Questions and Answers for Town Residents about Robert’s Rules of Order

Why adopt Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised (RRONR)?

RRONR is the most commonly known and used set of parliamentary rules. With them, meetings can be run fairly and efficiently, with clear procedures as to what will be discussed, who can participate in discussions, and how the end of the discussion is determined. With RRONR, councilors and residents will know what to expect when they come to meetings and can prepare in advance.

The Town charter requires the Council to determine its rules for conduct of business. The charter affirmatively states that our Annual Town Meetings are to be run according to Roberts Rules, so there is precedent for using them in our Town. The Mayor and Council members recently received training on the rules.

Won’t following rules make the meetings longer?

Following the rules will actually shorten the length of the meetings.

Currently items are placed on the Council agenda for “discussion” purposes, with no stated goal for the discussion. The Council spends significant time talking about a topic and not deciding on an action. Then, the following month, the topic is brought up again, and the discussion continues. This is not productive.

RRONR requires that a motion must be made before a discussion takes place. Once a motion is made, Councilors are clear on what they are being asked to consider. Making a motion focusses the discussion on a particular action. Once Councilors have had adequate opportunity to express their views, a vote on the action is taken. The decision-making process has a beginning (introduction of the motion), middle (discussion/debate), and end (the vote). Then the Council can move on to the next item on the agenda. This process eliminates discussion that is not germane to the question at hand.

The Mayor and Councilors are elected to make decisions that maintain and improve quality of life in the Grove. We meet as a body only once a month. This is our only time to consider issues important to the Town. We want to fulfill our obligations in a timely manner.

Doesn’t following the rules get the Council bogged down in procedural details?

Although RRONR includes many rules, most meetings are run using the most basic rules.

There are many short guides available that the Mayor and Councilors can reference for guidance, for example, Basic Parliamentary Procedures by parliamentarian Michael Swift, and Robert’s Rules of Order Motions Chart,  published by Montgomery County .

What is the role of residents in Town Council meetings?

Although it is not required, each Town Council meeting has time set aside on the agenda to allow residents and other members of the public to comment on anything they choose, for up to three minutes per person. The Mayor and Councilors are not required to (and in fact are encouraged not to) respond to comments given during this time, though they will take the comments into account when discussing related motions.

With Robert’s Rules of Order, residents’ speaking time is limited to the public comment period. One exception is committee chairs or other residents (or non-residents) with special knowledge who may be called upon to offer information or expertise on an agenda item. This is not because the Mayor and Council don’t want to hear from residents, however. There are plenty of other ways to have your voice heard besides speaking at a meeting. Residents can call, email, Zoom, and meet in person with the Town’s elected leaders prior to Council meetings. The Mayor and Town Councilors appreciate and take into account the ideas and input of residents on Town issues.

What is the role of committee chairs in Town Council meetings?

When requested, committee chairs give reports, recommendations, and guidance to the Mayor and Town Councilors on agenda items. They may be called upon during a meeting to give information when Councilors are discussing a motion.

How will the Town Council decide what motions to discuss at meetings?

Motions will be brought to the Council by Town Councilors. Town committees, via the committee chair, may also submit motion proposals to the Council prior to the meeting. If you have a motion you’d like considered, you can bring it to a councilor or committee chair and get their buy-in before the council meeting. Having a Council member speak about your concerns is a great way to have your opinion represented at a meeting.

Will my voice really be heard or considered, if I am only allowed three minutes to talk at the beginning of a Town Council meeting?

Speaking at a council meeting is not the only way to communicate your thoughts. Some additional options are:

1. Send an email to the Mayor and councilors prior to the meeting. This way, they are able to read and consider your thoughts ahead of time, and you are free to write as much as you’d like. The Mayor and Councilors DO read all correspondence and encourage residents to share their thoughts.
2. Send an email to the Mayor and councilors prior to the meeting by emailing [email protected]. Your message will be automatically redirected from that single email address to the addresses of the Mayor, all Councilors, the Town Clerk, and the Town Web Manager (for posting on this page of the town website). If you would like your letter posted on the town website in the correspondence table, you must attach your letter to the email as a Word doc or PDF. If you do not wish your letter to be posted, you may state that as your preference.
3. Contact one Councilor in particular. For example, you might want to talk to the liaison to the committee related to your question, concern, or idea. You can find a list of which Councilors are liaisons to which committees on the main page of the town website. You can bring your thoughts to a Councilor, and they can decide to bring a motion to the Council.
4. Join a town committee or attend a committee meeting. Bring your concerns or ideas to the appropriate committee. The committee can then draft a motion to submit to the Council for consideration.

What happens if a Councilor makes a motion during a meeting that was not on the agenda, and it is voted on before I have had a chance to comment on it? 

Depending on the topic, Councilors may introduce a motion during a Council meeting and then move to postpone the vote until a later date.

I still don’t understand Robert’s Rules of Order. Can you give me an example?

Example:

• A Councilor makes a motion to mail the monthly town bulletin instead of emailing it. The Councilor has researched how much this will cost in postage, and they have spoken to several residents who say they will be more likely to read the bulletin in paper form.
• Since this motion was on the agenda, residents were aware it would be discussed. During the public comment period, a resident expressed environmental concerns about the use of so much paper. Another resident sent an email the previous day in support of the motion.
• The Councilors discuss. A Councilor requests the Mayor to ask the Town Clerk her opinion since she prepares the bulletin. Another Councilor requests the Mayor to ask the Town Treasurer if there is money for this in the budget. Finally, a Councilor requests the Mayor to ask the chair of the Sustainability Committee their opinion on the environmental concerns.
• A Councilor moves to amend the motion: the town will mail the monthly bulletin on recycled paper AND email it to all residents. The Council votes to approve the amendment to the motion.
• The Council then votes on the motion as amended. OR a Councilor might say more research is needed and move to postpone the motion to the next meeting, in which case the Council votes on whether or not to postpone the motion to the next meeting.