopt a general practice to assign a time limit for every agenda item and stick to that limit. Each board member should have a time limit to individually react to an issue, and that board member should not be able to speak on the issue again until every board member has had an opportunity to offer their opinions.

2. Another way to spice up and improve your meetings is to let the committees do the background work. Committees should get involved in the details of an issue. The committee chair should highlight for the board the process that the committee followed in reaching the recommendations offered.

3. Don't let the day-to-day operations of the agency be part of the board agenda. There is no bigger waste of time than a board that continually tries to second guess its executive. Board members who have questions about management should bring that to the attention of the president of the board. The president should request the board member to write their concerns down and then give the executive an opportunity to respond in writing to that particular board member and to the president of the board.

4. Keep meetings on track. Board members oftentimes deviate from the agenda. The president cannot let this happen. Meetings can easily get out of hand and go beyond a reasonable time period. Frequently, nothing gets accomplished at these meetings. Once a subject is brought up, ask for a motion and then discuss die issue. Don't discuss the issue and then ask for a motion. A motion will force the board to stay focused on the issue.

5. Stick to the agenda item and time limits. I strongly suggest that you put specific times on each agenda item. The board president can refer to the times set aside for discussion on each issue. During the discussion the board president can then remind board members how much time remains and how much time each person gets to address this particular issue. The president needs to control discussion and make sure that everyone stays on the issue. The president needs to be polite yet firm on following the agenda and time periods.

Attendance

Attendance at meetings is extremely important and can affect your liability as a board member. A decision made, whether you were there or not, is a decision of the board as a whole.

Sometimes missing a meeting is unavoidable due to an illness, an emergency or a vacation. To keep that board member current, the executive should make sure to send or deliver copies of reports and minutes of the meetings. Every board should have an attendance policy. The board will have to determine what absences are permissible and not permissible. After a determined number of absences, an individual will be asked to resign.

Meeting Room

A well-designed meeting room will noticeably affect the board members' and the public's attitude. Arrangement

6 / Illinois Parks and Recreation

BOARD MEETINGS...NOT BORING MEETINGS

of the individuals at a board meeting requires careful planning. Each board member's face should be visible to the audience. Nameplates are very appropriate.

The Role of the President

The board president should provide direction for the meeting, keep the board on course and on time, and deal with priorities. The board president should not allow non-agenda items to be discussed. Board members were given an opportunity to add to the agenda when the meeting was called to order.

The board should set rules for audience participation. It is very important to make board meetings public meetings—but not meetings of the public. A citizen should be able to express a concern within a reasonable time period. The board should agree to a time on the agenda for citizen participation, and a time for each speaker, so all who want to participate are given a chance. Debate with guests should be forbidden.

To keep meetings from becoming too long, some boards implement a policy that imposes a certain time period for the meeting curfew. Members must vote unanimously to extend that deadline.

Making a Motion

Board action can't be taken without a motion. Board members should attempt to get a motion as soon as feasible. Dr. Darwin Patnode, a certified professional parliamentarian, noted: "The ideal motion is introduced early, is worded in a way acceptable to a majority, and includes enough detail to be clear without being overly rigid. Nothing focuses a discussion better than a motion, and nothing is wrong with offering one that is not adopted. A rejected motion merely points the way to one that will be accepted."

The secret to a good motion is the wording. Draft motions before the meeting. Prepare the wording and be ready to answer questions. Wording is crucial because more than 60 percent of those hearing a motion make up their minds about it within 60 seconds. Your goal should be to get fellow board members to accept a concept; exact wording can be amended later.

Talk to the executive before making your motion to determine what impact it will have on the agency. How will the executive implement the directions from the motion?

The board president should repeat the motion to ensure that it has been recorded correctly, and that all board members clearly understand the motion. If possible, write out the motion before the board meeting. The president should encourage questions and pertinent discussion.

When a motion has been on the floor for a long time and received inordinate discussion, it has a slim chance for passage. In these cases, suggested actions follow:

1. The board president can encourage a member to amend the motion. If the motions sponsor rejects the initial amendment, compromise language should be attempted. Any amendment is a motion and can be debated and voted upon. The amendment requires a simple majority vote for passage.

2. A board member can ask the president to close the debate and call for an immediate vote on the original motion. However, the president must receive unanimous consent from the board to close the debate and the motion requires a two-thirds vote for passage. If the board does not give unanimous consent to close the debate, the president must call for a formal (two-thirds) vote.

3. If these tactics don't work, the original motion should become "old business" on the next meeting agenda.

Conflicts at Meetings

No matter how well-prepared you are and whether you follow parliamentary procedures or Robert's Rules, there will be times when you run into unforeseen problems during meetings.

Personality clashes frequently occur. Board members sometimes get into heated discussions in which accusations are made and perhaps even personal attacks. How can you keep disagreements civil and limit damage to your agency and the negative affects it will have on the team spirit of boardmanship?

The board needs to recognize that at times you're going to agree to disagree. There's nothing wrong with that. Some disagreements are healthy. Sharing views is what boardmanship is all about.

Everyone should have an opportunity to express their views on an issue. However, when temperatures rise at board meetings, the angry board members concerns can be restated politely. Then go around the board table and ask each board member to speak for no longer than one minute on the issue. Finally, the president of the board states his or her view. This usually clears the air for more appropriate discussions in the future.

Board service can be a thankless job. Building good will and praising board members with a few encouraging words can go a long way in team building.

Remember, team building must be an ongoing process and a commitment made by each board member and the director. 

January/February 1998 / 7