How to have smooth and successful meetings
Connie Deford, with sidebar by Kim Cekola
Do you remember your very first public meeting – when you were a brand-new elected official making decisions on behalf of your constituency? Were you filled with dread – not knowing what to expect and ill at ease with terminology and procedures? Or did you feel ready – well versed, poised and prepared? 
If the latter was the case, perhaps one of the reasons you felt comfortable and confident was because you had a good working knowledge of meeting management and the basic elements of parliamentary procedure – how to make a motion, what was expected of you in debate, and how the vote would be taken. In other words, you knew your rights and how to enforce and protect them.
Parliamentary procedure is not meant to be restrictive or prevent free expression of opinion, but rather to serve as a protection of the rights of all – the majority, the minority, individual members, absent members and all of these together. 
For a governmental body, that also includes the public, your constituency. The purpose is to expedite business, maintain order, insure justice, and make sure that the will of the organization is accomplished properly and fairly. In other words, these procedures are designed to help, not hinder, the process.
Why smooth-running meetings are important
In a message to Congress in 1961, President John F. Kennedy stated “The basis of effective government is public confidence.” As a member of your city or village council, you can help inspire that confidence by being professional in your duties, by having a good working knowledge of parliamentary procedure and by projecting your image as an efficient, fair-minded, knowledgeable official. An orderly, smoothly run meeting, one that accomplishes the tasks at hand, should be your goal. And it shouldn’t last too long either.
The first ingredient for a smooth meeting
It all sounds so simple. A motion is made, we talk about it, and then we vote on it. How much easier can it get? Well, we have a tendency to make it much more difficult than it has to be.
Parliamentary law is composed of the rules and customs governing deliberative assemblies. The most widely used authority is Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (Robert’s Rules), used by more than 75 percent of all deliberative assemblies, including governmental bodies. If you have adopted the current version of Robert’s Rules, it should be consulted as a last resort if nothing else applies, not as the first and foremost authority. 
As a member of the public body, you have the responsibility to be familiar with requirements and restrictions under Michigan’s Open Meetings Act; your own governing documents, especially your charter; and any council rules that have been adopted regarding the conduct of business. Your agenda, how business is introduced, how debate is conducted, how the vote is taken – all of these things have their basis in parliamentary procedure.
There are some basic concepts that are common to all organizations: 
•	a quorum must be present to take legal action, 
•	only one main proposition can be on the floor at a time, 
•	only one member can speak at a time, 
•	the issue and not the person is always what is under discussion, and 
•	usually, a majority vote decides.
ABCs for handling a motion
A motion is handled in the following manner:
1.	A member is recognized and makes a motion by stating “I move . . .” (Never use “I want to . . . “ or “I think we should . . .” or “I motion . . .” or “So moved.”)
2.	Another member “seconds” the motion, without waiting for recognition. This means that another person thinks the subject is important enough for discussion and vote. (To expedite business and avoid confusion when no second is offered, you might want to adopt a rule that eliminates the requirement for a second).
3.	The chair states the question: “It is moved and seconded that . . .” The motion now belongs to the assembly for discussion.
4.	The chair asks: “Is there any discussion?” or “Are you ready for the question?” The motion is opened for debate, and the member who made the motion has first priority in speaking to the question. According to Robert’s Rules, each member has the right to speak twice in debate, but may not speak the second time until everyone has had a chance to speak the first time.
5.	The chair states “The question is on the adoption of the motion to . . .” the vote is taken by whatever means is established in your community. If by voice vote, “All those in favor say ‘aye’. All those opposed, say ‘no’.”
6.	The chair announces the results of the vote. “The ayes have it and the motion is adopted.” Or “The noes have it, and the motion is lost.”
Other basics you need to know
The chair must be comfortable not only with procedures in handling motions, but also with showing impartiality, keeping the discussion focused, soliciting opinions from members, not allowing blame-oriented statements, protecting staff and colleagues from verbal abuse or attack, encouraging alternate solutions, making sure everyone knows what is being voted on, and even explaining what a yes or a no vote mean.
Individual members should respect their colleagues and the chair, obtain the floor by being 
recognized by the chair before speaking, use correct terminology, limit remarks to the issue under consideration, raise concerns and objections during debate, and actively listen to citizen input and discussion.
Also, remember that silence gives consent. Some communities have a restriction on the ability of members to abstain from voting or a member may need approval of a majority, or even unanimous approval, of the other members, in order to abstain from voting. If you have no such rule, you may abstain, but the abstention is not counted as a “yes” or “no” vote. In essence, you have given your permission to the will of the majority, whatever that might be.
Which type of motion to use
Following are the five classes of motions and some examples of when to use them:
1.	Main motion
•	To introduce a subject, make a main motion.
2.	A subsidiary motion assists the members in treating or disposing of a main motion.
•	To kill or reject a main motion without a direct vote on it, move to postpone indefinitely.
•	To change a pending motion, move to amend.
•	To send a pending question to a small group for further study, move to commit or refer.
•	To put off action or a decision until later in the same or next meeting, move to postpone definitely.
•	To change the rules of debate, move to limit or extend limits of debate.
•	To close debate, move the previous question.
•	To set aside the pending question temporarily in order to take up more pressing business, move to lay the question on the table.
3.	A privileged motion deals with rights and privileges of members and do not directly affect the main motion.
•	To return to the printed agenda, call for the orders of the day.
•	To secure a privilege, such as insuring your ability to see or hear, raise a question of privilege.
•	To take a short break in the meeting, move to recess.
•	To close a meeting, move to adjourn.
•	To set a time to continue the business to another day without adjourning the current meeting, move to fix the time to which to adjourn.
4.	Incidental motions are incidental to the business at hand.
•	To endorse the rules, rise to a point of order.
•	To reverse or question the decision of the chair, appeal.
•	To question the correctness of a voice vote as announced by the chair, call for a division of the assembly (rising vote).
5.	A motion that brings a question again before the assembly allows the assembly to reopen a completed question.
•	To give members a chance to change their minds, some motions can be re-debated and re-voted (the motion must come from the prevailing side – ‘yes’ if it was adopted; ‘no’ if it failed), move to reconsider.
•	To change what was adopted at a previous meeting, move to amend something previously adopted.
•	To change the outcome of an affirmative vote, move to rescind.
Each of these motions, of course, has its own rules regarding when it is in order, if it must be seconded, if it is debatable or amendable, and what vote is required for adoption; and even if it can be reconsidered. Make it your business to become as knowledgeable as you can, and then share your knowledge with others.
As you perform your duties as an elected official in the public meetings in your community, keep in mind the wisdom of General Henry Robert, who wrote the following:
“In enforcing the rules there is a need for the exercise of tact and good sense. In small assemblies, and especially when the members are unfamiliar with parliamentary procedure, a strict enforcement of the rules is unwise. It is usually a mistake to insist upon technical points, so long as no one is being defrauded of his rights and the will of the majority is being carried out. The rules and customs are designed to help and not to hinder business.” 

Sidebar
Rules of procedure will keep your meeting on track
by Kim Cekola
Adopting rules of procedure to govern its meetings may very well be one of the most important actions a council takes. These rules assist in ensuring that meetings are efficient and genial and provide guidelines for dealing lawfully and effectively with the public and the media.
Typically, council rules contain provisions for:
•	notification of meetings,
•	attendance at meetings,
•	meeting information packets,
•	agenda preparation,
•	voting,
•	public hearings,
•	parliamentary procedure,
•	conduct of meetings (decorum of council members; disorderly conduct),
•	public participation,
•	minute preparation,
•	committees (establishing; appointments; duties and responsibilities),
•	resolutions, and
•	ordinances (introduction; public hearing; publication; amendments).
The rules should indicate the sequence of the council agenda as well as the procedure for holding public meetings. They might also include whether or not the mayor or president is entitled to speak in debate, any restrictions on abstentions, how items are added to the agenda, how the agenda is distributed, and limits on speeches. Basically, council rules of procedure should contain anything having to do with how you procedurally conduct your meetings.
Rules of procedure should be adopted by the council and reexamined regularly. As a new council member, you should become familiar with any rules of procedure adopted by previous councils. If a council adopts a parliamentary authority, such as Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised, and some of those rules are proposed to be changed – such as rules of debate, they must be adopted by a 2/3 vote. Strictly procedural rules, such as meeting notification requirements, etc., may be adopted by a majority vote.
Sample rules of procedure are available in the member section of the MML web site, www.mml.org
Public hearings
Council rules should include a procedure for public hearings. A public hearing is that portion of a meeting designed specifically to receive input from the public on a single issue. It may be required by ordinance, charter or statute. The time, place and subject of the hearing must be posted as required by the ordinance, charter or statute and only the posted subject can be discussed. The hearing may be before, during or after a regular meeting or may be at a special meeting called specifically for that purpose. Public hearings are formal meetings of the council to obtain input from the public. Public hearings offer citizens an opportunity to be heard, and should be viewed as a serious effort on the part of elected officials to secure as much information as possible about a topic before a final decision is made. Public hearings are legal requirement for some matters, such as:
•	adoption of the budget and
•	changing the zoning ordinance.
Local charters may also include provisions on public hearings, such as requiring a public hearing for the consideration of a proposed ordinance. Even if not required by law, a public hearing can be useful in helping municipal officials understand how their constituents feel and why they feel that way.