Old Ottawa South

PURPOSE:

To outline the procedures to be followed by the OSCA Board when it is deemed necessary to conduct a vote by email or other similar process outside the context of a regular in person meeting of the Board.

PRINCIPLES:

1. From time to time it may be necessary for the Board to hold a vote outside the context of its regular monthly meeting.  Such votes should normally be restricted to situations where there is urgency in obtaining a Board decision on an item before its next in-person meeting.
2. Voting by electronic means, when conducted by the procedure outlined below, shall have the same standing and shall be considered as authoritative as a vote conducted at a regular in-person meeting.
3. Given the limitations that accompany email voting procedures, for example, the diminished capacity to have a free flowing debate and potential misunderstandings of technical material, Board members should, where possible, phrase their motions in as clear and concise a manner as possible and provide as much background material as possible to reduce the need for lengthy rounds of email questions.
4. For the purposes email votes, and to be consistent with the Association’s by-laws, those members participating in the vote shall be counted for the purposes of having a quorum to hold the vote. Other OSCA by-laws shall apply for the purposes of determining the outcomes of votes

PROCEDURE:

1. Any Board member can move an email motion to be voted on by Board members.  The member must have obtained the consent of another Board member to second the motion in advance of it being circulated to Board members.
2. The Board member proposing the motion is responsible for circulating the text of the motion, the name of the seconder and any explanatory information they may deem appropriate to assist Board members in making a considered decision to all Board members with a copy of the material to the Executive Director ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
3. The Board member circulating the motion must clearly indicate in their motion the date and time by which a vote must be cast. In no case can this deadline be less than five days (5) after circulating the original motion.
4. During the voting period Board members may communicate with one another to discuss the motion.
5. When voting, Board members must reply to all Board members with their decision with a copy to the Executive Director (email above).  Votes may be in the affirmative, negative or abstention; Board members may include an explanation of the reasons for their vote if they wish in their response.
6. The Executive Director shall be responsible for tallying the votes immediately after the deadline for voting has expired and shall inform all Board members of the outcome forthwith.