Can the board re-visit a budget vote?
Dear Governance Matters,
When a board makes a motion, say, to approve next year's budget, and votes to approve, with only one "no" vote, can the board reopen that motion at a later meeting?
If so, on what grounds can the board review or rethink their approval of the motion? Are there any rules that must be followed to do so?
K.
Dear K.,
First, check your bylaws to see if such situations are mentioned.
If the bylaws don't help, this could be considered a Roberts' Rules of Order question, that is, you could follow generally accepted procedure.
But, barring restrictions in the bylaws, you can work out the best solution for your organization by asking a few common-sense questions:
- Was new information brought to the attention of the board that could affect the wisdom of the original decision and the outcome of the vote?
- Would it be prudent to re-visit the decision, either because of new information or because feelings on the board have changed significantly?
- Is changing the vote going to affect the sustainability/viability of the organization?
- Is refusing to change the vote going to affect the sustainability of the organization?
- Do ¾ of the board members and/or the Executive Director want to revisit the issue?
- What will be the political effects either positive or negative if the issue is not re-visited?
If it is re-visited?
That said, boards are always able to re-visit the budget, especially in this recession! The board may vote to amend the budget at any time during the year when variations in revenue or expenses make the approved budget out of whack with reality.
Hope this helps!
Anne
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